Womble Carlyle Standridge & Rice, a national law firm headed in Maryland by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., has signed a lease to move its state offices from Linthicum to downtown Baltimore within the next two months, commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said Wednesday.

The firm has signed a lease for 17,737 square feet at 250 W. Pratt St., a 24-story, 368,194-square-foot office building owned by Behringer Harvard Funds.

"We are thrilled to have such a prestigious law firm choose 250 W. Pratt Street as its Maryland office location," Tim Jackson, a broker with Cushman & Wakefield, said in a news release. "We look forward to working with Womble Carlyle as they continue to growth their practice in Baltimore."

Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

In addition to Jackson, Cushman & Wakefield brokers T. Courtenay Jenkins and Whitney M. Nye represented Behringer Harvard in the deal. Andy Andrews, a broker with Colliers Pinkard, represented Womble Carlyle.

The lease brings 250 W. Pratt St. to a 95 percent occupancy, leaving just 16,000 square feet vacant. Jenkins said the asking rent for that space ranges from $27.50 to $28.50.

The deal partially offsets plans by another law firm, Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, to move its offices from 250 W. Pratt St. to 25 S. Charles St. The firm, which needs about 60,000 square feet, plans to move in April 2008.

http://www.wcsr.com

Boutique technology law firm Daniels Daniels & Verdonik, whose members were major players during the go-go, dot-com years, is closing shop and will be absorbed into the Raleigh outpost of New Bern-based Ward and Smith.

Founded in 1982, DD&V was well known among the local entrepreneurial intelligentsia, with clients including Etrials Worldwide Inc., EMC Corp. and StrikeIron Inc. The shop's offerings included corporate and tax law, structuring venture financing deals and patent and copyright work.

DD&V always has been a small firm, with its attorney roster maxing out at eight a few years ago. But after losing a couple of attorneys to Hutchison Law Group in the spring, DD&V's roster dwindled to just four lawyers, including name partners Walter Daniels, Linda Markus Daniels and Jim Verdonik.

"Daniels Daniels & Verdonik is a specialized firm with exceptionally knowledgeable attorneys who will strengthen our firm's full service capabilities," says Ward and Smith co-managing director Kenneth R. Wooten.

Partners at DD&V believe size will benefit the lawyers as well as the clients.

"We chose to combine with Ward and Smith to utilize their talented group of attorneys to provide additional resources to our clients," says Verdonik. "We are excited about this combination, and we look forward to continuing to serve the technology community with a wider range of services and a much deeper team."

Keith Kapp, who leads Williams Mullen Maupin Taylor's Raleigh office, sees benefits of the merger for DD&V.

"It would make good business sense and would better serve clients to be able to offer multiple specialties," says Kapp, who helped shepherd Raleigh-based Maupin Taylor through its recent merger with Virginia firmWilliams Mullen earlier this year.

Walter Daniels, a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and wife Linda operated the firm as Daniels & Daniels for years. That changed in 2003, when tech and securities maven Verdonik jumped ship from Kilpatrick Stockton to join them.

In addition to the Danielses and Verdonik, intellectual property lawyer Jose Cortina works at DD&V.

The four lawyers are in the process of moving to Ward and Smith, which opened a Raleigh office in 1990. Excluding the DD&V crew, Ward and Smith's downtown Raleigh office has about 20 employees, including attorneys and support staff.

While specialization can have its advantages, DD&V was hamstrung by its size and practice limitations - especially after Caroline Horton Rockafellow and Amalie Tuffin departed the firm in March to join competitor Hutchison Law Group. A major chunk of DD&V's clientele is aspiring technology companies. They have the potential to soar to the moon, but many flame out on the launch pad.

Law firms can get burned along the way, notching plenty of billable hours working for a client that ends up not being able to pay because it encounters financial difficulty. Having to kiss a lot of frogs in order to find a prince is a better proposition at a bigger firm, which can weather tough times because it has other revenue-generating practice areas to fall back on.

A small firm such as DD&V also can be at a disadvantage because larger competitors can offer clients a wider diversity of services. For instance, DD&V competitors such as Smith Anderson and Wyrick Robbins Yates and Ponton both have dozens of lawyers and more practice areas, allowing clients to have much of their legal work taken care of under one roof. Hutchison Law Group has a niche similar to DD&V but is much bigger, having grown to 24 attorneys since its founding in 1996.

After the DD&V lawyers move over, Ward and Smith will have more than 70 attorneys and north of 200 support staff combined in Greenville, New Bern, Wilmington and Raleigh.

"With established offices in Wilmington and Greenville, two growing technology centers in eastern North Carolina, Ward and Smith will also expand the geographic reach of our technology practice," says Verdonik.

http://www.d2vlaw.com

Duane Morris said Thursday it has officially opened law offices in Vietnam's two principal cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The expansion plans were originally revealed as the Philadelphia-based law firm announced the opening of a Singapore office in late December.

As with Singapore, the Vietnam effort will be led by Duane Morris partner and former Mexican Ambassador to Singapore Eduardo Ramos-Gómez.

