In the latest development, Morgan saw the departure of 33 lawyers to rival Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell in January, including high-profile IP litigators James Gould and John Sweeney. The moves followed rumours that the two firms were negotiating a possible merger.
Having doubled its New York presence through the acquisitions, Locke Lord has now confirmed that it is taking over Morgan’s south Manhattan office space in Three World Financial Center. The firm will also open a practice in San Francisco by assuming Morgan’s office space there.
Morgan’s remaining Washington DC office appears to be facing a similar fate: calls placed by Managing IP were met by a message indicating that the office is “currently closed”.
Locke Lord’s acquisitions reveal a trend in which the economic crisis has allowed a handful of firms to hire partners from weakened competitors. In September and October 2008 the firms Heller Ehrman and Thelen dissolved. Heller’s demise resulted in an exodus of IP personnel to Covington & Burling, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, and Cooley Godward Kronish.
Locke Lord chair, Jerry Clements, said the recent lateral hires are part of an existing strategy to build the firm’s IP department. “We knew we wanted to grow and expand our IP practice and we thought adding a group of lawyers that were this well known and had such expertise would fit nicely,” Clements told Managing IP.
She added: “Bringing [the Morgan lawyers] in as laterals was the best for our firm and for them as well.”
Some in the IP community see these recent events as part of a sobering trend for all but the elite IP boutiques. “I’m personally very sorry to see [Morgan & Finnegan] disappear,” said Gary Hoffman, managing partner of Dickstein Shapiro’s IP group.
“Morgan & Finnegan has been for many years a major player in the IP world. Unfortunately, with the changing times and the move to general practice firms of many IP people, Morgan & Finnegan has lost a lot of partners,” he said.
Morgan & Finnegan has made no formal announcement of its intentions or circumstances. The firm did not return requests for comment and its website is no longer functioning.
