In a move that comes just weeks after the firm saw three International Trade Commission specialists jump to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Alston & Bird announced Monday that it is bulking up its ITC practice with the addition of partner Jamie Underwood from Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg.
Underwood will take on a newly created role leading Alston’s Section 337 practice, which covers intellectual property matters at the ITC. The commission has become an increasingly popular patent litigation venue since a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made it harder for aggrieved parties to secure injunctions against patent infringers in federal district court. In addition to moving cases along at a faster clip than the federal courts, the ITC offers an injunction-like remedy in the form of an exclusion order barring the importation of infringing products.
