Dissolution, Law Firm Mergers, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, Morgan & Finnegan

Nationwide Dissolution Watch: Locke Lord Locks Down Morgan & Finnegan Laterals

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Last week we brought you news of an impending partner defection from Morgan & Finnegan to Locke Lord. Today, Locke Lord made it official. A press release from Locke Lord heralds the bad news for Morgan & Finnegan:

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, a full-service national law firm of approximately

700 attorneys, announces that more than 30 lawyers previously with New York-based Morgan &

Finnegan are joining Locke Lord. Morgan & Finnegan was one of the oldest and most well regarded Intellectual Property law firms in the country. The attorneys include 13 Partners and

the previous members of Morgan & Finnegan’s Executive Committee.

This move more than doubles the size of Locke Lord’s New York office to about 50 attorneys and

leads to Locke Lord opening a San Francisco office – the Firm’s 13th office and its third in

California (Los Angeles, Sacramento and now San Francisco). Morgan & Finnegan was in

existence more than 115 years and was well-known for providing well-rounded IP services

including IP litigation, patent and trademark prosecution and IP counseling and advice.

Notice the interesting use of the word “was?” “Morgan & Finnegan was in existence more than 115 years …”

Does Locke Lord know something that has not yet been announced to the general public? Or are they just parroting the obvious along with everybody else?

Read the full press release after the jump.

Earlier: Nationwide Dissolution Watch: Morgan & Finnegan?


LOCKE LORD BISSELL & LIDDELL — PRESS RELEASE

Sponsored

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, a full-service national law firm of approximately

700 attorneys, announces that more than 30 lawyers previously with New York-based Morgan &

Finnegan are joining Locke Lord. Morgan & Finnegan was one of the oldest and most well regarded Intellectual Property law firms in the country. The attorneys include 13 Partners and

the previous members of Morgan & Finnegan’s Executive Committee.

This move more than doubles the size of Locke Lord’s New York office to about 50 attorneys and

Sponsored

leads to Locke Lord opening a San Francisco office – the Firm’s 13th office and its third in California (Los Angeles, Sacramento and now San Francisco). Morgan & Finnegan was in

existence more than 115 years and was well-known for providing well-rounded IP services

including IP litigation, patent and trademark prosecution and IP counseling and advice.

The successful recruitment of these high-caliber attorneys follows a year-plus strategic growth

plan for Locke Lord. In October 2007, Texas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp combined with

Chicago-based Lord Bissell & Brook. In February 2008, the Firm opened a Boston office – its

12th. Since the combination and before this announcement, Locke Lord had brought on 32

laterals in its offices around the country. In the last quarter of 2008, to better assist clients deal

with the country’s economic and environmental challenges, the Firm also created a national

Troubled Asset Relief Program Group and a national Climate Change Team.

“These lawyers are among the highest quality attorneys with outstanding reputations in the IP

world,” said Jerry Clements, Chair of Locke Lord. “I regard them as the finest group of patent

and trademark litigators in the country. They will bring increased breadth and depth to our

already strong IP group, and position us as a recognized national leader in this practice area.

This also allows Locke Lord to better serve all of our clients by having an even larger presence in

New York City — the nation’s financial capital.”

Some of the Partners coming to Locke Lord from the former Morgan & Finnegan firm include:

• John F. Sweeney, who has been involved in patent, trade secret and trademark litigation

since 1973. He has been selected as one of the Leaders in Their Field by Chambers USA;

appears in the Guide to the World’s Leading Patent Law Experts; is one of a select number

of attorneys named to The Best of the Best USA 2008 in the field of patent law; and is

included in The Best Lawyers of America.

• Harry C. Marcus, who has more than 40 years of experience representing and counseling

Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies. He has appeared in federal district courts throughout the United States, litigated at the International Trade Commission, and

successfully argued in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on numerous occasions. He is

recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and by Super Lawyers and has been

consistently rated by Martindale Hubbell as a top ranked attorney.

• James W. Gould, who focuses his practice on intellectual property and related litigation

including patents, trade secrets, antitrust, unfair competition and taxation, with a particular

emphasis on patent damages. He has extensive trial experience, including jury trials in

state and federal courts, and has successfully argued appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals

for the Seventh Circuit and Federal Circuit. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers and

has an AV Peer Review Rating by Martindale Hubbell.

• Matthew K. Blackburn, who will manage the Firm’s San Francisco office, and whose practice

is focused on providing service to medical products companies regarding patents, including

U.S. District Court and appellate litigation, pre-litigation counseling, as well as patent

procurement and other proceedings before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

• William S. Feiler, who has a diverse domestic and international intellectual property law

practice that includes antitrust, trade regulation, domestic and international patent

procurement, trademark, licensing and complex high technology litigation. He has extensive

trial experience and has been lead counsel in a number of interferences before the U.S.

Patent and Trademark Office.

• Peter N. Fill, who is involved in patent litigation in the United States courts and in patent

prosecution in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has worked on a variety of patent

litigation, prosecution and opinion matters, primarily in the electrical arts

• Steven F. Meyer, who focuses his practice in patent litigation in the U.S. District Courts,

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and U.S. International Trade Commission, and in

prosecuting patent applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He litigates,

prosecutes and renders opinions in patent matters for American and foreign clients,

primarily in the mechanical and medical devices fields

Locke Lord is pleased that also among the lawyers joining the Firm are David Kane, Siegrun

Kane and Alan M. Sack – long-time leaders in trademark law who are well-known and well respected for their legal acumen. In addition, joining as Partners are Seth Atlas, Robert

Goethals, James Hwa, John Osborne, Richard Straussman and Andrea Wayda.

“Locke Lord remains committed to bringing on talented and well-respected attorneys who can

best support our clients in the present and the future,” Clements said. “We feel fortunate these

outstanding attorneys have agreed to join Locke Lord. We share the same work ethic, culture

and, above all, commitment to client success. The opportunities are tremendous.”

John Sweeney, who was Managing Partner of the former Morgan & Finnegan, said he and his

peers look forward to the opportunities of joining a major law firm. “Many of us have worked

together for years and wanted to continue practicing together. We talked to many different firms,

but Locke Lord stood out for its entrepreneurial and forward-thinking attitude, as well as its desire

to grow the IP practice and New York office. We looked at the quality of its attorneys, we were in

awe of what Locke Lord has accomplished in one short year and we felt like we shared the same

agenda,” he said. “In short, we are extremely enthused about the prospects ahead and what we

can accomplish together.”

Locke Lord has signed a lease in the Three World Financial Center for space previously

occupied by Morgan & Finnegan. This will become Locke Lord’s combined New York office.

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington,D.C. With a vast geographic scope, and a national reputation in complex litigation, regulatory and transactional work, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell is focused on achieving client success as a team. Among Locke Lord’s many strong practice areas are appellate, aviation, corporate, class action litigation, employee benefits, energy, environmental, financial services, health care, insurance and reinsurance industries, intellectual property, labor and employment, public law, real estate, REIT, tax and technology.

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