Morrison Foerster appoints four-strong team for IP work

Morrison Foerster appoints four-strong team for IP work

The team's arrival follows the acquisition of West Coast IP boutique, DurieTangri.

Morrison Foerster (MoFo), a top 40 US law firm, has hired a four-person team from Brown Rudnick in London to build a contentious IP practice.

Steven James, Brown Rudnick's former lead partner for UK and European IP, will lead the group, which also includes Counsel Ruth Arkley, senior associate Hattie Chessher, and paralegal Rebecca Jenkins.

"Firming up our IP practise in London has been our strategic priority for long," said Paul Friedman, MoFo's managing partner for Europe. "Our sector emphasises in technology and life sciences. Here Steven's know-how and established client base are perfectly aligned with, making him the ideal choice to lead our new London contentious IP practise."

Earlier, James worked for almost nine years at Brown Rudnick. He led clients like cryptocurrency payment platform, Wirex, medical technology provider Novaerus and Excalibur Healthcare Services, a Covid rapid test provider.

He has previously worked as an associate at Latham & Watkins and Pinsent Masons. His practise ranges from trade secret, patent, passing off, copyright and trademark disputes to advise clients on IP and branding strategies were the ranges of practice he dealt with. His experience includes advising on defamation and the intellectual property, technology and data protection aspects of corporate and M&A transactions as well.

Meanwhile, before joining MoFo as of counsel, Arkley was a partner at Brown Rudnick. He has more than eight years of IP, technology, and commercial law experience, with an emphasis on innovative technologies and data protection. With more than eight years of experience, Chessher joins as a senior associate, bringing advising on intellectual property and commercial law. It includes trademark, passing off and copyright disputes, trademark portfolio management and transactional matters.

After the foursome's arrival, in October 2022, MoFo announced its expansion plans of its IP capabilities on the US West Coast with the acquisition of 12-partner litigation boutique, DurieTangri.