A three-strong team of IP practitioners led by Bill Di Bianca has moved to Polsinelli from boutique IP practice Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik.

Di Bianca, along with long-time colleague Jordan T Riviello, are joining the firm’s New York office as shareholders, enhancing Polsinelli’s capabilities in mechanical engineering and medical devices patent prosecution practice.

Their other colleague, Kendall K Gurule, is joining the Denver office of the AmLaw 100 firm as a senior associate with expertise in patent prosecution, trademark and unfair competition disputes.

The new additions focus on IP strategy and protection and are particularly experienced in the medical device and high technology industries. 

Patrick C. Woolley, chair of Polsinelli’s intellectual property department, said: “Bill is well known in the IP space, and this team’s ability to capture all aspects of a client’s intellectual property strategy, including establishing and leveraging its portfolios, will be a great asset to our department.”

Di Bianca spent almost 20 years at Lerner David, with a strong licensing and due diligence background, he designs strategies to protect and monetise clients’ innovations and trademarks while assessing litigation risk.

His practice focuses on mechanical, materials and computer science engineering-related inventions covering fields such as medical devices, robotics, semiconductors, aerospace, electronics and consumer products. He also counsels clients in areas such as consumer packaged goods, fitness, wellness and the fashion industries.

Riviello’s IP practice encompasses asset management of US and foreign patents as well as patentability and freedom-to-operate studies.

While he represents several Fortune 500 companies, he also counsels start-ups. His clients are in the medical device industry, concentrating on orthopaedic and cardiovascular devices, and he also has extensive experience with AI-driven robotic systems for automated order fulfillment. He focuses on IP prosecution strategies and monetisation of inventions.

Gurule advises clients in the materials science, chemical and mechanical sectors and is experienced in patent work in areas such as batteries and energy storage devices. Gurule has also represented clients in IP litigation and post-grant patent challenges, her experience spans litigation support in pharmaceutical cases to drafting complaints and motions for trademark and unfair competition disputes.

Di Bianca said: “Polsinelli is known for its premier medical device practice and for offering a full-service platform nationwide.”

Gurule’s addition marks Polsinelli’s second Denver IP hire in a month – patent attorney David Hsu joined the IP department as counsel in May from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Other recent IP hires include former Biogen in-house counsel Brian Larivee who joined the Boston office in March. 

In February, the firm bolstered its cybersecurity and data privacy practice with the addition of a nine-lawyer group across its locations in Birmingham, Raleigh and New York; they included four former practice leaders from US firm Maynard Nexsen.  

Polsinelli has more than 1000 attorneys across 20 offices in the US, with a focus on healthcare, real estate, finance, technology, private equity and life sciences.