PARTNER, SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Los Angeles, CA YEARS PRACTICING: 23
PRACTICE AREA: Patent and IP Litigation PETER H. KANG
WHILE A STUDENT AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, rainmaking patent and IP litigator Peter Kang double majored in Industrial Engineering and Classics (Latin). Following graduation, he spent a year prior to law school pro- gramming by day and tending bar at night. “I’ve always liked to use both sides of my brain,” he says. “And the intersection of technology and law requires two different sets of thinking, culture, and language. To sit comfortably at that crossroad and communicate with the engineers, Silicon Valley entrepre- neurs, and technologists on one side, and the lawyers, judges, and juries on the other, is challenging and stimulating.” Senior IP partner in Sidley’s Palo Alto office, Kang is
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lead trial counsel and team leader for patent lawsuits in the United States International Trade Commission and federal courts nationwide, including appeals to the Federal Circuit. He represents clients in high-tech commercial litigation (mostly electronics and software), as well as in trade secret disputes and copyright/trademark suits. He also advises clients in IP licensing and IP diligence for corporate deals. He also represents clients in the recently enacted Inter Partes Review proceedings in the U.S. Patent Office. Over time, his rainmaking techniques have evolved.
“When I was a young lawyer, partners said doing good work is a great way to get more work. Trite, but true. Speaking and writing helps, too,” says Kang, who wrote the top-ranked legal treatise "Intellectual Property Litigation in the United States International Trade Commission.” He adds, “I’m not short-sighted or mercenary about
getting litigation. Relationships make a fulfilling career. I’ve learned that an understanding of clients’ needs goes far.”
SHAREHOLDER, BINGHAM MCCUTCHEON
Washington, D.C. YEARS PRACTICING: 20 PRACTICE AREA: Tax Litigation
RAJ MADAN “THERE’S A DEFINITE COR-
RELATION BETWEEN NEUROSIS AND RAINMAK- ING,” says Raj Madan, a partner in Bingham’s D.C. office. “From what I’ve observed, rainmakers don’t rest on their laurels. After some really great years, I’m already obsess- ing that our pipeline is growing thin and that we should branch out to another industry. Business development is always on our minds.”
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
PARTNER, FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP
Los Angeles, CA YEARS PRACTICING: 23
PRACTICE AREA: Entertainment DARRELL D. MILLER
BEINGA RAINMAKINGATTORNEY IN THE ENTER- TAINMENT BUSINESS is not as glamorous or easy as it may seem. “Entertainment law is not all premieres and fancy lunches. Sometimes we don’t get the invite,” says Darrell D. Miller, chair of the entertainment law department and manag- ing partner of Fox Rothschild’s Los Angeles offices. Miller’s practice took off in the 1990s when television
networks, led by the emergence of the Fox Broadcast Network, began to widely broadcast shows about African American culture, and hip hop artists were snatching the popular culture limelight from rock stars. Miller initially rode that wave by pro- moting the crossover careers of high-profile music artists DMX, Outkast, Master P, Missy Elliot, and Ludacris, to name a few. Today, Miller’s practice focuses on film, TV, music, new media, and licensing. Its core is transactional deal making around development, production, distribution, and marketing. Miller never planned to be a lawyer. A classically trained
singer, he travelled the world performing. Ten one day, standing on the shore of Chowpatty Beach in India before an evening performance, Miller had an epiphany: He real- ized he could possibly build on his success as an interna- tional performing artist and achieve even more success in the arts from the business side. With that in mind, he went to Georgetown University Law Center. “I spent the last four years at Fox proving the concept
that an entertainment-based, strictly transactional practice can exist within a national firm. Te next phase will include growing our business model and expanding our practice scope within the department to include areas like video gaming and digital technology.”
A former trial attorney for the Internal Revenue Service,
Manhattan District, Madan defends businesses in disputes with the tax agency. Madan, who was born in India but grew up on New York’s Long Island, describes rainmaking as a team effort: “A lot of our clients say they could get good people at the senior level but as a team we’re stronger than others. Te notion of rainmaker sounds singular in focus. In my practice that’s untrue. Te fourth-year associate is significant in making sure we keep the business and get new business.” Successful rainmaking, says Madan, is the result of great
work and word-of-mouth buzz, writing and speaking about the kind of work you do and tailored to those who are most likely to hire you. He adds, “But without a little luck, the right men- tor, things breaking your way, and being at the right firm, you may never land in the position to rain make. It’s not something you can totally control—a lot of it is serendipitous.”
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