WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - September 17, 2007) - King & Spalding, a leading international law
firm, announced today that it has added 10 lawyers and non-lawyer
professionals to its Washington, D.C. office in the areas of public policy
and intellectual property. The additions bolster the capabilities of the
firm's growing Washington, D.C. office.
The additions consist of four partners, including Christopher A. Ott, the
former practice group leader of Kilpatrick Stockton's government relations
practice, and George Marcou, the former Managing Partner of Kilpatrick
Stockton's Washington, D.C. office, as well as Dawn-Marie Bey, and Michael
Dimino, a partner and partner-elect who have leading practices in
electrical engineering patent prosecution, counseling, and diligence.
Government Advocacy and Public Policy Group
The Government Advocacy and Public Policy practice will receive Christopher
A. Ott, the former practice leader and a partner in Kilpatrick Stockton's
government relations practice, along with five government relations
advisors and an associate from that firm.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Chris and his team to King &
Spalding," said former Senator Dan Coats, Co-Chair with former Senator
Connie Mack of the firm's Government Advocacy and Public Policy practice.
"Each of them brings unique experience and special skills that will add
greatly to our ability to provide superior service to our clients."
Christopher Ott represents companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical
and energy sectors, as well as companies in the financial
services industry. With a strong substantive background in intellectual
property, his work ranges from representing companies on patent reform
legislation, to placement of government funded research and
development programs involving the U.S. Defense Department and other
Executive branch agencies.
Ott, five government relations advisors, and an associate from Kilpatrick
Stockton are joining 19 professionals on King & Spalding's Government
Advocacy and Public Policy team, including Senators Coats and Mack;
Ambassador Lloyd Hand; George Crawford, Speaker Pelosi's former Chief of
Staff; Tom Spulak, former General Counsel to the House of Representatives;
and Eleanor Hill, former Inspector General of the Department of Defense and
Staff Director of the Joint Congressional Inquiry on the terrorists attacks
of September 11, 2001. Those members of the firm's government advocacy
group utilize their experience and long-standing relationships with key
members of the House, Senate, and the Bush Administration, to help clients
effectively manage their overall interactions with the federal government.
Intellectual Property Group
In the intellectual property practice, the firm welcomes George Marcou,
partner Dawn-Marie Bey and partner-elect Michael Dimino from Kilpatrick
Stockton, where Marcou served as managing partner of the firm's Washington,
D.C. office.
"We welcome George, Dawn-Marie and Mike to the firm and are very pleased
they have chosen to join us," said Courtland Reichman, leader of King &
Spalding's intellectual property practice. "George represents a strong
presence on the ground to anchor the IP practice in Washington and lead its
growth. All three bring considerable patent and technical depth to the
firm, and we are excited about the additional benefits their experience
will bring our clients."
The addition of Marcou, Bey, and Dimino caps a year of unprecedented growth
for King & Spalding's intellectual property group. In the last twelve
months, the firm has added fifteen lateral partners and over 50 associates
and patent agents to its intellectual property practice in Atlanta, New
York, Houston, and Washington, D.C. "We are pleased to continue our strong
growth over the past year with three Washington partners who are at the top
of their game, and who will be able to provide leadership as we continue to
expand our Washington intellectual property practice," Reichman continued.
Marcou focuses on patent prosecution, diligence and counseling for
technologies including electrical and mechanical engineering and software.
He also is involved in government relations aspects of intellectual
property issues. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a J.D. with honors from
Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor for the Georgetown
Law Journal. He was on the adjunct faculty of Johns Hopkins University and
is a member of the International Academy of Engineering of Moscow.
Bey is experienced in patent law, in particular managing large patent
prosecution portfolios. She is also experienced in a variety of
technologies, especially legal issues at the intersection of government
contracting and intellectual property rights, including interpretation of
Bayh-Dole Act and Federal Acquisition Regulations and Defense Federal
Acquisition Regulations Supplements. She earned a B.A. in Physics at
Franklin & Marshall College and an LL.M. equivalent in Intellectual
Property at George Mason School of Law. She had served as a patent examiner
at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Dimino's practice centers on patent prosecution, counseling and diligence.
He has a strong background in electrical engineering and software
technologies, with expertise in IP due diligence and procuring patent
rights under federal research and development projects. He earned a B.S. in
Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in
Systems Engineering from George Mason University and a J.D., magna cum
laude, from St. Mary's University School of Law. Before attending law
school, he spent 10 years at the U.S. Department of Defense developing
radio frequency surveillance systems.
King & Spalding's intellectual property practice group consists of more
than 100 lawyers and scientific advisors in the firm's offices in Atlanta,
Houston, New York and Washington, D.C. The group's professionals practice
in the full range of patent and trademark issues, including litigation,
pre-litigation counseling, licensing, United States and foreign patent and
trademark prosecution, United States and foreign administrative patent and
trademark proceedings, opinion preparation, contracts, acquisitions,
technology transfer, due diligence and portfolio enforcement and defense.
The firm's intellectual property clients range from start-up companies to
household name multinational corporations owning thousands of patents and
tens of thousands of trademarks. The firm has a particular emphasis on
high-tech and biotech-pharma patent litigation, representing several of the
country's leading technology companies.
The government relations advisors and associate adding further depth to
King & Spalding's Government Advocacy and Public Policy group include:
Senior Government Relations Advisors
-- John Howell spent eight years as a U.S. Army Ranger, followed by nine
years as an intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. He
works with clients doing business with the U.S. intelligence, security and
defense agencies.
-- Michael Rishling served in the U.S. Marine Corps and has more than 20
years' experience as a senior level intelligence officer with the CIA,
including Chief of Station for the Agency in Europe. He works with both
domestic and foreign companies on matters involving trade, security,
intelligence and defense related matters.
-- Arch Galloway was a combat arms officer in the U.S. Army for 28 years,
including service in the Army's Senate Liaison Division, and he spent 10
years as Senior Defense Policy Advisor to U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).
He works with companies focused on defense and foreign affairs, NASA and
other public programs.
-- Dan Hickey has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for governmental
affairs for the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Deputy Assistant Administrator of government affairs for
the Federal Aviation Administration, and Director
of Government Affairs for U.S. Airways. Dan works with clients with a
particular focus on transportation-related matters.
Government Relations Advisor
-- Tara Chapman served for three years at the Central Intelligence Agency
as a contracting officer in government contracts and acquisitions and also
provided supervisory operational support on issues of strategic concern to
policymakers.
Associate
-- William Clarkson served for six years as an advisor to U.S. Sen. Susan
Collins (R-Maine) on transportation issues, including highway and FAA
reauthorization bills, and appropriations and homeland security issues.
King & Spalding's Washington, D.C. office employs more than 185 lawyers and
non-lawyer professionals, including government relations specialists, trade
consultants and policy advisors. These lawyers and professionals practice
in a broad range of areas including antitrust, class-action and mass tort
litigation, commercial disputes, corporate finance, corporate governance,
environmental, FDA/healthcare, public policy and government advocacy,
intellectual property, government investigations, international trade,
mergers and acquisitions and tax, among others.
About King & Spalding
King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in
Atlanta, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh
(affiliated office) and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the
Fortune 100 and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2007 was among
the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. For additional
information, visit
www.kslaw.com.
Contact Information: Contact:
Kimberly Brooks
King & Spalding
Ph (212) 827-4378