Summary: Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP has merged with Christie, Parker & Hale LLP.
The merger between Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP of Arizona and the California firm Christie, Parker & Hale LLP became effective on January 1. The new firm called Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP has 580 attorneys and employees with offices in five states, AZ Central reports.
Before the merger, Lewis Roca Rothgerber was one of Arizona’s largest firms, and it focused on patents and intellectual property. Christie, Parker & Hale was a boutique IP firm with 39 attorneys. The merger will allow Lewis Roca Rothergerber to expand its reach to Southern California, American Lawyer reports.
The new company will focus on IP licensing and strategy, as well as prosecution and litigation of all matters pertaining to patents, copyright, trademarks and trade secrets. They will also handle Internet and domain disputes.
AZ Central reports that the new firm should earn $153 million in annual revenue, making it among the nation’s top 200 firms. In addition to serving Arizona and California, the company has offices in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
This merger seems to be in line with the trend of IP firms shrinking or merging due to the changes in patent law, which makes it harder for plaintiffs to win cases. Other recent examples include IP firms Wong Cabello being acquired by Blank Rome and Mavrikakis Law Group being acquired by Haynes and Boone. Earlier this month, IP firm Kenyon & Kenyon downsized to 95 attorneys, when they had 200 back in 2009.
Source: AZ Central
Source: American Lawyer