Based at the team’s Silicon Valley hub, ‘incredible collaborator’ Rajiv Dharnidharka oversees DLA Piper LLP (US)’s trade secrets collective alongside Chicago-based ‘standout partner’ Paul Steadman and experienced litigator Leon Medzhibovsky who works at the New York office. The team is well-regarded for its ’great litigation’ capabilities and for its ‘excellent practice dedicated to tech’. The team has impressive abilities handling trade secrets, software and tech-related commercial disputes in particular, frequently in relation to misappropriation allegations and surrounding issues such as fraud, as well as breaches of employment contracts. San Francisco attorney Jeanette Barzelay is standout for her strong experience in the range of commercial litigation cases.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘DLA has a great litigation team with sufficient resources to extend the team at any time if and where needed.’
‘Rajiv Dharnidharka has a great ability to help non-US clients through the jungle of Californian litigation. He explains details where needed while keeping those details away from the client that client does not need to deal with.’
‘Paul Steadman is a standout partner who is able to quickly get up-to-speed on complex issues and give very practical and commercially-focused advice.’
‘My DLA Piper team is very responsive and able to identify the right talent to address my issues and concerns. They are also very timely in responding to my requests.’
‘They have the business acumen and appreciation for the unique issues and concerns that relate to my business. Their partnering with me has helped me to be successful.’
‘DLA Piper has an excellent practice dedicated to tech. I was able to quickly identify the best lawyer for my matter. There was none of the territoriality that is sometimes seen at large firms.’
‘I worked directly with Rajiv Dharnidharka. He was an incredible collaborator in the matter we worked on together, which involved a pre-litigation negotiation and very successful settlement. Rajiv is one of the most practical and business-minded litigators I have ever worked with - and I have worked with many litigators over my long career.'
'What I loved about working with Rajiv was that he put himself in my shoes, listened to my goals and took a pragmatic approach that was in the best interest of my company. Many other litigators would have taken a more aggressive approach which may not have yielded as favorable a result as that which we were able to achieve together.’
Key clients
- Nike, Inc.
- Grant Industries, Inc.
- Walkme
- Myia Labs, Inc.
- Sycomp, A Technology Company, Inc.
- Ripple Labs
- Augmentir
Work highlights
- Represented Ripple Labs when it was sued in the US District Court for the Northern District of California for alleged trade secret misappropriation and related torts; DLA Piper defeated the entire action and obtained an attorneys' fee award of $635,000.
- Advising WalkMe, a leading software solutions innovator and developer of the industry's first Digital Adoption Platform (“DAP”).
- Represented Grant Industries in their lawsuit against Nanometrics, PHD Biosciences, and several individuals for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, unfair competition, conspiracy, fraud, conversion, and New Jersey civil RICO.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Rajiv Dharnidharka, Paul Steadman, Leonid Medzhibovsky