Robins Kaplan has nabbed intellectual property partner Steven Carlson from Kasowitz Benson Torres for its Northern California litigation group.

Carlson, who served as the managing partner of Kasowitz Benson's Silicon Valley office, has more than 17 years of experience in IP litigation, including commercial, copyright, patent, trademark, trade secrets and unfair competition work.

“When I was clerking at the Federal Circuit, the most impressive lawyer I saw was from Robins Kaplan,” said Carlson about his new firm, which adopted its current name in early 2015 after the departure of former name partner and tobacco litigator Michael Ciresi.

Carlson began his career with clerkships at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. district court in Delaware. He later spent seven years in the Silicon Valley office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where he represented companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and high-tech space in patent disputes.

The patent litigation expert was recruited to Fish & Richardson in 2008, then jumped to Kasowitz Benson in 2013 to help the New York-based firm rebuild its IP practice in Redwood City, California, after the departure of star litigator Douglas Lumish to Latham & Watkins.

“Steve has built an impressive practice representing innovators in the fields of robotics, databases, software, medical diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, chemistry and telecommunications that dovetails well with the portfolio of our clients' technologies, and further enhances our capabilities in California,” said a statement from Michael Geibelson, managing partner of Robins Kaplan's offices in Los Angeles and Mountain View, California.

At Robins Kaplan, which set up two offices in the Dakotas in 2015 to cater to Native American litigants, Carlson said he will work on a number of litigation matters primarily involving emerging company clients.

“Emerging companies are often disrupting their industry, and they are frequently the target of IP litigation as they assert their place in the market,” he said.

The Minneapolis-based firm, which opened its Mountain View office in 2015 to focus on technology-centric consultation and litigation, sees its outpost in the region specialize in intellectual property, global business process sourcing, cybersecurity and privacy. According to the firm's website, Robins Kaplan currently has 12 lawyers working in Silicon Valley.

In addition to its IP practice, Robins Kaplan has continued to expand its other offerings to clients in Silicon Valley, announcing late last year its addition of antitrust and trade regulation partners Aaron Sheanin and Tai Snow Milder. Milder previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division in San Francisco, while Sheanin joined the firm from Bay Area-based Pearson, Simon & Warshaw. In February, Seth Northrop, a Robins Kaplan IP litigator promoted to partner last year, left the firm's Mountain View office to become a director for IP analysis at investment management giant Fortress Investment Group LLC.

Earlier this year, Robins Kaplan hired Anderson Kill rainmaker David Graff in New York to bolster its corporate and commercial litigation practice, although Robins Kaplan also watched bankruptcy and restructuring co-chair Jeffrey Schwartz leave its Big Apple base this week for McKool Smith.

“Having a deep bench in Minneapolis, in addition to our capabilities in California, it gives us the flexibility other firms don't have,” Carlson said.