The Vietnam offices will be staffed with three lawyers and focus on the areas of corporate finance, project finance, energy, cross-border transactions, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and telecommunications. The firm's Asia-based lawyers service clients in, or with interests in, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The office and staff are fluent in the major languages of those countries.

Sheldon Bonovitz, chairman of Duane Morris, said Vietnam has thriving manufacturing, information technology and high-tech industries and a heavy investment concentration from Singapore and other countries in Asia, as well as from the United States. In addition, Bonovitz said Vietnam's accession to membership in the World Trade Organization in January promises further economic development in the future.

http://www.duanemorris.com

Foley Hoag LLP announced that well-known patent litigator Donald R. Ware became chair of the firm's expanded Intellectual Property Group and Dana Gordon, a registered patent attorney and scientist, became deputy chair.

The reorganized and expanded IP Group combines several historically strong disciplines in the firm and brings them under one umbrella. The IP Group, comprised of over 80 professionals, includes lawyers, scientists, engineers, medical doctors and other practitioners experienced in patent prosecution, patent litigation, technology transfer, IP due diligence and strategies, copyright and trademark prosecution, and trade secret litigation.

"We know our clients want efficiency, responsiveness, and a broad knowledge of cutting-edge technology issues. They want their lawyers to be immersed in their business and industry and to understand all aspects of their intellectual property needs, " said Donald R. Ware, chair of the practice. "Our multi-disciplinary approach allows us to serve our clients in a more powerful and synergistic way."

"The breadth and depth of our IP Group allow us to help clients shape an intellectual property strategy to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace," said deputy chair Dana M. Gordon. "That capability is particularly important in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, areas in which we are deeply rooted."

Don, also a former member of the firm's Executive Committee, specializes in biomedical patent litigation including recombinant DNA, monoclonal antibodies, small molecule compounds, drug delivery, molecular diagnostics, research tool patents, and medical devices. He represents some of the world's leading biotechnology companies and academic institutions. Don has been recognized as a leading IP lawyer in Best Lawyers in America®, Chambers USA: the Client's Guide, PLC Which Lawyer? and Global Counsel 3000. He holds his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Harvard University. For more information, click here.

Dana is a registered patent attorney, handling matters involving organic chemistry, including synthetic organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals, molecular diversity, materials science, biochemistry and molecular biology. His client list includes many of the country's leading academic and private research institutions. Dana holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University, and his law degree from Boston College Law School. For more information, click here.

Foley Hoag has long been a presence in the IP area, having served clients in the technology and life sciences industries for decades.  In 2006, the firm launched its Emerging Enterprise Center, located in the heart of New England's "Technology Corridor" to focus on the unique needs - including intellectual property - of the entrepreneurial community.  The IP practice is consistently ranked among top firms by leading publications such as Chambers USA and Legal 500.

About Foley Hoag

Foley Hoag provides comprehensive legal services to clients throughout the United States and around the world. We serve a wide range of industries including biopharma, energy and utilities, financial services, manufacturing, and technology. With 250 lawyers located in Boston, Washington, DC, and the Emerging Enterprise Center in Waltham, MA, we provide creative solutions and results-oriented advice in the areas of bankruptcy, restructuring and workouts; corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and IPOs; labor and employment; litigation; environmental issues and land use; government strategies; intellectual property; tax, trusts and estates; and white collar and business crimes.

For more information, visit www.foleyhoag.com.

Pulley Watson King & Lischer (PWKL), a long-established firm in Durham, has hired Rella:Cowan, a marketing and advertising agency, to rebrand the law firm which specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Rella:Cowan will work with PWKL to research and develop the firm’s brand positioning and create a new corporate identity and website, as well as other marketing tactics.

“We talked to a number of marketing and branding agencies, and Rella:Cowan was the one who truly understood what we need to do for this firm,” said Stephanie Jester, Firm Administrator for PWKL. “We were impressed with their proven experience and their guidance in helping this firm become even more competitive in the complex realm of medical malpractice and personal injury law.”

The agency is conducting a competitive analysis and executive interviews to develop the firm’s new brand positioning. The research phase will be followed by the development of a full corporate identity package with a new logo and website that will include public service information about specific medical conditions and preventing them.

About Pulley Watson King & Lischer
Pulley Watson King & Lischer (PWKL) is one of North Carolina's leading plaintiff's personal injury firms, with an excellent reputation for handling catastrophic cases while providing outstanding client care. PWKL’s practice includes wrongful death, medical negligence, personal injury, environmental claims, estate planning, corporate law, and commercial litigation. The firm’s attorneys are members of a variety of professional associations and are active in many community service efforts. Richard Watson and Guy Crabtree, both partners with the firm, were recently named to 2007 The Best Lawyers in America list. Malvern King, Managing Partner, was inducted into the General Practice Hall of Fame by the North Carolina Bar Association in June.

About Rella:Cowan

Rella:Cowan is a full-service strategic marketing and advertising agency. With award-winning work and diverse experience, Rella:Cowan helps clients effectively communicate their brands. The agency’s current clients include companies in financial services, technology, retail and professional services. For more information, visit http://rellacowan.com.