Pepper Hamilton LLP issued the following announcement on June 12.
Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Stephen T. Kong has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group, resident in Los Angeles and Orange County. He is the fourth recent lateral partner addition to Pepper Hamilton’s Southern California offices.
Mr. Kong focuses his practice on technology transactions, intellectual property licensing and value creation. He also advises on content and media transactions, the intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and open source software for clients spanning various industries, including commercial software, e-commerce, consumer electronics, retail and apparel.
“Pepper Hamilton has strong corporate and securities, intellectual property, and technology practices,” Mr. Kong said. “I’m excited to bring my experience, which bridges these areas, to the firm and its clients and to be part of the continuing strategic growth that Pepper is experiencing in Southern California.”
Mr. Kong previously served as senior corporate counsel for Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, where he represented the U.S. R&D and strategic business development groups for the Sony entity responsible for Sony PlayStation matters in North and Latin America. He also worked in software development as a civilian for the U.S. Marine Corps before attending law school.
“Stephen has significant experience advising on transformative technology deals, as well as handling the IP aspects of important mergers and acquisitions across industries,” said Mary L. Dickson, partner in charge of the firm’s Los Angeles office. “We are thrilled to welcome him to Pepper.”
The addition of Mr. Kong in Pepper’s Los Angeles office follows several other high-profile additions in Southern California. In March 2018, the firm expanded its Corporate and Securities Practice Group in California with new partners David B. Allen and Derek D. Dundas, and, in November 2018, Pepper Hamilton added California litigator Howard M. Privette as a partner in the firm’s Trial and Dispute Resolution Practice Group in Orange County. In addition, in October 2018, Todd Boylan, a partner from Pepper’s Berwyn, Pennsylvania office, permanently relocated to the Orange County office to further expand the Corporate and Securities practice in Southern California.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Kong was a shareholder at Stradling, where he served as chair of the firm’s technology transactions practice group. He received his J.D. from Emory University.
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