Brown Rudnick has hired an eight-person IP litigation group from Bochner to expand its recently opened Houston office.

The team is led by three partners – Erick Robinson, Jayme Partridge and Jayne Piana – and also includes counsel Patrick Dunn. The group specialises in a range of IP and trial-related matters, notably in the patent space.

Vince Guglielmotti, CEO of Brown Rudnick, said: “We are excited to be adding such a talented group of lawyers to our firm. The team fits with our strategic plan to grow our presence in Houston while simultaneously focusing on our international IP litigation and technology practices.” 

Robinson arrives after a short spell at Bochner where he was chair of patent litigation and legal finance. Prior to that he had partner stints at Spencer Fane, Porter Hedges and Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, having earlier worked as chief patent counsel for Asia Pacific at IP firm Rouse, IP and patents director for India at Qualcomm and as a senior patent counsel at Red Hat.

He started his career in private practice at Weil Gotshal & Manges, before moving to McKool Smith.

He said: “With an elite reputation in IP litigation, as well as a growing footprint in Texas, Brown Rudnick’s platform creates great opportunities for our clients. I also look forward to working with Brown Rudnick’s litigation funding team. Joining a firm of not just top litigators but accomplished trial lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic is a major boon.” 

Partridge, meantime, has been with Robinson since their time at Spencer Fane, having previously had spells as a partner at Fish & Richardson, Patterson + Sheridan, Fulbright & Jaworski during its merger with Norton Rose, and Slusser Wilson & Partridge. She started her legal career at Baker Botts having previously worked outside of law as a petroleum engineer.

Piana only joined up with the team at Bochner back in August, having joined from Fletcher Yoder, where she was a shareholder, but she did reunite with Partridge, having worked together earlier in her career at Slusser. She also spent a decade in-house at BP America as a senior counsel and started her career at Fulbright & Jaworski (before Partridge’s time at the firm).

Ian DiBernardo, chair of the Brown Rudnick’s IP litigation group, said: “This group has a strong national and international client base and substantial intellectual property litigation experience, including in Texas. While we have litigated many cases in Texas, we now have a significant presence on the ground in one of the most active jurisdictions for patent cases.” 

The group’s arrival adds depth to the new Houston office, which opened in August with the hire of veteran trial lawyer Adam Schiffer from Schiffer Odom Hicks & Johnson and the arrival of oil and gas litigator Lauren Varnado in September from Michelman & Robinson.