Russell B. Hill has joined the Orange County office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property practice group.  Hill most recently practiced at Howrey in Irvine. 

Hill specializes in patent litigation and trials.  He has tried patent cases before the International Trade Commission and in federal district courts, and has conducted several successful appeals to the Federal Circuit.  Hill's technical expertise lies in electronic systems and controls.  He gained this expertise as an aviation radar and RF communication systems chief in the Marines.  Hill has also taught undergraduate mathematics and electronics courses as an adjunct professor.  Hill also has extensive transactional and general counseling experience.  He has successfully formed joint ventures, and negotiated and structured a wide range of domestic and international deals. 

"Russ joins us with an impressive practical and academic background.  His practice is firmly rooted in electrical engineering and the electronic arts, though he also represents clients in a variety of biotechnology, software and mechanical process patent disputes and licensing campaigns.  With Russ, our patent litigation team continues to expand to adeptly handle high-stakes technology matters across a variety of technical disciplines," said Guy Halgren, chairman of the firm. 

"I look forward to joining Sheppard Mullin, a top-notch full service firm with a strong footprint in Orange County, and a solid nationwide presence and reputation," Hill commented.  "I am impressed with the firm's IP practice, the group's successful growth in recent years and firm management's dedication to growing it even further.  I'm excited to be part of a partnership that is transparent and open, which fosters both a collegial culture and an entrepreneurial spirit." 

"Russ is a great fit for us.  He is obviously a well respected patent litigator, but also a quality person.  Russ adds significantly to our patent litigation team and brings a formidable expertise in electrical engineering.  His background complements our patent litigation expertise in Orange County, and supplements our existing EE expertise firmwide," said Carlo Van den Bosch, co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property practice group. 

Hill’s clients include Electronics for Imaging, Lenovo, Magnecomp and TDK.  Hill received a J.D., Order of the Coif, from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 1997, a M.A. from Baylor University, a B.A. summa cum laude, from Chapman University, and a B.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology from Grantham University. 

Sheppard Mullin has 60 attorneys based in its Orange County office.  The firm's Intellectual Property practice group includes 70 attorneys firmwide. 

The Washington law firm Arent Fox said Monday that it has named longtime partner Mark M. Katz as its new chairman, a leadership change that comes as the legal sector copes with an economic downturn that has curtailed business and prompted layoffs.

Katz, 52, succeeds Marc L. Fleischaker, who served as chairman of the firm's executive committee for 14 years. Fleischaker will remain at the firm, concentrating on antitrust and civil rights cases.

Like many of its counterparts, Arent Fox has faced declining revenue as corporate clients cut back on legal work, particularly in commercial real estate and finance, Katz said Monday in an interview. Although the firm cut 13 associates and 15 staff members and is in the early stages of restructuring how it bills clients, Katz said Arent Fox wasn't hurt as deeply by the recession because it decided to grow more cautiously during the boom.

"Some of the firms that grew very rapidly and worked on a mega-international platform seem to be running into difficulties," he said. "We've grown on a patient pace, and that's helped us."

As of 2008, the latest year for which statistics from the economic development group Greater Washington Initiative are available, more than 40,000 lawyers worked in the Washington region, second only to the New York area. Nearly 64,000 people work in the legal profession in the Washington region, which employs more people in that sector on a per-capita basis than any U.S. metropolitan area.

Indianapolis-based Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P.C. has merged with a law firm in Cleveland. The deal brings Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP into the Indianapolis market after establishing offices in Columbus, Ohio, New York state, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Shanghai. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports the combined firm will be know as Benesch/Dann Pecar in Indianapolis.

Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P.C. was founded in 1911 and the Indianapolis office has 26 attorneys.

The Berenstein, Moore, Heffernan, Moeller & Johnson L.L.P. law firm announce that Karrie R. Hruska has become a partner in the Sioux City firm. Hruska joined the firm in November 2008 after 10 years in private practice in Sioux City.

She concentrates her practice in the areas of probate law, estate planning, litigation, business and family law. Hruska earned her undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota and her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.

While at Iowa she was selected to be a member of the Stephenson Trial Advocacy Team. She is currently licensed to practice law in Iowa and South Dakota, and is a member of the Iowa Bar Association, the South Dakota Bar Association and the Woodbury County Bar Association.

She also has served on the executive board of the Young Lawyers Division of the Iowa State Bar Association and has served on the Mock Trial Committee of the Iowa State Bar Association since 2000.

“We are excited to add Andrew to our trial team,” comments Boardman litigation attorney Claude Covelli. “He’s smart, personable, and a hard worker–a great combination.”

Andrew received his J.D. from Michigan State University in May, 2008, and received his undergraduate education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to joining Boardman, Andrew was Judicial Law Clerk to Justice Patience Drake Roggensack. He is fluent in German and Portuguese.

Boardman’s insurance litigation attorneys work with corporate and claims counsel to resolve a variety of insurance issues, and have argued appeals before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court.

Boardman Suhr Curry & Field is one of the largest and oldest law firms based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Boardman’s attorneys provide services to individuals, businesses and organizations in a variety of areas, including estate planning, family law, banking, labor and employment, litigation, real estate, taxation, and more.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Nick Sayers  | Boardman Law Firm
608-283-7577
nsayers@boardmanlawfirm.com
www.boardmanlawfirm.com

David J. Tigges may be the youngest attorney to lead the McNair Law Firm, but don’t look for an iconoclast in this Hilton Head Island resident.

The real estate, banking and hospitality industry lawyer has a deep reverence for the traditions of the firm, founded in 1971 by the late former Gov. Robert E. McNair. Tigges, 47, is the third partner in the firm to hold the CEO post, after William Youngblood and Wayne Corley, since a reorganization of the firm in 1988 created the position.

“Everyone brings a little different view,” Tigges said. “I would not characterize this as a generational change. The legal community as a whole is undergoing a transformation.”

Tigges said he plans no sweeping changes in the firm’s direction.

“We want to grow when opportunity presents itself,” Tigges said, “but we are not looking to grow just for growth’s sake.”

Much of Tigges’ first six months in the post will be focused on moving the firm’s headquarters from Columbia’s Wilbur Smith Building to a new office tower half a block from the Statehouse on Main Street.