James C. Otteson

James C. Otteson, a Managing Director in our Partner Practice Group, brings his 30 years of experience as a Bay Area attorney to advise partners and law firms on trends and conditions in the lateral market, identify opportunities and provide strategic insight. As a former partner at two AmLaw 100 law firms and the founder of a successful IP litigation boutique, Jim leverages his unique perspective to assist partners and law firms to reach outcomes that are fruitful for both sides.

Jim is a devoted Bay Area sports fan who closely follows the San Francisco Giants, the 49ers and the Golden State Warriors. In his spare time, Jim enjoys working out, reading, traveling and spending time with his family.

Jim spent the first 18 years of his career as an intellectual property trial lawyer at Silicon Valley-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR). During his 11 years as a partner at WSGR, Jim litigated and tried numerous patent and IP cases for both plaintiffs and defendants in U.S. district court and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Jim also served as WSGR’s head of ITC litigation and the lateral hiring partner for IP litigation.

In 2010, Jim left WSGR to form Agility IP Law (Agility), a boutique that litigated and tried complex patent and intellectual property cases throughout the U.S. While at Agility, Jim litigated and supervised 30-40 cases and was lead trial counsel in four major patent infringement trials. Jim won three of those four trials and obtained favorable multi-million-dollar settlements in the fourth.

In 2015, Jim negotiated Agility’s acquisition by Washington, D.C.-based Arnold & Porter where he continued to try and win patent cases (including an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court) and later worked in the Silicon Valley office of Dechert. In between, Jim founded and ran Luma Soda, a startup that manufactured and sold a healthier soda; he even appeared on Shark Tank! Most recently, Jim ran his own boutique private practice for a year before joining Major, Lindsey & Africa.