BakerHostetler cements full-service offerings on West Coast with addition of key trademark and brand protection team

Susan Natland, Jessica Sganga, and Katherine McMorrow join BakerHostetler as partners in the Intellectual Property Practice Group and as members of the Global Trademark and Brand Protection team. Natland, who has been recognized as one of the 80 most Influential Women in IP by World Intellectual Property Review, will join BakerHostetler as co-leader of the Global Trademark and Brand Protection team and is based in the firm’s Orange County office. Sganga and McMorrow, who work closely with Natland, are located in BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles office.

The hirings are in line with the firm’s strategic plan to achieve a full-service platform on the West Coast. Eric Sagerman was hired away from an Am Law 30 firm in 2019 to serve as Los Angeles managing partner and spearhead the effort. Since that time, the firm has opened a San Francisco office, led by Robb Adkins, a former chief of the US Attorney’s Office in Orange County, California.

The new group builds on the earlier addition of a team of 15 high-tech attorneys led by Mark Itri, the former global IP chair of an Am Law 50 firm, who manages the firm’s Orange County office.

This is the latest string in a number of high-profile additions, with the firm hiring nearly 30 lateral partners so far this year, including, last month, a four-member team on the Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, and Debt Finance teams in New York and a partner from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office who joined the firm’s Digital Assets and Data Management Practice Group.

Why this matters

Natland, Sganga, and McMorrow expand the firm’s offerings on the West Coast. The West Coast now mirrors the firm’s strength in complex mega litigation, IP, digital assets and data management, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and labor and employment. To achieve this, the firm has added more than 120 attorneys on the West Coast since Sagerman joined.

“The addition of this terrific trio is part of our overall West Coast strategy to recruit top talent and deepen our existing client relationships,” said Paul Schmidt, chairman of BakerHostetler. “This dynamic team enhances an important national service offering for our firm in a high-priority market. We are thrilled to welcome Susan, Jessica, and Kate to BakerHostetler.”

“This is a very impactful move, as these energetic and focused IP lawyers are remarkably both at the top of the industry and capable of even more growth,” said Mark Tidman, firmwide chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. “Susan, Jessica, and Kate add trademark capabilities that few firms are able to match.”

“This is a unique opportunity to strengthen our Orange County office. We will continue our trajectory by adding accomplished attorneys to our office,” said Itri, partner-in-charge of the firm’s Orange County office and a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group.

“We are thrilled to join the extremely talented team at BakerHostetler,” said Natland. “The firm’s sophisticated IP offering, together with its remarkably diverse practice, innovative and business-focused legal tools, and visionary leadership, provides the perfect platform to fully and holistically service all of our clients’ needs. We look forward to joining our new colleagues in such a collaborative and entrepreneurial culture.”

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