Additions Significantly Expand Firm’s IP Group and Houston Presence
HOUSTON — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 10, 2015 — Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that 24 attorneys and additional staff from the intellectual property law firm of Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri L.L.P (“Wong Cabello”) have joined the Firm in its Houston office, effective June 9, 2015. As a result of these additions, Blank Rome significantly bolsters its IP practice to more than 60 attorneys and broadens its service offering to clients. All 5 name partners are joining, with J. David Cabello serving as co-chair of Blank Rome’s Intellectual Property and Technology group. They bring with them an additional 6 partners, 4 of counsel, 9 associates, and professional staff.
The Wong Cabello national IP practice aligns well with Blank Rome’s existing intellectual property practice, including litigation, patent prosecution, and trademarks. Wong Cabello has been lead counsel on more than 100 patent lawsuits in all key jurisdictions, conducted more than 35 inter partes review proceedings, and won numerous litigation matters across the country and the district courts of Texas. They represent clients in a number of technology areas, including computer science, electronics, manufacturing, semi-conductors, Internet technology, petroleum services, chemical processing, fiber optic switches, financial services, communications, hospitality, consumer products, and biotechnology. Their clients include Polycom, Brocade, Weatherford, Inventec, Nanoco, Corel, and two Fortune 100 Silicon Valley-based companies.
Blank Rome launched its Houston presence when it combined with Abrams, Scott & Bickley in June 2011, adding leading corporate and litigation attorneys with significant energy industry experience. The Firm continued its growth in Houston with the addition of the maritime lawyers of Bell Ryniker & Letourneau in August 2013, strengthening its maritime practice—the largest in the country—in a key market for maritime law. With Wong Cabello, Blank Rome has built a diversified presence with 40 attorneys in Houston. To accommodate the expansion, on June 1, Blank Rome moved into 27,144 square feet of office space at 717 Texas Avenue, Suite 1400, in downtown Houston.
Blank Rome’s San Francisco office also provides an important local platform for Wong Cabello’s Silicon Valley-based clients. In addition, Blank Rome’s established Asia Practice provides enhanced capabilities for the Wong Cabello team and the cross-border work they do on behalf of their clients.
“We established our Houston office in 2011 to grow our Firm by assembling great legal talent in a robust regional economy and critically important market for our clients,” said Alan J. Hoffman, Blank Rome’s Chairman and Managing Partner. “We have made tremendous progress in a short amount of time, and the highly respected IP lawyers of Wong Cabello are a fantastic addition to Blank Rome. They bring extensive experience in the growing area of inter partes review, exceptional litigation skills, high-level patent prosecution experience, and compelling opportunities to expand our Asia practice. We are proud of the dynamic and diverse practice we have built in Houston and look forward to continued, strategic growth in this and other key markets.”
The lawyers of Wong Cabello are a tight-knit team. Lou Brucculeri, David Cabello, Keith Rutherford, and Russell Wong first met as attorneys at Arnold, White & Durkee, a major IP firm in Houston at the time (subsequently acquired by Howrey). They all transitioned individually into the general counsel’s office of Compaq Computer Corp during the 1990s, where they again worked closely together along with Keith Lutsch, with Cabello serving as GC. Cabello and Wong’s separate departures from Compaq led to the establishment of Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri L.L.P in 2001. The partners attribute the firm’s success to a strong culture built on long-standing relationships.
David Cabello, partner and co-chair of the Intellectual Property and Technology group, said, “We were extremely impressed with Blank Rome on a number of levels, but particularly in the Firm’s ability to effectively integrate strong practice groups. We wanted to join a team that encourages success and values collegiality. Blank Rome identifies teams that fit with its culture and adds resources so they can get stronger. We’ve seen Blank Rome do this here in Houston, and most recently in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. We look forward to continuing to offer our clients the same quality, personalized service under the Blank Rome umbrella that now provides us with the vital resources of a national, multi-practice team.”
About Blank Rome LLP
With nearly 540 attorneys serving clients around the globe, Blank Rome is an international law firm representing businesses and organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-up entities. Founded in 1946, Blank Rome advises clients on all aspects of their businesses, including commercial and corporate litigation; consumer finance; corporate, M&A, and securities; environmental, energy, and natural resources; finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy; intellectual property and technology; labor and employment; maritime, international trade and government contracts; matrimonial; products liability, mass torts, and insurance; real estate; tax, benefits, and private client; and white collar defense and investigations. Blank Rome also represents pro bono clients in a wide variety of cases and matters. For additional information, visit www.blankrome.com.
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