PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cozen O’Connor announced that patent litigators Richard T. Ruzich, Kerry B. McTigue, Barry Golob, Donald R. McPhail, Joseph M. Bennett-Paris, Ph.D, Ian Scott and Blake Coblentz have joined the firm’s rapidly expanding intellectual property group as Members. Two associates have also joined the firm --Aaron S. Lukas, Ph.D. and Elese Hanson. The nine attorneys joined Cozen from Duane Morris and are based out of offices spread over Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York and Atlanta. They work together closely and focus their practices on complex patent litigation, to include representation of generic drug manufacturers in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA)/biosimilars litigation and consumer electronics corporations in district court patent infringement actions across the United States.
Ruzich, who is based in Chicago, formerly served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., defending against patent infringement suits brought by private sector entities. McTigue served as co-chair of the Duane Morris Hatch-Waxman IP practice group. He previously served as general counsel for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and as a prosecutor in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. McTigue is based in Washington, D.C., along with Golob, McPhail and Coblentz. Bennett-Paris and Scott are based in Atlanta and New York, respectively.
“Expanding IP litigation is part of our strategic plan for growth,” said Cozen O’Connor Chief Executive Officer Tad Decker. “We made terrific progress with our IP expansion last June when we brought on attorneys from the New York based IP boutique Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane and we are thrilled to be adding another truly noteworthy practice less than a year later. We now have IP litigators practicing out of five offices, which marks a significant expansion of our firm’s national platform.”
“These attorneys had their choice of many of the top firms in the country so their decision to join Cozen O’Connor says a lot about the depth and breadth of not only the intellectual property practice at Cozen O’Connor, but our litigation and business practices in general,” said Cozen O’Connor President and Executive Partner Michael Heller.
Led by chair Camille Miller, Cozen O’Connor’s intellectual property group added 19 New York-based intellectual property attorneys in June 2011 from Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane. The IP group now boasts 42 attorneys practicing out of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta. “We are now one of the largest IP practices in the country for generic pharmaceutical patent litigation,” said Miller.
“We are thrilled to join a firm on the rise that continues to expand in key markets and important practice areas such as IP. Cozen O’Connor’s commitment to supporting and growing our group’s practice, especially on behalf of generic companies in the ANDA litigation and consumer electronics arena, will be a great benefit to our clients,” said Ruzich, a registered patent attorney who has developed a national reputation as one of the country’s leading IP/ANDA litigators.
“Cozen O’Connor is committed to a robust ANDA/Hatch-Waxman practice and we are very excited this was a team transition,” added McTigue. He and Golob both have led numerous successful complex litigations. “We have worked hard to build a talented and cohesive team that will flourish at Cozen O’Connor. Joining forces with Cozen O’Connor’s outstanding IP lawyers makes us one of the go-to IP firms for companies across the globe, and forms an ever stronger platform for future growth.”
Established in 1970 and ranked among the 100 largest law firms in the United States, Cozen O’Connor has 575 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and ambitious middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 21 offices across two continents.