Posts Tagged: "Attorneys"

Do you sometimes feel unsure of yourself when speaking to a client or making a presentation?   Anyone who answered no is not being honest.   We all feel insecure at certain times; that is human.   It is impossible to know everything or anticipate every possible question.  You can be more effective with clients and colleagues if you follow a few simple rules when dealing with situations where you are not 100% certain.

Attorneys have stressful jobs and many turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication to relax.   Problem drinking is much higher for attorneys than for the public.   Attorneys with a drinking problem are more prone to malpractice complaints and ethical violations.   This article discusses why drinking by lawyers is a big concern and how you might address it.

Do you feel fatigued by the long hours, demanding clients and little sleep?   At points in our careers, many lawyers feel like they don’t have a life and that their work defines them.   This is understandable given the demands of the job and the high fees clients pay for legal services.   Yet, you must find ways to recharge and maintain your momentum for the work… Successful people stay focused and attack the challenge at hand, while enjoying family, friends and their surroundings. This is difficult to achieve if you are too tired and bored with your job. You can develop ways to supercharge your career and make certain that you are on the path to continued success and happiness for the long-term.

A trio of experienced patent partners and their team are making the move to Womble Carlyle’s new Boston office.  Danielle Herritt, Deborah Vernon, Ph.D., and Cristin Cowles, Ph.D., and their team, join an established Womble department of more than 70 intellectual property attorneys in all areas of patent, trademark, copyright and related litigation and transactions.  The firm, a larger general practice business firm, was established more than 140 years ago.

On NJ October 3, 2017, Hill Wallack LLP announced that they welcomed Richard A. Catalina, Jr. as a partner in the firm’s Princeton, N.J. office. Mr. Catalina is the partner in charge of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group and is a member of firm’s Life Sciences practice group. Mr. Catalina is a registered patent attorney (45,372) and Certified Licensing Professional™.

The law firm Adams and Reese LLP is enhancing its intellectual property team with the addition of Michael Bednarek to its Washington, D.C. office. Bednarek joins as partner and is a member of the firm’s well-established global Intellectual Property (IP) practice.

Burns & Levinson announced that Peter McLaughlin, a highly respected cybersecurity and data privacy attorney, has joined the firm as a partner in its rapidly expanding Intellectual Property (IP) Group. McLaughlin has nearly 20 years of experience advising U.S. and international clients on their handling of corporate and personal information and complying with cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection standards. He was previously of counsel with DLA Piper in Boston. 

Dr. Kirsten Grüneberg and Eric Myers are pleased to announce the launch of a new international patent firm, Grüneberg and Myers PLLC. The attorneys both formerly practiced at Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt LLP, where Grüneberg was head of European Practice. They are forming the firm with a former Oblon colleague, Dr. Richard Chinn, a chemical patent attorney.

Law firm partners are no longer safe in their positions once they attain equity partnership.   That security is a thing of the past.   If you are a law firm partner, I provide below 7 questions that you can answer that will help you determine if you are about to be de-equitized. This article discusses how to determine whether you are at risk of losing your partnership interest and if so, some steps to strengthen your position.   My next article will give you ways to protect yourself should you be in a situation where your equity partnership share could be taken away.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney announces that Matthew L. Fedowitz has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property section as a shareholder in the firm’s Alexandria office. Fedowitz focuses his practice on helping clients in the pharmaceutical, life science and medical device fields with strategic patent portfolio development and patent prosecution, litigation in federal district court and inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Winston & Strawn LLP is pleased to announce that Esha Bandyopadhyay and Nimalka Wickramasekera have joined the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice as partners in the Silicon Valley and Los Angeles offices, respectively. Esha joins the firm from Turner Boyd and Nimalka from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she and Esha previously worked together.

Womble Carlyle continues to grow by expanding into Boston effective September 1. The office initially will provide intellectual property and other services to clients in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, and related industries. Longtime Womble Carlyle IP partner and practice group leader Sarah Keefe will serve as Office Managing Partner.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon expands its growing Intellectual Property Practice with the addition of leading IP attorney Sharon A. Israel. Israel advocates for clients in rapidly evolving industries including wireless communications systems and devices, consumer electronics, medical devices, oilfield services and others… Israel is a Chambers USA ranked IP litigation attorney who represents clients in intellectual property cases before district and appellate courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. She is a past President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, past Chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section for the State Bar of Texas, and past President of the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association. She currently serves on the Council for the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association.

Giving a lawyer a critique of their work can be difficult. Yet, you cannot improve lawyer performance or achieve quality work product goals without providing feedback. In this article, I will share with you some of the things that I have learned about giving effective feedback in my years of managing lawyers with staff sizes ranging from 10 to over 2,000.

Orrick announced that L. Scott Oliver has joined the firm, adding another seasoned first-chair trial lawyer to Orrick’s top-ranking IP bench. Scott, who joins from K&L Gates, will be based in Orrick’s Silicon Valley office.