James F. Haley, Jr. to Join New Patent Firm New Firm as Ropes & Gray Restructures IP Rights Management Practice

NEW YORK—Ropes & Gray has announced that senior counsel James F. Haley, Jr., one of the most distinguished intellectual property lawyers in the country, is joining as a name partner a new firm being established by Ropes & Gray partners to focus on world-wide IP rights management, including patent counseling, opinions, strategy, prosecution and litigation support..

The announcement of Mr. Haley’s move comes as the new firm—to be called Haley Guiliano LLP—prepares to launch later this year with the addition of other leading IP rights management lawyers, including partners from Ropes & Gray, and as the result of a merger, partners from the New Jersey and California-based patent boutique firm, Shvarts & Leiz LLP.

Haley Guiliano LLP will house much of Ropes & Gray’s IP rights management business going forward. (In March, Ropes & Gray announced that it would be restructuring its IP rights management practice and working closely with partner Joe Guiliano to establish a new firm.) Haley Guiliano LLP will offer clients the same high standards and related services in this practice that they have come to expect. 

Mr. Haley’s considerable experience advising life sciences companies on their patent portfolios will complement a focus on technology brought by Mr. Guiliano and other lawyers at the new firm, which will boast a strong line-up of patent practitioners, including Ropes & Gray partners:

Jeffrey H. Ingerman, based In New York, Jeff is a 30 year veteran who has advised clients on the development of their intellectual property strategies and the development of their IP assets. In addition, he collaborates with colleagues in our licensing and litigation groups to help clients exploit and defend their IP portfolios. Jeff advises clients across a wide range of technology areas, including the electronics, software, financial services, medical device and consumer products industries.

Richard M. Feustel, Jr., based in Silicon Valley, Rich is head of Ropes & Gray’s Silicon Valley intellectual property rights management engineering practice. For almost 20 years, he has advises clients in a variety of technical disciplines, including consumer electronics, integrated circuits, power converters, medical devices, telecommunications, cloud computing, storage area network systems, Internet applications, financial trading systems, and industrial equipment.

Adding the lawyers and technical staff from Shvarts & Leiz also bolsters Haley & Guiliano’s offering on the West Coast. The firm was founded by two former Ropes & Gray lawyers, James A. Leiz and Alexander Shvarts. Mr. Leiz and Mr. Shvarts will be joining Haley & Guiliano as partners along with associate Max Rapoport and other professionals from the firm’s California and New Jersey offices.

“We are excited to launch this new firm, and from day one, with this roster of experienced lawyers, we will be in a position to offer specialized, focused counsel on IP rights management matters on par with the best firms in the country,” said Mr. Guiliano. “The decision of a patent law giant like Jim Haley to join us is a further confirmation of that preeminence.”

With a distinguished career in IP law, focusing on patent prosecution and rights management and with extensive first chair experience in infringement, interference and post-grant proceedings in U.S. district and appellate courts and the USPTO, as well as being active in many contested proceedings outside of the United States, Mr. Haley is well positioned to advise clients on the prosecution of their patents and management of their portfolios with an eye toward potential litigation risks as well as in litigation opinions and support. He has counseled biotechnology and biopharmaceutical clients since 1978 and drafted, prosecuted and defended some of the basic patents in recombinant DNA technology. The Legal Media Group inducted him into its life sciences “Hall of Fame” in 2015, and he is regularly ranked in Chambers, Best Lawyers and Legal 500.

“I’m excited to start a new firm with Joe Guiliano and so many talented Ropes & Gray lawyers and technical advisors and staff in the IP rights management practice,” said Mr. Haley. “Our focus has always been on providing the highest standards of IP rights management and litigation counseling to our clients—and I believe this innovative restructuring is the best way to achieve that goal.”

Haley & Guiliano plans to launch its new firm later this year, with offices in New York and Silicon Valley. 

The new firm will continue to work closely with Ropes & Gray and its clients. Ropes & Gray retains its market-leading IP litigation and transaction practices, and will continue offering some IP rights management capabilities, such as trademark prosecution and patent analysis, strategy and counseling.

About Ropes & Gray 

Ropes & Gray is established as one of the world’s leading law firms for intellectual property, having been named “Law Firm of the Year for Patent Law” and “Law Firm of the Year for Patent Litigation” by U.S. News & World Report and honored as a leading IP firm by Chambers, The Legal 500, and Managing IP, among others.