Law360 Names Keker, Van Nest & Peters's Robert Van Nest an IP Icon
When he was a little boy, Robert A. Van Nest knew he wanted to be a lawyer. The Prairie State native originally envisioned himself advocating for the positions of others, fighting for underdogs and defending righteous causes. But after working nearly two years in politics, the Harvard Law School graduate knew that wasn’t the right practice area for him, he says. Instead, he has spent decades representing high-profile clients in intellectual property litigation.
“Like every kid in Illinois, I admired Abraham Lincoln and I thought I’d be a lawyer in politics,” Van Nest said. “I actually worked in politics for two years and found it to be so, so distasteful I decided to be a trial lawyer, thinking that would be a lot better.”
Van Nest joined what came to be Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP as an associate in 1979, gaining trial experience in white collar and civil fraud cases for several years. By the end of the 1980s, technology companies were looking for attorneys who could not only be knowledgeable with the technical aspects of IP law, but who could also translate complex technology disputes for jurors in a trial setting.
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