IP Law Daily, LAW FIRM NEWS: Firms expand IP practices with new hires, new offices, (May 11, 2022)

By WK Editorial Staff

Several firms have announced the expansion their IP practices in recent weeks.

Fox Rothschild opened an office in Boston with a new group of IP attorneys and Norton Rose Fulbright expanded into the Chicago market with an 11-lawyer team focused on technology transactions, intellectual property, and employment law. Several firms have recently expanded their IP practices by snagging IP practitioners from other firms, while Hush Blackwell hired a former USPTO Director’s chief of staff.

Fox Rothschildannounced that it has opened an office in Boston with a team of intellectual property lawyers and professionals, including Pete Corless (partner), Nicholas A. Zachariades, Ph.D., (counsel), Joohee Lee, Ph.D. (associate) and Michael Mattoni, Ph.D. (patent agent). The group joins from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Corless, a former synthetic organic chemist for E.I. DuPont de Nemours Co., Medical Products Department, prepares, prosecutes, and manages extensive patent and trademark portfolios on behalf of companies and academic institutions located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Zachariades, who holds a doctoral degree in cellular immunology/virology from Emory University, has more than 18 years of experience in patent drafting, patent prosecution, freedom-to-operate, validity and invalidity opinions, patentability options, infringement options, licensing, due diligence, and patentability assessments in cutting-edge biomedical technologies. Lee holds a doctoral degree in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and completed her post-doctoral research in the Department of Chemistry at Yale University. Her areas of focus include chemistry, biochemistry, fuel cells, batteries, materials science, chemical devices, chemical engineering, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Mattoni earned his doctoral degree in materials engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is experienced in a variety of technology areas, including mechanical, electrical, and medical devices; metallurgical compositions; functional coatings; energy storage; software; and structural materials.

Norton Rose Fulbright had announced the opening of an office in Chicago with an 11-lawyer team focused on technology transactions, intellectual property, projects and employment law. The group includes partners Andrew Cripe, Daniel Farris, Sameer Ghaznavi, Christopher Hines, and Joe McClendon; senior counsel Mary Kathryn Curry; senior associate Francesca Cardillo; associates Erica Cook, Alex Katsulis, Nidhi Narielwala, and Meghan Tierney, and two paralegals. Farris, Hines, McClendon, Cardillo, Cook, Katsulis, Narielwala, and Tierney join from K&L Gates. Farris, who served as a chair of K&L Gates' technology transactions and data protection practice group, advises both technology and tech-enabled companies on transactional, privacy and compliance issues, including software-as-a-service, data center operations, fiber optic networking, cloud computing, information governance, emerging technologies, and data security. Hines counsels high-tech companies on the development of intellectual property assets, focusing on acquiring and managing patent portfolios in a variety of industries. A former IT professional, McClendon advises clients on a variety of technology transactions and privacy and data security issues. Coming from DLA Piper, Ghaznavi joins the firm's world-leading projects practice. Cripe and Curry arrive from Polsinelli, with decades of experience in employment and labor law

Former Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Brendan McCommas has joined Husch Blackwell as senior counsel for the firm’s Intellectual Property practice and Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry group, the firm said. Based in Washington, D.C., McCommas focuses his practice on complex intellectual property disputes involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, licensing, and trade secrets. As principal advisor to the USPTO Director, McCommas participated in briefing and argument preparation for numerous cases at the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court, including WesternGeco v. Ion Geophysical, Oil States v. Greene’s Energy Co., and SAS Institute v. Iancu. He also helped manage major policy projects, including the USPTO’s 2019 Section 101 Guidance and numerous rules governing the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

DLA Piper has expanded its Intellectual Property & Technology practice with the arrival of Melissa Harwood, Ph.D., as partner in the firm’s Seattle office, the firm announced. Harwood will be part of the Patent Prosecution subgroup. Harwood focuses her practice on strategic intellectual property counseling as well as patent due diligence for partnering deals, venture financings, public offerings, and mergers & acquisitions. Her practice also encompasses strategic patent counseling for clients in the biotechnology, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, including patent portfolio development and management, opinion preparation, and patentability, non-infringement, and freedom-to-operate analyses. Harwood also has extensive experience litigating patent matters in federal court and before the USPTO, including inter partes review and reexamination proceedings.

WilmerHale has welcomed IP and commercial litigator Joshua H. Lerner as a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. Lerner frequently serves as lead counsel for some of the world’s leading technology companies in trade secret, class action, and commercial litigation in federal and state courts around the country. His litigation experience also includes high stakes trademark, patent, and founder disputes. Lerner draws not only on his law firm experience but also in-house counsel experience at a large biotechnology company to counsel clients in achieving their goals.

