Google’s Head of Litigation Joins Perkins Coie in Palo Alto

PALO ALTO, CALIF. (July 26, 2011) –Timothy Alger, former Deputy General Counsel at Google, will be joining the Palo Alto office of Perkins Coie as a partner in its Litigation practice.

"Tim is an outstanding lawyer, with a wide range of experience in managing and trying complex litigation matters, and deep substantive expertise in solving the legal problems faced by new and traditional media companies. His arrival will certainly enable us to better meet the needs of our clients,” said Joe Mais, the chair of the firm’s Litigation practice." Tim’s talent and expertise are welcome additions to our litigation capabilities and we are thrilled that he is joining us.”

"I am eager to return to private practice," said Alger. "I have had an enjoyable experience working in-house at Google, but am looking forward to getting back into court and tackling fresh issues and obstacles that our clients face in the ever-changing new media space."

Alger will focus his practice on issues that affect both new and traditional media companies in areas such as privacy, the First Amendment, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the copyright fair use doctrine, defamation, the right to publicity, and the Communications Decency Act. Alger also has significant trial and appellate experience and expects to resume his previously active practice in handling complex business litigation.

Alger started his career as an award-winning legal affairs reporter and later editor for The Orange County Register. After graduating from law school in 1992, he joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher where his litigation practice focused on media law. He moved to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges in 2001 and became a partner a year later. While at Quinn Emanuel, Alger's litigation practice continued to focus on the problems of media and Internet clients. In 2003, he obtained a watershed ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals under the Communications Decency Act in Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc. The court adopted a broad view of the statute, holding that interactive computer services are immune from liability for user content even if they format and use automated tools for the postings.

In 2008, Alger was recruited by Google to be its Deputy General Counsel in charge of litigation. While at Google, he led litigation teams that obtained favorable rulings in the Viacom/YouTube copyright litigation in New York, the Rosetta Stone trademark keyword litigation in Virginia, and three patent trials in the Eastern District of Texas. Alger also often spoke on behalf of Google on topics such as Internet privacy, copyright and publicity laws.

Alger earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola Law School-Los Angeles, where he graduated second in his class. He received his M.A. from University of Colorado and earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Seton Hall. Alger sits on the Board of Directors for the Disability Rights Legal Center, an organization that provides free legal services to those with disabilities and cancer. In 2006 he was awarded the Pro Bono Co-Counsel of the Year award from the Disability Rights Legal Center and in 2007 he was awarded the Public Interest Pro Bono Award by the Loyola Law School Public Interest Foundation.