Co-Chair of Heller Ehrman Patents & Trademarks Group Brings Leading Practice to Proskauer Rose's Washington, D.C. Office.

WASHINGTON -- Attorneys Add Significant Strength to Proskauer's Growing D.C. Office and Life Sciences and Intellectual Property Practices

Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm with more than 700 lawyers in the United States and Europe, today announced that it has expanded its growing Washington, D.C. office and its life sciences and intellectual property practices with the addition of four new partners.

The new partners - Colin G. Sandercock, co-chair of Heller Ehrman's Patents & Trademark Practice Group, John P. Isacson, Dr. Paul M. Booth, and David W. Laub - are former shareholders in the Washington, D.C. office of Heller Ehrman LLP. They bring extensive expertise in intellectual property litigation and transactions on behalf of clients in a wide range of industries that include biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemistry, mechanical and electro-mechanical technologies, electrical arts, and software.

According to Allen I. Fagin, chairman of Proskauer Rose, the additions significantly advance the firm's twin goals of growing its D.C. office and adding depth to its patent and life sciences capabilities.

"We welcome this exceptional group and the expertise they bring. They will add measurably to our growing national and international patent and life sciences practices," said Mr. Fagin, noting that the firm's patent practice has grown to more than 50 lawyers in the eight years since its inception.

The new group continues the recent expansion of Proskauer's D.C. office, which now has more than 40 attorneys including recent additions Rhett Krulla, a former senior trial attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, and Robyn Manos, a former special counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The office also recently moved into new, expanded office space at 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Mark J. Biros, head of the firm's D.C. office, said the recent additions bring important IP and related capabilities and add significantly to Proskauer's D.C. office, which is growing quickly across the board. Mr. Biros added: "The reputations and stature of this group are second-to-none and we look forward to working with them."

The attorneys in Proskauer's D.C. office practice in diverse areas of the law including: health care; commercial litigation and arbitration; Internet, patent, copyright, computer and intellectual property law; internal corporate investigations and white-collar crime; labor and employment; securities regulation and enforcement; corporate ethics and governance; and antitrust.

Proskauer's patent and life sciences practices are a significant part of the firm's Intellectual Property Group and its Litigation and Corporate departments. The firm's attorneys practice in a broad range of industries in matters that include patent and technology-related litigation, patent counseling, licensing and technology transfer, and patent procurement.

The new partners in the D.C. office are:

Colin G. Sandercock

Colin G. Sandercock is a litigation and transactional attorney handling matters in all areas of life sciences including district court litigation and licensing and management of domestic and foreign patent portfolios for clients in biotechnology, medical devices, and pharmaceutical, chemical and inorganic chemistry.

He is a former shareholder of Heller Ehrman, where he was co-chair of the firm's Patents & Trademarks Practice Group and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation and Transaction practice groups. He serves on the AAA Patent Advisory Committee and has also served as adjunct professor of law at the George Washington University School of Law, chaired the American Intellectual Property Law Association's Interference Committee's Electronic Records Subcommittee, the Annual Electronic Records Conference in London, and as legal counsel to the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association. Mr. Sandercock received his law degree from The Catholic University of America, a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science from Moravian College.

John P. Isacson

John P. Isacson practices in the areas of U.S. and international intellectual property law, counseling clients in portfolio management, federal litigation, patent interferences and Hatch-Waxman matters in the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, immunological, chemical, and medical device fields. He was previously a shareholder of Heller Ehrman and a member of the firm's Patents & Trademarks and Life Sciences & Technology practice groups.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Isacson served as a Law Clerk to Judge Daniel J. Davidson, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He graduated from the George Washington University School of Law and the University of Maryland.

Dr. Paul M. Booth

Dr. Paul M. Booth practices in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry and pharmaceuticals and is an expert in preparing validity and infringement opinions and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications. He was previously a shareholder of Heller Ehrman and a member of the firm's Life Sciences and Patents & Trademarks practice groups.

Prior to practicing law, Dr. Booth worked in the biotechnology industry, where he directed research groups in cell adhesion, lymphokines and cytokines, and catalytic antibodies. He also has extensive training in synthetic organic chemistry. He is a graduate of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London and Georgetown University Law Center. He was also a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University, and a diplomarbeit at Eldgenossische Technische Hochschule in Zurich.

David W. Laub

David W. Laub specializes in intellectual property matters primarily relating to patents in the areas of mechanical and electro-mechanical technologies, medical devices, electrical arts, software, and business methods. He counsels clients on preparing and prosecuting patents and maintaining and protecting patent portfolios of all sizes and is an experienced patent litigator.

Mr. Laub was a shareholder of Heller Ehrman and a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Prior to joining Heller, he was a partner in the Intellectual Property group at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius. Mr. Laub also served as intellectual property counsel at Siemens Corporation, and was a primary examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a graduate the Washington College of Law at American University and received a degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

About Proskauer Rose

Proskauer Rose, founded in 1875, is one of the nation's largest law firms, providing a wide variety of legal services to clients throughout the United States and around the world from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, Boca Raton, Newark, New Orleans and Paris. The firm has wide experience in all areas of practice important to businesses and individuals, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, general commercial litigation, private equity and fund formation, patent and intellectual property litigation and prosecution, labor and employment law, real estate transactions, internal corporate investigations, white collar criminal defense, bankruptcy and reorganizations, trusts and estates, and taxation. Its clients span industries including chemicals, entertainment, financial services, health care, hospitality, information technology, insurance, Internet, manufacturing, media and communications, pharmaceuticals, real estate investment, sports, and transportation. The firm can be found online at http://www.proskauer.com.