Summary: IP firm Kenyon & Kenyon speaks out about rumors that the company is dwindling in size.
Intellectual property law firm Kenyon & Kenyon has been shrinking the past few months as numerous attorneys have left for competitors, Bloomberg BNA reports.
Bloomberg BNA said partners Richard DeLucia, Elizabeth Gardner and Antony Pfeffer departed for Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Kenyon & Kenyon managing partner Edward Colbert addressed the departures this week in an interview with Big Law Business. He joined the firm in September 2015, and he is the brother of the late night comedian Stephen Colbert.
Colbert said the firm has downsized and that the exodus is partially due to layoffs. He acknowledged that some left even though he wanted them to stay, but the majority were counseled to leave.
“In point of fact, the people with books of business are still here. It’s mainly the service partners who left. Seventy-five percent of the book of business partners, they are all still here,” Colbert said.
Kenyon & Kenyon currently has 95 attorneys, Bloomberg BNA reports. In 2009, the firm staffed nearly 200 lawyers.
In November 2015, three IP litigation partners, Mark Hannemann, Thomas Makin and Matthew Berkowitz, joined Shearman & Sterling. At Kenyon & Kenyon, Hannermann was an executive committee member, according to New York Law Journal.
One reason for Kenyon & Kenyon’s shrinkage is the change in the intellectual property landscape. Back in December, we reported that a record number of patent troll lawsuits were filed because of changes in laws that make it more difficult for plaintiffs to win cases.
Colbert said the changes have nothing to do with a merger, but he didn’t confirm or deny if Kenyon & Kenyon was open to one. In recent years, a number of intellectual property firms have been acquired by larger ones. Examples include Wong Cabello being acquired by Blank Rome and Mavrikakis Law Group being acquired by Haynes and Boone.
Source: https://bol.bna.com/orrick-beefs-up-ip-ranks-with-kenyon-hires/