Mintz Levin Opens San Diego Office
6/9/2006
Group of Attorneys from Fish & Richardson Join to Anchor New Office; Move Marks Second Major West Coast Expansion
June12, 2006 - Marking its second major West Coast move in as many months, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. - a full-service, 450-lawyer AmLaw 100 firm with offices throughout the U.S. and in the U.K. - announced it will open an office in San Diego, California.
A group of attorneys from Fish & Richardson - including the head of Fish's corporate and securities practice as well as the managing partner of its San Diego office - will join Mintz Levin to anchor the new location, further expanding the firm's corporate and securities, intellectual property, litigation and employment law practices.
The move comes on the heels of Mintz Levin's acquisition of the Reed Intellectual Property Law Group and the opening of a Palo Alto office, which marked the firm's first significant expansion to the West Coast and deepened already significant experience and expertise in the intellectual property and life sciences areas.
"Mintz Levin is committed to establishing a major presence on the West Coast," said Steven P. Rosenthal, the firm's co-managing member. "Opening our second California office in as many months underscores this commitment and will enable us to build on our strengths, enhance service to existing clients as well as present opportunities for us to attract new clients looking for a more substantive national platform."
"Like Palo Alto, San Diego has a vibrant life sciences, corporate, intellectual property and technology community, areas in which our firm has long been a leader," said Andrew R. Urban, co-managing member. "The talented attorneys joining to anchor our new office have a depth and breadth of experience in these exciting, fast growing industries, are well-established in the San Diego area and are an outstanding fit with our existing intellectual property, corporate, employment and litigation practices."
Joining Mintz Levin from Fish & Richardson as Members are: Eddie Wang Rodriguez, the head of the corporate and securities group at Fish & Richardson, Craig Hunsaker, the managing partner of Fish and Richardson's San Diego office, Lance Kurata, James Cleary, Carl Kukkonen and Of Counsel, Jeremy Hayden.
Also joining Mintz Levin's San Diego office from Fish & Richardson are several associates and Marketing Director David Salisbury.
Mr. Rodriguez' practice focuses on corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, venture financing and technology licensing and other transactional activities. He has represented clients in more than 200 mergers and acquisitions and numerous securities offerings in a wide range of industries.
Mr. Hunsaker has an extensive background representing clients in employment litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on trade secret and employee mobility issues. He has significant experience in cases involving the protection of proprietary information, non-compete agreements, claims of sexual harassment, gender, race, age and disability discrimination and wrongful termination. Mr. Hunsaker also regularly advises clients on personnel policies, wage/hour laws, EEOC compliance, mergers and acquisitions due diligence, strategic hiring, disciplining and firing employees, executive employment agreements, and reductions in force.
Mr. Kurata's practice focuses on intellectual property and technology licensing, strategic alliances and joint ventures. Over the course of his career, he has advised scores of companies - from public corporations to emerging growth companies - in industries including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, software, hardware, telecommunications and electronic commerce.
Mr. Cleary has significant experience in patent law, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, rendering of opinions on infringement and validity, licensing and due diligence investigations. He has represented clients in numerous industries, with a particular focus on electrical, software and medical technologies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Cleary was a senior test engineer for the United States Air Force Defense Dissemination Program.
Mr. Kukkonen represents clients in connection with patent prosecution, licensing, technology transfer and other transactional work. He has particular experience working with companies involved in Internet-based applications, nanotechnology, optical devices, software and telecommunications. Mr. Kukkonen also brings extensive experience in international intellectual property issues, having previously served as international counsel for a European intellectual property law firm.
Mr. Hayden's practice focuses on corporate and securities issues, including public and private equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, technology assignment and licensing transactions, corporate structuring and regulatory compliance.
One of the most active major law firms in the intellectual property and life science areas, Mintz Levin has more than 90 attorneys, scientists and other professionals focused on the protection, licensing and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The firm's roster of more than 400 intellectual property-related clients includes many of the most prominent names in the life sciences and technology industries including: StemCells Inc., Merck, 454 Life Sciences and Neuromolecular Pharmaceuticals Inc. The firm also represents a number of life sciences companies, including Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Inc., Curagen Corporation, OSI Pharmaceuticals and Qaigen, in other areas including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, and public and private financings.
On the corporate transaction side, Mintz Levin's completed more than $7 billion in corporate transactions on behalf of clients in 2005. The firm handled more than 60 merger and acquisition deals, totaling more than $2.7 billion; more than 20 public securities offerings, totaling nearly $4.4 billion; and 60 venture capital deals, totaling more than $485 million.
The firm's San Diego office is located temporarily at 9255 Towne Centre Drive. The permanent office will be in the new Paseo del Mar complex which is expected to be completed in 2007.
Mintz Levin is an AmLaw 100 law firm with offices in the US and the UK. The firm has exceptional depth in a broad range of practice areas, but our clients recognize that what sets us apart from other law firms is our industry focus. By truly understanding business drivers and industry trends, we are able to provide our clients with more than just legal advice. We provide legal solutions to our clients' business issues. Since 1933, our lawyers have represented entrepreneurs, emerging growth companies, government agencies, and leaders in primary industries that include Life Sciences/Biotechnology; Technology & Communications; Financial Services & Insurance; Healthcare; Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction; and Retail & Consumer Products. Our practical knowledge combined with our industry expertise enables us to provide our clients with enterprise legal advice that gives their business a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
