IP Law Daily, LAW FIRM NEWS: Akerman LLP opens Chicago office with four IP partners, (Feb 4, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:Akerman, LLP | Hitachi, Ltd. | Mark Anderson, PA | U.S. Patent & Trademark Office | Ulmer & Berne, LLP
Akerman LLP, a top 100 law firm, opened a new office in Chicago with a team of four IP and four commercial litigation partners, previously with Ulmer & Berne, LLP, according to a February 3 announcement. The office is the firm’s 20th location in the U.S.
The Chicago team will broaden the firm’s work across the U.S. and internationally in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent and trade secret litigation; patent prosecution and counseling within the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors; entertainment, fashion, and sports industries; as well as the consumer electronic, microprocessor, and semiconductor sectors.
Michael Switzer will serve as co-chair of Akerman’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, along with Akerman partner Mark Passier from the West Palm Beach office. Switzer focuses his legal practice on intellectual property counseling, licensing, and litigation, with particular emphasis on medical devices and consumer electronics. He is a former patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and served as the first in-house U.S. patent counsel for Hitachi, Ltd. in Tokyo.
Also joining Akerman’s Chicago office as partners are intellectual property lawyers Mark Anderson, Stacy Baim, and Brian Bianco.
With a background in mechanical and design engineering, Anderson focuses his practice on intellectual property counseling, prosecution, and litigation for clients in the mechanical arts, electromechanical arts, and electrical arts. Baim has a diverse IP practice, representing clients within the technology sector in complex litigation and transactional matters involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition. Bianco focuses his practice on IP litigation, representing clients in matters before federal district courts throughout the U.S. He also counsels clients in the development and protection of IP.
Akerman LLP is a leading transactions and trial law firm with more than 600 lawyers and government affairs professionals and a network of 20 offices.
News: IndustryNewsTrends