PHILADELPHIA, January 16, 2008 - Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that it has named ten associates in the Trial and Intellectual Property Practice Groups to the firm partnership. These newly named partners are located in eight different offices nationwide. The partnerships became effective January 1, 2008.
Newly promoted partners in the firm's Trial Practice Group are Seth Goldberg and Lawrence Pockers in Philadelphia, Jeffrey Hamera in Chicago, J. Robert Renner in Los Angeles, Judith Selby in New York and Sheila Raftery Wiggins in Newark. Won-Joon Kouh in Princeton, Joseph Powers in Philadelphia, Frank Spanitz in Allentown, and James Sze in San Diego, all of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group, were also named partners.
"We cannot be prouder of this outstanding group," said Duane Morris Chairman John Soroko. "Our associates are the future of our firm and their promotion to partnership reflects our confidence that they will continue the tradition of professionalism that makes Duane Morris a great firm."
Seth Goldberg focuses his practice on commercial litigation and class actions involving securities, healthcare and antitrust matters. He is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he was the senior note/comment editor of the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review.
Jeffrey Hamera provides legal services to clients in the construction industry. Prior to his career in law, he worked as a professional engineer in the nuclear power, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and manufacturing industries. He is a cum laude graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Won-Joon Kouh focuses his intellectual property practice on patent litigation and prosecution, patent validity and non-infringement opinions and due diligence, with an emphasis on mechanical and materials-related technologies. Before entering the legal industry, he was an engineer at IBM. He is a cum laude graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where he was a member of the Journal of Law and Policy. He is also a graduate of Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where he received his B.S. in Metallurgical Material Science. He speaks conversational Korean.
Lawrence Pockers represents clients in complex commercial litigation involving the enforcement of non-competition provisions and other similar restrictive agreements as well as matters involving the misappropriation of trade secrets and intellectual property rights violations. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he was a member of the Temple Law Review and the National Trial Team.
Joseph Powers concentrates his practice on patent prosecution, licensing, counseling and litigation matters. He is experienced in handling patent matters for a wide variety of industries, including computer software, electronics, semiconductors, building products and others. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Villanova University School of Law, where he was an editor for the Villanova Law Review, and a summa cum laude graduate of Villanova University, where he received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.
Sheila Raftery Wiggins practices in the area of commercial litigation, handling matters involving complex commercial disputes, mortgage and banking fraud, employment law defense, attorney ethics investigations, bankruptcy litigation, and insurance coverage disputes. She has extensive experience representing clients before state and federal trial courts, on appeal, and at arbitration hearings and mediations. She is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was business editor of the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal. She is also a graduate of Binghamton University.
J. Robert Renner concentrates his practice on commercial and insurance litigation. Renner served as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice before entering private law practice. He is a graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of the California Law Review. He is also a magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College.
Judith Selby practices in the area of commercial litigation, with an emphasis on insurance counseling and coverage matters, including international arbitration of complex pharmaceutical coverage claims. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and the College of Mount St. Vincent.
Frank Spanitz concentrates his practice on assisting clients in procuring domestic and foreign utility and design patents, developing patent portfolio strategies, trademarks and licensing. He also is experienced in patent licensing agreement arbitration and litigation. Frank focuses on matters in the mechanical and electronic industries. Before entering law, he was a professional engineer who amassed industry and business experience as a senior engineer and project manager for Pennsylvania Power and Light Company for two decades. He is a cum laude graduate of Widener University School of Law, where he was research editor of The Delaware Journal of Corporate Law. He is currently an adjunct professor at Lehigh University's Graduate Business School, where he teaches intellectual property law to MBA students.
James Sze focuses his practice on using intellectual property law as a tool for business growth. He also handles matters involving portfolio management and counsels high-tech industry clients on intellectual property matters. Prior to entering law, Sze was an engineer with Qualcomm Inc., where he designed satellite communications software and other wireless applications. He is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law and of the University of California, San Diego, where he received an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and counsels clients on protecting their intellectual property in the Far East.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the world, is a full-service firm of more than 650 lawyers. In addition to legal services, Duane Morris has independent affiliates employing approximately 100 professionals engaged in other disciplines. With offices in major markets in the United States and internationally, Duane Morris represents clients across the U.S. and around the world.