• THAILAND: IP enforcement specialist Ed Kelly has co-founded Atherton, a new full-service law firm in Thailand that will focus on IP enforcement work. Kelly used to work for Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok but left in 2009 and in August of the same year joined Californian IP boutique LaRiviere, Grubman & Payne as director of its Asian operations. Atherton began operating in March this year and will maintain a special relationship with LGP Asia. In April Dan Greif, former trade mark counsel for Coca-Cola's Pacific Group, joined the firm as a senior member. At present, the firm has 11 legal counsel and eight support staff.
•US: Chadbourne & Parke has hired former Fish & Richardson partner Lori S Hoberman to spearhead the firm's new emerging company/venture capital team in New York. Hoberman's practice focuses on venture capital, private equity and general counselling for emerging and later stage and publicly traded companies.
•US: Duane Morris has hired former Unilever assistant general counsel for commercial law and trademarks, Mitchell A Frank, as a special counsel in the firm's IP practice group. Frank focuses on trade mark and copyright counselling.
• US: Robert Unikel has left Howrey to join Kaye Scholer's IP practice as a partner in the Chicago office. Unikel has particular experience in defending against false patent marking claims, which have been rising lately.