Petersen, Riisa

Mark Flanagan is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation, International Arbitration, International Litigation, and Investigations and Criminal Litigation Practice Groups. He is also a member of the firm's Management Committee and is the hiring partner for the firm's Palo Alto office. He joined the firm in 2006. Mr. Flanagan’s practice is diverse, focusing on intellectual property litigation and counseling, white collar criminal defense and international arbitration.

Practice

Mr. Flanagan is a seasoned trial attorney with in-depth experience in IP litigation, white collar criminal defense and international arbitration. He represents clients principally in the semiconductor, computer, telecommunications, clean tech and publishing industries in a variety of matters, including patent and copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation and licensing disputes. Mr. Flanagan also represents companies and individuals in white collar criminal defense matters. His practice spans a variety of jurisdictions and fora, including district and appellate courts throughout the country and arbitration organizations throughout the world.

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Mr. Flanagan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, where he prosecuted cases involving, among other things, bank fraud, customs fraud, defense contractor fraud, federal program fraud, tax fraud, bribery and official extortion. At the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Flanagan tried numerous criminal trials, argued appeals before the US Court of Appeals and supervised multiple complex grand jury investigations.

Recent Highlights

In the last several years, Mr. Flanagan’s work has included the following matters:

• Representation of a Chinese semiconductor foundry in a dispute before the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre concerning a technology transfer agreement with a major U.S. technology company
• Representation of a major wireless technology company in patent license disputes against cellular handset manufacturers resulting in awards valued at $253 million and $134 million in favor of the client
• Representation of a major cellular handset manufacturer in multiple patent infringement lawsuits
• Representation of a developer of a popular Facebook application in an ownership and copyright infringement dispute 
• Representation of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a publicly-held company concerning stock option grants
• Representation of individuals in investigations and lawsuits concerning stock option grants
• Representation of a video game developer in a copyright and trade dress lawsuit brought by its principal competitor. See Incredible Technologies v. Virtual Technologies, 400 F. 3d 1007 (7th Cir. 2005).
• Representation of a medical device company in multi-district patent infringement and antitrust lawsuits 
• Representation of companies and individuals in grand jury investigations concerning a variety of fraud-related allegations

Professional Activities

Mr. Flanagan is a member of the American Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker on trial practice and intellectual property topics.

Honors and Awards

• Named to the Los Angeles Daily Journal’s exclusive list of the “50 Leading IP Litigators in California” in 2008 and the "Top 75 IP Litigators in California" in 2009 and 2010
• Recognized in the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Northern California Super Lawyer for his intellectual property litigation practice
• Received commendations for his work at the United States Attorney’s Office from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Customs Service and the Department of Defense