Global IP head quits CC as Palo Alto folds

•Clifford Chance has lost global head of IP Daniel Harris following the closure of the Palo Alto outpost. Harris was set to relocate to the firm's 47-lawyer office in Washington DC, but decided to stay in California to pursue various options. A Clifford Chance spokeswoman confirmed Harris's departure, but stressed the importance of the IP practice to the magic circle firm. Clifford Chance had kept up a nameplate presence in Palo Alto, but announced the office closure in February. A spate of defections and the offloading of the firm's eight-partner San Francisco office had reduced Clifford Chance to a single partner, Harris.