Pillsbury Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Shortly after nabbing K&L Gates' Silicon Valley leader, intellectual property lawyer Michael Zeliger, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has recruited two more K&L Gates IP practitioners, Eric Rusnak and Ranjini Acharya.

Rusnak and Acharya have joined the New York-based firm's technology practice as partners in its Washington, D.C., and Palo Alto offices, respectively. While Rusnak is based in the nation's capital, he said he will work closely with his colleagues in Silicon Valley.

“We worked very closely together for a number of years,” Rusnak said. “There is a certain energy we bring to our cases, we think clients really appreciate that. So, the opportunity to continue to work together was one that was very attractive to us.”

Rusnak primarily advises clients in the technology sector on patent, trade secret, copyright, false advertising and other IP disputes. Prior to the move, he spent his entire 15-year legal career at K&L Gates, where he served as practice group coordinator for the firm's IP litigation practice.

Acharya joined K&L Gates in 2012 after finishing her Master of Laws degree at Stanford University. She represents technology companies in complex IP disputes in U.S. courts and before the International Trade Commission.

“We found that a lot of our clients are West Coast-based, [and] have significant West Coast operations, but they have a lot of East Coast needs,” Rusnak said. “I think that providing clients with a cohesive team that has the presences both in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., is something that is attractive to them.”

Partner Ranjini Acharya, Pillsbury. Courtesy photo

Acharya added, “We have worked closely for a long time, but each of us has a unique skill set.”

“One of the things that I think we're going be looking forward to doing is offering the fact that we worked together as a team, but also the individual experience that we each have, and finding ways to help Pillsbury's client leverage that,” she said.

Firmwide, Pillsbury has 81 IP attorneys across practices. Jack Barufka, head of Pillsbury's IP practice, said in a statement: “To support client demand, we have made a concerted effort over the past few years to increase our ITC and litigation capabilities in Northern California.”

“The addition of Eric, Ranjini and Mike—together with the notable recent growth of our San Francisco IP practice—positions us extremely well to meet that growing need,” he added. “This is a highly capable team of lawyers who know each other extremely well and present unique synergies with the rest of our practice.”

A spokesman for K&L Gates did not respond to a request for comment on Rusnak and Acharya's move.

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