By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Following the opening of its Austin office in July, Dykema has added intellectual property (IP) lawyer Victor Johnson to its Dallas office. Johnson becomes the 10th attorney to be added to one of Dykema’s Texas offices within the last year as the firm continues to strengthen its presence in the market.
Before joining Dykema, Johnson led the IP litigation and brand protection group at Yarbrough Law Group. He said he was drawn to Dykema because of its national footprint, strong commercial and IP litigation practice and the ability to offer cost-effective solutions to clients typically found only in small, boutique firms.
“With 13 strategically situated offices across the U.S. and a broader practice offering than at my previous firms, I will be able to grow my practice and offer my clients a one-stop shop for all their legal needs,” he said.
Johnson, who has worked on cases for clients such as Yahoo!, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Instruments and Travelocity.com, says one of the most notable cases he has worked on is when he represented BMC Software in a case involving the distribution of counterfeit software that was being sold for $10 that typically sold for more than $1 million.
“In that case we had obtained an order from the South District of Texas to execute civil search and seizure with the U.S. Marshalls in the Chicago area,” he said. “We executed the search on several locations simultaneously, and were not only able to locate the source code for the counterfeit goods but also shut down the illegal operation.”
Counterfeiting will continue to be a hot issue for years to come, Johnson said. Losses caused by counterfeit products to IP rights owners and local, state and federal government totals over $200 billion a year, he said.
“Despite significant improvements at our ports, fake products continue to be imported into the U.S. at record numbers,” he said. “This issue is not likely to change until consumer sentiment about the purchase of these goods changes and foreign governments take real measures to stop their manufacturing and exporting.”
For his clients, the cost of discovery, particularly e-discovery, has posed significant challenges to bringing cases to the courthouse.
“Technology has and is driving down these costs, but the bar and courts need to continue to work to find sensible solutions to this issue,” he concluded.
One of the biggest accomplishments for any trial lawyer, Johnson says, is the first time you get to stand up before a jury. For Johnson, it was the cross-examination of the CEO of a $500 million-a-year public company where Johnson and his legal team were alleging fraud.
His other career highlights include the relationships he’s developed with colleagues, young lawyers he has mentored and clients.
“The fact that clients continue to ask me for my advice and to represent them on their cases is a tremendous accomplishment,” he said.