Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

After spending nearly three decades at Morrison & Foerster, technology transactions partner John Delaney has decided to leave the Silicon Valley-based firm to join Perkins Coie's New York office.

Delaney, who started his legal career as an associate at Morrison & Foerster's San Francisco office in 1989, moved to New York in 1994. On his decision to join Perkins Coie, Delaney said he “wanted to be at a firm that is 100 percent committed to becoming the leading technology, blockchain and digital media firm in New York City.”

Delaney joined Perkins Coie's technology transactions and privacy practice as a partner on Monday. Prior to the move, he was the co-chair of Morrison & Foerster's media practice and previously served as co-chair of its technology transactions practice.

“Traditionally, my practice has been nicely balanced between Fortune 500 companies and emerging growth companies,” Delaney said. ”Over the past couple of years, it has shifted to being mostly Fortune 500, and large, established companies.”

John Delaney of Perkins Coie. 

Delaney concentrates his practice on intellectual property, digital media and high-technology matters. By joining Perkins Coie, Delaney said he has been able to return to the balance between large companies and the next generation emerging growth companies.

“That mix is the perfect balance for me as a technology lawyer to make sure I am constantly on top of new developments, which often comes from the emerging company side of my practice,” he added.

Delaney is the fifth lateral hire to join the Perkins Coie's New York office in the past 12 months. To accommodate its growth in the New York market, the firm has announced that it will move its New York office to larger space this spring at 1155 Avenue of the Americas.

“As our tech clients establish their respective East Coast headquarters in New York's Silicon Alley, we too continue adding to the depth of tech advisory services for which Perkins Coie has long been known,” Marcelo Halpern, the co-chair of Perkins Coie's technology transactions and privacy practice, said in a statement.

“John is a prominent authority in the areas of tech transactions, intellectual property, and social and digital media law, and he will further bolster our ability to provide seamless, high-level service to technology clients throughout their life cycle—from cradle through IPO and beyond,” Halpern said.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie opened its New York office opened in 2011 and currently has about 50 attorneys based there. The firm said its technology transactions and privacy practice represents companies across a wide range of industries, from hospitals and health care providers to financial services firms, manufacturers and others.

In a response to Delaney's departure, Morrison & Foerster's firmwide managing partner Craig Martin said, “John has been a wonderful colleague for many years. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him the very best in this new endeavor.”