Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce its acquisition of Watson Rounds, an intellectual property litigation firm based in Reno, Nevada. The move represents further strategic investment in Brownstein’s intellectual property practice, building on previous alliances in 2013 and 2014 that expanded the firm’s IP practice into one of the largest based in the Mountain West. Brownstein’s IP group now includes more than 30 professionals who focus their practice on intellectual property.
“In 2013, we began expanding our intellectual property practice to meet our clients’ growing needs as the U.S. technology sector boomed,” said Ellen Schulhofer, Brownstein’s co-managing partner. “Our strategy of finding top talent in the IP space led us to Michael Rounds and his IP litigation firm. By joining together, we expect our clients will benefit from our increased depth, bench strength and broadened practice skills.”
When the acquisition is completed, Rounds, Matthew Francis and Arthur Zorio will be Brownstein shareholders. Together they bring with them an experienced team of four associates, two paralegals and four staff members. Brownstein will move its two current Reno employees, including shareholder Josh Hicks, to Watson Rounds’ Reno office.
“As a niche firm focused on intellectual property litigation and counseling, we were only interested in joining a firm that had a proven interest in IP as well as the talent and resources to back it up,” said Rounds, co-founding partner of Watson Rounds. “Brownstein is one of the only large western law firms with a clearly defined market niche in intellectual property law, and its strategic vision is clear. Together, we’re able to capitalize on Brownstein’s platform as well as our existing market position.”
Rounds and his team join an IP practice ranked by Chambers and Partners USA and recognized by the 2015 Intellectual Asset Magazine (IAM) Patent 1000. Brownstein’s team has technical depth in the mechanical, electrical, biomechanical, and chemical arts and assists clients in patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright, litigation, prosecution and portfolio management, and in complex privacy, licensing and regulatory matters. The team’s focus is on maximizing their client’s intellectual property as a strategic and valuable business asset.
Rounds brings to Brownstein expertise in high-stakes patent litigation both in Nevada and other patent-heavy jurisdictions across the country, and his partners Francis and Zorio bring expertise in trademark and other complex IP and business cases. The Watson Rounds’ team also has extensive experience representing clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Trademark Office’s Trial and Appeal Board. Their clients include Fortune 500 companies, gaming manufacturers, casino operators, pharmaceutical companies, mobile network service providers, disc drive manufacturers and well-known artists and performers in the entertainment industry.