you decide

….When James Otteson left Wilson Sonsini to start Agility IP Law, he said he wanted to work for large tech companies. But despite a CV that boasts plenty of big-ticket patent litigation, including for colorful clog-maker Crocs, most clients said they needed to hire a brand-name firm. Otteson picked up a few defense matters, but nothing that was going to build his practice substantially, he said. So he turned to bringing contingency cases for NPEs. (emphasis by me)

"A lot of people have a religious zeal about NPEs and think they're evil," Otteson said. "I made the decision when I left Wilson Sonsini that I was going to be agnostic and pursue the best opportunities I could. Because I have to survive."

Otteson is now working on nine patent infringement cases filed by Walker Digital, a Stamford, Conn.-based NPE chaired by Priceline.com founder Jay Walker. In April, the company filed 23 suits in Delaware federal court against more than 100 companies, including Apple, Microsoft and Google.

Walker Digital's strategic patent advisor is another Otteson client, IP Navigation Group. General counsel David Pridham said he works with big and small firms alike, and it's difficult for large firms to move quickly to resolve conflict issues. Agility Law, he says, can. And more importantly, he likes knowing that Otteson will handle his matters personally.

"Knowing who is going to do the work is huge," Pridham said. "The downside is that Agility can't throw 50 lawyers at a case. But we pride ourselves on being streamlined, so that's not something we really care about."

NPEs= Non Practicing Entities (aka Patent Trolls)

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