Industry moves and mergers
Hope Shimabuku
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has sworn in Hope Shimabuku as the inaugural director of the Texas regional office. The USPTO has also announced that Molly Kocialski will assume the role of director of the Rocky Mountain regional office, based in Denver. With Kocialski’s appointment, all four of the USPTO’s regional offices now have directors in place.
Cameron Reuber
Boutique Leason Ellis has announced that Cameron Reuber and Joel Felber have been promoted from associate to partner. Reuber and Felber are the ninth and tenth partners at the firm.
Law firms Borenius and COBALT have completed their merger and now operate jointly under the name of COBALT. The merger creates a team of more than 180 attorneys and lawyers.
The International Trademark Association (INTA) has elected Ronald van Tuijl as its 2016 president. van Tuijl, who also becomes chair of INTA’s board of directors, is currently the IP director, trademarks, at JT International in Switzerland. Also taking office in 2016 are president-elect Joseph Ferretti of PepsiCo/Frito-Lay; Hearts On Fire Company’s Tish Berard; David Lossignol of Novartis Pharma; Ayala Deutsch of NBA Properties; Oracle Corporation’s Tiki Dare; and Maury Tepper, III of Tepper & Eyster.
Natalie S Rizkalla-Kamel has been admitted as a member at Gowling WLG. Specialising in all aspects of IP law, Rizkalla-Kamel focuses on contentious work and is a registered trademark agent in Canada.
Maureen Kinsler
David Ward
Maureen Kinsler has been appointed chairman of Marks & Clerk International, while David Ward has become managing partner of the firm’s UK patent and trademark attorney business. Both have been elected for three-year terms.
Cincinnati-based April L Besl has been named as a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl. Besl’s practice is focused on counselling clients with respect to trademarks, copyright, social media, internet law, advertising and trade secrets.
Bradley D Coburn
Dykema has announced the addition of Bradley D Coburn to its IP department as a member of the Austin office. Prior to joining Dykema, Coburn practised at Denko Coburn Lauff LLP and Fish and Richardson PC.
Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP and Christie, Parker & Hale LLP have combined to become Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie. The combined firm boasts nearly 300 lawyers across offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico
Fish & Richardson has announced that 14 attorneys have been named principals at the firm. The new principals in the IP litigation group are Ajit Dang and Ben Thompson (Atlanta); Caroline Simons (Boston); Michael Bittner (Dallas); Elizabeth Flanagan and Robert Oakes (Delaware); John Brinkmann, Michael Rueckheim and Brian Strand (Houston); Jason Zucchi (Twin Cities); and Adam Shartzer and Kevin Wheeler (Washington DC).
Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel has hired patent and trademark attorney Mario T Milano to join the firm’s Wilmington, Delaware office as an associate.
Justin Welch
Justin Welch, who joined Baker & McKenzie in May 2012, has been made a partner. Based in the firm’s Dallas office, he specialises in global trademark portfolio matters.
Brinks Gilson & Lione has elected eight new shareholders: Andrew J Avsec, Eric D Babych, Jacob C Bachman, Jeffrey J Catalano, Yuezhong Feng, Joshua S Frick, Jennifer Fox and Rashad L Morgan.
Jack A Wheat has joined McBrayer as a member. His practice specialises in trademark, copyright and patent infringement litigation, as well as trademark registration and maintenance.
Bardehle Pagenberg has announced the appointment of six new partners at its Munich and Milan offices. In Germany, Philipe Kutschke, Nadine Heiartz and Tobias Kaufmann have become partners; while in Italy, Gianluigi A Muscas, Matteo Casucci and Serena Tavolaro have been promoted.