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Germany has been hosting a game of musical chairs this past month or
so, with a number of people switching roles and firms. First, Allen
& Overy has hired partner Jens Matthes (far right) from Linklaters
to lead its German IP team. Matthes, who had managed Linklaters' German
IP practice since 2008, will join A&O's Dusseldorf office. He
specialises in trade marks, design and patents, and also has experience
in competition and licensing.
Second, US litigation specialist Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &
Sullivan has launched a second office in Germany after hiring Nadine
Herrmann (centre) from Allen & Overy. Herrmann, an IP and
competition partner, will be joined in a new Hamburg office by a team of
10 A&O lawyers and staff, including six associates.
And finally, Cologne-based Matthias Koch (left) has been named
as the new global practice group leader for Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer's IP/IT practice. Koch, who specialises in both litigation and
transactional work, will succeed Klaus Becher, previously incumbent
since 2006. Koch, who became a partner in 2002, assumed his new position
on May 1.
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Americas
Oblon Spivak McClelland Maier & Neustadt has boosted its
post-grant patent practice team with the addition of Michael Kiklis from
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Article One Partners has recruited Peter Vanderheyden as its
chief product officer. Vanderheyden joins the company from LexisNexis,
where he was vice president and managing director, global IP solutions.
Commercial litigator Edwin Baum has joined Crowell & Moring
from Proskauer Rose. Alan Howard, who handles domestic and international
litigation and arbitration cases, also joins the firm from Dewey &
LeBoeuf.
Neal Gerber & Eisenberg's IP practice group has increased its
patent capabilities with the addition of six patent attorneys, including
three partners. Partners Adam Masia and Holby Abern and associate Kevin
Cukierski joined Neal Gerber Eisenberg in April from K&L Gates.
Partner Michael Harlin and associates Kevin O'Connor and Thomas Campbell
joined the firm from McAndrews Held & Malloy.
DLA Piper has added Joseph Lavelle from Dewey & LeBoeuf as a partner in its intellectual property and technology practice and patent litigation group.
Weil Gotshal & Manges has added five partners from Dewey & LeBoeuf, including IP attorney John Brockland.
IP litigator Hopkins Guy has joined Baker Botts as a partner in the
firm's Palo Alto office. Guy, who was previously a partner of Orrick
Herrington & Sutcliffe, is based in Silicon Valley.
Kirkland & Ellis has expanded its IP group with the addition of
four IP partners from Kaye Scholer. Leora Ben-Ami, Thomas Fleming,
Patricia Carson and Christopher Jagoe have joined the firm's New York
office.
Litigator Robert Parker, who specialises in intellectual property
and international trade matters, has joined Baker & McKenzie as a
partner from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Asia
President Myung-bak Lee has appointed a new Commissioner, Kim
Ho-won, to head the Korea Intellectual Property Office. His previous
roles in the Korean government include deputy minister for regulatory
reform, standing commissioner of the Korea Trade Commission, and
director general of the Industrial Technology Bureau. See page 69 for an
exclusive interview with him.
Kam Law has joined the Hong Kong office of Squire Sanders from
Jones Day. Law is a US-qualified patent lawyer and Hong Kong solicitor.
His practice focuses on trade mark and patent prosecution.
Nguyen Duc Hieu has joined Phuoc & Partners' Hanoi office from
Rouse Legal. Hieu's practice focuses on enforcement of trade marks,
designs, copyright and unfair competition.
Europe
Avidity IP has hired senior attorney Scott Roberts from IBM. Roberts will head up the firm’s electronics, telecoms and computer science team from its Reading office.