Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP announced that 14 of its lawyers have become partners in the firm. The lawyers, all of whom served previously in associate or of counsel roles at Womble Bond Dickinson, are: Daniel Attaway, Mary Bennett, Scott Bowers, Logan Buck, Todd Carroll, Jamie Dean, James Derrick, Mike Dow, Christy Dupriest, Russ Ferguson, Jessica Gorczynski, Preston Heard, Kristina Schwartz and Patrick Strubbe.
Daniel Attaway represents pharmaceutical and biotech patent holders in Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”) and related patent litigation. He also has represented clients in non-practicing entity (NPE) and trade secrets cases in both state and federal court in Delaware. In addition, Daniel serves as Delaware counsel for out of state clients before the US District Court for the District of Delaware.
Mary Bennett focuses her practice on commercial lending and other commercial transactions, representing banks, other financial institutions, borrowers, issuers and other corporate clients. Her practice includes a range of credit facilities, including syndicated credit facilities and debt offerings, as well as equipment finance transactions and supply/vendor agreements.
Scott Bowers focuses his corporate practice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic corporate transactions, and corporate finance, including private equity and venture capital investments. He represents clients in both domestic and international transactions within a number of industry sectors, with particular experience in the fields of technology, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and renewable energy.
Logan Buck, Ph.D., concentrates his intellectual property law practice on patent preparation and prosecution in the fields of biotechnology and other life sciences. In addition to domestic and international patent prosecution, Logan counsels clients regarding patent portfolio management and provides legal opinions concerning patentability, invalidity and freedom to operate.
Todd Carroll is an experienced business litigation lawyer. His experience includes serving as Special Counsel to the Office of Governor under South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; litigating appeals before the Fourth Circuit, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the South Carolina Court of Appeals; and advising a wide range of companies in business disputes.
Jamie Dean has successfully tried cases to juries in state and federal courts in North Carolina and Virginia. He has argued before the Court of Appeals of North Carolina and United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has prevailed on and against numerous dispositive motions. And, he has helped clients navigate the settlement of dozens of cases.
James Derrick is an experienced litigation and dispute-resolution lawyer who advises clients in complex disputes in federal and state courts in the United States as well as cross-border arbitrations. He represents clients in a wide range of matters, including cases involving high-value contract disputes, business torts, intellectual property rights, and complicated construction projects.
Mike Dow concentrates his practice on public and project finance. He represents lenders, investors, underwriters, issuers, borrowers, and other participants in taxable and tax-exempt transactions for infrastructure projects, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, manufacturing, transportation, and health and higher education facilities.
Christy Dupriest focuses her practice on intellectual property and patent-related disputes for clients in a wide range of industries, including manufacturers and distributors of software, chemical, medical device and packaging products. An experienced litigator, she works with patent owners to devise strategies to protect and enforce patent rights and to assess potential patent-related claims. Christy also works with clients to develop effective defenses against patent infringement claims.
Russ Ferguson represents clients in a broad range of complex litigation matters, focusing both on white collar criminal defense and civil business litigation. A former federal prosecutor, Russ has significant trial experience and his current practice includes counseling clients at all stages of federal and state litigation, including appeals.
Jessica Gorczynski, Ph.D., provides the full range of services to build and protect clients’ patent portfolios, including preparation, filing and prosecution of domestic and international patent applications to obtain strong patents in the chemical and pharmaceutical fields. She offers strategic guidance, renders patentability, freedom-to-operate, invalidity, and noninfringement opinions, and counsels on a variety of patent-related issues.
Preston Heard is a registered patent attorney who litigates intellectual property disputes through the US and abroad. Preston has represented clients in US District Court in numerous states, before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Section 337 actions, and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the USPTO in inter partes review proceedings. His practice is focused primarily on patent litigation in a broad range of technology areas, from oil and gas well drilling and recovery to computer networks, and from carpet tufting machines to catalytic heaters.
Kristina Schwartz advises companies of various market capitalizations and industries in corporate and commercial transactions and general business matters. Her practice focuses on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and commercial contracts. She has deep experience with cross-border transactions, private investment funds and clients in the technology and manufacturing sectors.
Patrick Strubbe represents corporate clients, private equity groups and lenders in the US and abroad on a variety of complex cross-border business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financings, and strategic transactions. He also advises companies as outside general counsel on corporate governance, complex commercial contracts and general business law matters.