Life in the cradle of innovationx
We profile our team in Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley – it’s home to the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world and is widely considered the birthplace of global innovation.
Unsurprising then that our office in the region is strategically important for the Firm, particularly as growth in our Technology and Intellectual Property practices shows no signs of slowing.
We opened our first office here in 1999, growing to the seven partners and 45 associates we have today. In fact, the expansion of our Silicon Valley team was illustrated this January when we moved to a new, bigger office in the Palo Alto Square complex.
Office Executive Partner Bijal Vakil explains: “We’d simply outgrown the previous office and the new space is much more in keeping with the culture we want to embrace here – one that’s more open and collaborative, with more of the cool vibe you’d expect from a Silicon Valley office. There are more shared meeting spaces, more glass and fewer walls, open ceilings, a quiet/meditation room, a Telepresence and a fitness room – it’s a big step forward.”
The Silicon Valley office has three particular areas of expertise: Intellectual Property, Corporate M&A, and Anti-trust. Major clients include Google, Intel, Walmart, Autodesk, Looker, Facebook, and Toshiba.
Bijal says: “We’ve been really successful here despite stiff competition from a number of historically embedded Californian firms, including Fenwick & West, Morrison & Foerster, and Wilson Sonsini.
“This is where our reputation and ability to offer a truly international network is such an important point of difference. Our clients’ issues, threats and needs are global and we are one of the few firms (arguably the only one) to have such an impressive global network.”
The office has also built a reputation within the Firm as a key hub for the Technology Industry Group and a useful home-from-home for several partners based out of other offices.
Bijal says: “Naturally, because of our location and expertise, we’re constantly working with other White & Case offices across the United States and the world to help address technology issues in their matters and vice-versa. As Technology is one of the four key industry groups in our 2020 strategy, the success of our office here is tied closely to the Firm’s global goals.
“We also have a number of partners who, while they might be based in Washington, D.C., New York or Los Angeles, consider Silicon Valley their priority office because of its importance in the Technology space. It’s one of the great things about working here – we get a particularly high number of visits from colleagues visiting their clients in Silicon Valley.”
In recent years the office has taken great strides forward in a bid to increase its integration with the wider firm, one example being the creation of a fortnightly Intellectual Property group meeting.
Bijal says: “We’ve made a lot of progress over recent years and our focus in the coming years is really about building on our strengths.
“That’s about continuing to grow in our core areas of anti-trust, corporate and IP.”
Did you know?
The nickname Silicon Valley originates from 1971 when a trade paper called Electronic News ran a series of features focused on the emergence of technology firms in the Santa Clara valley in California.
So what’s it like living and working in Silicon Valley? Bijal says: “From a work perspective we’re very fortunate to be in an area where most of our clients are within a five mile radius of the office.
“That’s really rare and significant because it means we have really close relationships.
“It’s also a great place to live, with the Pacific, LA, San Francisco and the Napa Valley all nearby.”
Quick questions:
with Director of Research & Information Services, Kathy Skinner
How long have you been at the Firm?
I joined in February last year following 13 years in a similar role with Morrison & Foerster. Working for the Firm attracted me because I was excited about joining Oz Benamram’s Knowledge team. The work we’re doing to explore how artificial intelligence and other technology could help in law is really inspiring.
What does your role involve?
I run a team responsible for providing research tools and research support for our teams across the globe, including providing very specialized and niche tools aimed at helping us gain a competitive advantage. In the past year we’ve expanded our team of senior researchers and we now have team members in 22 of our 43 offices. Our goal, with the help of our team in Manila, is to offer a service that’s available 24 hours a day.
What’s it like to work in the Silicon Valley office?
It’s friendly and informal with lots of opportunities to socialize and get together. We have some great clients and it’s fun to work in such a key tech hub. The weather is great too. I live in San Francisco, so the commute can be a challenge, but I also spend quite a bit of time in New York and other offices, which I also love.
What does the team do to socialize?
We hold monthly birthday celebrations, foosball competitions, thanksgiving get-togethers, fitness classes, and hold events for annual and local holidays such as Halloween and Cinco de Mayo. We’re currently looking forward to our new office’s grand opening party in April, which will include an address by Chairman Hugh Verrier.
What would you recommend to anyone visiting the area?
Stanford campus is great and the surrounding areas are lovely for hiking. San Francisco is about an hour north and Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula are about an hour south, and both are worth exploring. For tech-focused visitor opportunities, the HP Garage (described as the birthplace of Silicon Valley), the Intel Museum, Apple HQ, or the NASA Ames Research Center are worth considering.
