By Anna Louie Sussman

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Former Federal Circuit judge Arthur Gajarsa will join the Boston office of WilmerHale as senior counsel in the intellectual property litigation practice, the firm announced Tuesday.

Gajarsa, who was appointed by former president Bill Clinton, retired from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in June 2012, after 15 years on the bench.

The Federal Circuit is unique among the appeals courts in having national jurisdiction over a variety of subject areas, including patent and trademark cases as well as international trade.

Prior to joining the court in 1997, Gajarsa was a corporate litigator and partner in the firm Joseph, Gajarsa, McDermott and Reiner in Washington, where he also represented Native American interests.

Early in Gajarsa's career, he worked as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce. He also worked at the Department of Defense and at the Department of the Interior as a special counsel to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Gajarsa said he was drawn to patent work in the 1960s because it was "at the cutting edge of the law."

WilmerHale has a thousand lawyers in 14 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Its IP litigation practice has over 140 lawyers and technology specialists and handles cases in district courts, the Federal Circuit and the United States International Trade Commission.

Lisa Pirozzolo, co-chair of WilmerHale's IP litigation practice, said Gajarsa would advise the firm's trial and appellate teams and "provide insights that may be unique to someone who's been on the federal bench for a long time."

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