SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C. ("Stradling") announced today that Stephen Kong has joined the firm as a Shareholder, where he will be based out of the firm's Santa Monica office. Mr. Kong will continue to focus his practice on technology transactions and intellectual property licensing.

"Stephen has terrific experience in the digital, entertainment and consumer products spaces, where he was most recently Senior Corporate Counsel for Sony PlayStation," says David Lafitte, Shareholder and Director at Stradling. "The firm continues to expand its presence in the digital entertainment and media space and Stephen makes a terrific addition to our growing team in Santa Monica."

Mr. Kong's specific practice emphasizes patent and trademark licensing and transactions, general technology transactions, content licensing and streaming, IP support for corporate M&A and financing deals, and open source counseling. Mr. Kong has represented clients in various industries including consumer electronics, e-commerce, semiconductor, aerospace, retail and food and beverage.

Prior to joining Stradling, Mr. Kong was Senior Corporate Counsel for Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.  While at Sony PlayStation, he was the lead attorney for the US R&D and Strategic Business Development Groups for the Sony entity responsible for Sony PlayStation matters in North and Latin America.

He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1995 and received his B.A. from the University of California at San Diego in 1992.

While Mr. Kong will be based in Santa Monica, he will spend part of his time working out of the firm's San Francisco office to facilitate his traditional Silicon Valley practice.

About Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Stradling is one of California's leading business law firms with more than 100 attorneys practicing in 6 offices including Newport Beach, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Monica. The corporate department is engaged in the full spectrum of public and private mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity transactions of all sizes. The group's clients include emerging and high-growth public and private companies as well as private equity funds and venture capital groups. The firm has been widely recognized for its expertise, responsiveness and outstanding client service. Stradling has been recently recognized by U.S. News in its Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" rankings as well as Chambers and Partners.

Contact:

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
Samantha McDermott
(949) 725-4000
www.sycr.com

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SOURCE Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C.