Crowell & Moring has added seasoned litigator Jason P. Stiehl as a partner in its Litigation and Technology & Brand Protection groups in Chicago. The firm opened a Chicago office in July 2021 after combining with Brinks, Gilson & Lione. Stiehl brings more than two decades of experience representing companies in commercial litigation matters, trials, and consumer class actions in state and federal courts, with a particular focus on corporate espionage, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and brand protection. Stiehl has represented major corporations in class action suits involving consumer fraud, false advertising, and mislabeling matters. Stiehl also has trial experience in numerous trade secret and restrictive covenant cases.

Lewis Roca has announced that Brian G. Arnold has joined the firm as a Partner and member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Arnold represents clients in IP negotiation, licensing, and litigation throughout the United States. Arnold has decades of experience litigating before federal district courts and appellate courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Arnold also represents companies in patent litigation and other IP matters across numerous industries and technologies. Arnold has been recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America in Patent Litigation in 2022 and Intellectual Property Litigation since 2021.

In April, K&L Gateswelcomed Collin Rose as a partner in the IP Procurement and Portfolio Management practice group, located in the firm’s Houston office. Rose joins from Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, PC, where he was chair of the intellectual property and technology & IP transactions practices. Rose has more than two decades of experience in counseling clients through structuring and negotiating commercial IP agreements, including joint ventures, strategic alliances, licenses, collaborations, and other commercial agreements. He has extensive experience in the energy, HVAC, manufacturing, chemical, semiconductor, medical device/treatment, software, and computer technology industries.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed recently announced that Andrew Kopsidas has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the Intellectual Property and International Trade practices. Kopsidas has handled patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property matters in the Federal Circuit, the USPTO, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and U.S. district courts in dozens of states. He has litigated cases involving autonomous vehicles, internet applications, microprocessors, telecommunications networks and standards, mobile technology, digital signal processing, and various software. Kopsidas spent 21 years at Fish & Richardson P.C., where he was a principal. He also has a background in aerospace and electric engineering.

Cozen O’Conner has announced that litigation attorney Noelle Engle-Hardy has joined the North America Intellectual Property Group in the firm’s Toronto office. Engle-Hardy comes to Cozen O’Connor from Smart & Biggar LLP, where she worked in the firm’s trademark, copyright, industrial design, and litigation practice groups. She focuses her IP practice on trademarks, copyright, digital media, industrial design, marketing and advertising, trade secrets, and patents—guiding start-ups and Fortune 500 enterprises alike through a range of complex legal issues related to the acquisition, licensing, and protection of IP.

Akerman LLP has expanded its Intellectual Property Practice Group with the addition of IP litigator Jeffrey Toney as a partner in Atlanta. In addition to patent and trade secret claims, Toney litigates complex commercial disputes for pharmaceutical, medical device, chemical, and technology companies addressing business and technology issues arising from the design and manufacturing of products, most notably pharmaceutical delivery systems and medical devices. Toney also counsels clients in connection with regulatory matters, including matters before the FDA, EPA, and USDA, as well as their corresponding international agencies. Toney also has 25 years of experience in international arbitration matters.

Cleary Gottlieb has announced that intellectual property, technology transactions, and privacy practitioner Marcela Robledo will join the firm as a partner in its newly opened San Francisco office in June. Robledo’s practice focuses on technology transactions and advising public and private clients across industries on the IP, privacy, and cybersecurity aspects of corporate matters. Her experience includes advising leading technology companies and video game developers on licensing agreements, strategic partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions. Robledo joins from Baker McKenzie.

Attorneys: Peter A. Corless, Nicholas A. Zachariades, Joohee Lee, and Michael Mattoni, (Fox Rothschild LLP). Andrew Cripe, Daniel Farris, Sameer Ghaznavi, Christopher Hines, Joe McClendon, Mary Kathryn Curry, Francesca Cardillo, Erica Cook, Alex Katsulis, Nidhi Narielwala, and Meghan Tierney (Norton Rose Fulbright). Brendan McCommas (Husch Blackwell LLP). Melissa Harwood (DLA Piper). Joshua H. Lerner (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP). Jason P. Stiehl (Crowell & Moring LLP). Brian G. Arnold (Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP). Jeffrey J. Toney (Akerman LLP). Collin A. Rose (K&L Gates, LLP). Noelle Engle-Hardy (Cozen O’Connor LLP). Marcela Robledo (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP).

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