Durie Tangri

One of California’s most “buzzy” boutiques, Durie Tangri has seen a steady ascent in profile since a team of several key partners calved off of Keker Van Nest & Peters, another gold-standard boutique, to launch this shop. The firm receives unanimous praise from all peers who come into contact with it. “They are terrific, and obviously very high-profile,” offers one such peer in summation.

In the firm’s flagship San Francisco office, arguably the firm’s most visible and often-referenced partner, Daralyn Durie continues to elicit rave reviews for her trial acumen, primarily in the intellectual property realm. “Going against her was like going against a boxer in which you know you’re going to get hurt,” confides a former opponent. “She’s indefatigable, and very sharp. [She is] in complete command, and going against her is exhausting.” Although Durie counts large local mainstays such as Genentech among the clients that count on her for a high-touch, hands-on approach, it is also noted that Durie and her firm have become the attorneys of choice for several of the Bay Area’s many start-ups. While regarded as an “IP rockstar,” Durie’s practice extends beyond said practice; she has represented defendants in nationwide and international class actions, scoring major jury victories in the process. Exemplifying this, in a rare class-action case that made its way to trial, Durie scored on behalf of the 450,000-student California State University system, which was sued for sending out bills and then raising tuition the same semester. The plaintiffs sought $100 million in refunds, but in April 2018, a state appellate court an earlier jury verdict that the fee increase was reasonable. At the next generational level, Sonal Mehta is unanimously viewed by all peers familiar with her as the “heiress apparent,” garnering uniformly favorable reviews. “They are all first-rate at Durie Tangri, but Sonal is particularly strong and is going to be very effective in the tech space for high-value cases,” stresses one competitor. Mark Lemley successfully argued that “pay-for-delay” pharmaceutical patent settlements may be challenged under California antitrust law. The California Supreme Court’s March 2015 ruling renews drug buyers’ claims that Bayer’s payments to generic manufacturers of $400 million to delay launch of another version of Cipro is illegal. The ruling overturns decisions two lower court decisions. Lemley also scored for Blue Coat Systems (later acquired by Symantec) in a patent infringement dispute with Finjan, who eventually dropped its case against the client in early 2018 after a Federal Court damages upset. Ragesh Tangri, who maintains a diverse practice, is becoming a peer favorite as well. “Ragesh doesn’t get as much credit as he should,” asserts one fan. “He’s a brilliant lawyer, very smart, incredibly principled. He does a lot of work for law firms, and those clients just love him.” Future star Josh Lerner is another recipient of acclaim. “He is a rising star, he worked on a class action for Google, and people have favorable impressions of him.”