In the latest sign that intellectual property litigators continue to be in high demand this year, King & Spalding has picked up a pair of partners from Paul Hastings who represent brand-name pharmaceutical companies in patent cases.

The Atlanta-founded Am Law 100 firm announced Monday that it had hired Gerald Flattmann and Evan Diamond as partners for its trial and disputes practice group in New York. Flattmann, who spent the last eight years at Paul Hastings, arrived at that firm from Kirkland & Ellis in 2010. He will now serve as chairman of the King & Spalding’s life sciences patent litigation practice.