Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

 

Page 3

 

Intellectual Property Attorneys Join Sidley Austin Brown & Wood

 

By a MetNews Staff Writer

 

Five intellectual property litigators from the firm of Lyon & Lyon, including partners Jeffrey Olson and Paul Meier, have joined the Los Angeles office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood.

Olson and Meier joined the newly established partnership after Lyon & Lyon closed its doors Aug. 31, bringing with them associates Sandra Fujiyama, Michelle Kim and Samuel Tiu.

Sidley Austin Brown & Wood was formed by the merger last year of Sidley & Austin, founded in Chicago in 1866, and Brown & Wood, founded in New York in 1914. The firm’s Los Angeles office, which opened in 1980, has about 130 lawyers.

The arrival of the five over the last month is part of the recent expansion of Sidley Austin’s intellectual property group in Los Angeles and brings the total number of attorneys working in the group in Los Angeles to 14.

The development of the local intellectual property and technology practice group is due in large part to Edward Poplawski, a recently acquired partner at Sidley Austin and head of the West Coast Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group. Poplawski said he joined Sidley & Austin in September 2000, leaving his 26-attorney firm, Pretty, Schroeder & Poplawski, with the intention of building upon the “solid foundation” formed by himself and other associates from his former firm who followed to Sidley & Austin.

The acquisition of Olson and Meier was the result of discussions with several partners from Lyon & Lyon that began in April 2002, Poplawski explained, adding that the group will “continue to cautiously expand” in the future while keeping its commitment to quality and camaraderie.

Olson said he was attracted by the firm’s commitment to growth in the area of intellectual property.

Olson and Meier will continue to serve clients using their technological backgrounds, but on a more national and international scale than was possible at Lyon & Lyon, Meier said.

Olson agreed. “Sidley has a substantial presence in the field of intellectual property” and “offers me a worldwide presence and a name that is very well known and highly respected in the business community,” he said.

Poplawski said he expected that Olson and Meier will “significantly broaden our patent expertise in the areas of life sciences, physical sciences and electronics.”

Olson and Meier are currently litigating matters for such clients as Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical, and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

 

Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company