Perkins Coie Adds Partner Zach Hong to IP Practice in New York

NEW YORK (April 25, 2024)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Zach Hong has joined the firm's Intellectual Property practice and Patent Prosecution subgroup as a partner in the New York office. Zach joins from digital healthcare company Cleerly, where he was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.

At Cleerly, Zach helped develop the company's strategic direction and operational decision-making, managed enterprise risk, and advised the executive team and board of directors on legal matters. He also led the company's intellectual property (IP) strategy, managing a global portfolio of patent and trademark filings, conducting freedom-to-operate and IP due diligence, and negotiating IP and data licensing agreements.

"Zach's extensive IP experience both in-house and as outside counsel to leading technology startups will be highly valuable to our clients and we're excited to welcome him to our team," said Aaron Poledna, firmwide co-chair of Perkins Coie's Intellectual Property practice. "His deep knowledge of managing complex global IP portfolios will also be very beneficial to our clients and the legal challenges they face."

At Perkins Coie, Zach will advise clients ranging from early-stage startups to multinational corporations across various industries on a range of IP matters, including developing IP strategy and managing patent and trademark portfolios; conducting and defending IP due diligence; developing patent landscape and freedom-to-operate analyses; and drafting and prosecuting patent and trademark applications. He also brings experience litigating patent and trademark disputes in district court and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

"Perkins Coie's IP practice and platform has a stellar reputation and is well known internationally for the depth and range of its IP work and the successful solutions it delivers for its clients," said Zach. "Whether you're an early-stage or multinational company, strategic IP management is increasingly critical to an organization's success, and I'm looking forward to contributing to the firm's counsel and success."

Zach received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.S. from Johns Hopkins University.

The internationally recognized Intellectual Property practice at Perkins Coie consists of more than 275 lawyers and agents in the United States and Asia, more than 80% of whom have STEM degrees, including 60 with STEM master's degrees and 30 with Ph.Ds. Perkins Coie's IP lawyers provide innovative, collaborative counsel at every stage of IP protection and development.