of patent cases over the past several years, “and
we’ve had very favorable results in that regard.”
LITIGATION
Dacier and his senior team have managed several large suits during his tenure. Even when using
outside counsel, his approach is, “We are the generals, we are the ones leading the cases and setting
the strategy. No actions are taken, no decisions are
& Sutcliffe, Dacier achieved a settlement in EMC’s
favor to the tune of between $325 million and $425
million.
LEGAL TEAM AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL
Seventy attorneys comprise EMC’s worldwide legal
department, bolstered by a staff of 40. “Ninety-nine
percent” of the work is performed in-house by Daci-
er’s lawyers, whom he characterized as a “world-class
becoming GC in 1992, vice president the following
year and senior VP in 2000. He joined as the firm’s
sole lawyer. From 1984 to 1990, he practiced as a
corporate attorney, then senior counsel, for Apollo
Computer Inc.
From the first day I walked in the door, I realized
I have to know the business.”
made or strategies implemented unless they are set
either by me or my lawyers.”
A dispute with Hewlett-Packard Co., beginning
in 2000, evolved victoriously for EMC. EMC sued
StorageApps Inc., a company that had hired away
EMC personnel who allegedly took with them trade
secrets and violated noncompete clauses. EMC
also accused StorageApps of patent infringement,
won in a jury trial and got injunctions involving
several other matters. In September 2002, Hewlett-
Packard, having acquired StorageApps, sued EMC
in U.S. district court in San Jose, Calif., for patent
infringement. Three hours later, EMC countersued
in federal court in Massachusetts. The case was
litigated in San Jose and dismissed in Massachu-
setts. With Chris R. Ottenweller of Orrick, Herrington
law firm” made up of experts in various disciplines.
He said he would “put his lawyers up against the
best on Wall Street.”
The retention of outside counsel is a “rarity,” but
several firms form the “A-team” that Dacier sum-
mons when necessary. New York’s Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom; Cleary Gottlieb Steen &
Hamilton; Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker; Orrick,
Herrington & Sutcliffe; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
and Dorr; and “a couple of European firms” get the
call. The department has an operating budget of
$25 million, but “we bring in more than we spend
on the legal side.”
PERSONAL
Native Bostonian Dacier and his wife, Kim, are the
parents of Jessica, Brittany and John. He describes
himself as a “lifelong” landscaper who takes great
pride in his lawn. Dacier is proud of several exhila-
rating experiences at EMC. On the lawsuit front, he
said, he has faced “some of the biggest players
in the world, and they have met their match with
me.”
Dacier has participated in every major EMC trans-
action, deal or agreement. And he has seen the firm
exceed a market cap of $33 billion, in contrast to
less than $200 million when he arrived.
A BOOK AND MOVIE:
Company Man, by Joseph Finder, and The Pink
Panther.
—ROGER ADLER
ROUTE TO THE TOP
Dacier joined EMC in 1990 as corporate counsel,
An earlier version of this profile appeared in The
National Law Journal on March 13, 2006.
