Dennis A. Duchene Rejoins McDermott’s San Diego Office as Partner in the Intellectual Property Department
SAN DIEGO (June 3, 2009) — International law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP is pleased to announce that Dennis A. Duchene has rejoined the Firm as partner in the Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department. Mr. Duchene, formerly the Vice President, Senior IP Counsel at NextWave Broadband Inc., will focus his practice on patent preparation and prosecution, patent litigation, intellectual property transactions and client counseling on intellectual property matters.
"We're glad Dennis has chosen to continue his professional path with our global intellectual property team," said Terry McMahon, head of the Firm's global Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department. "Our practice is thriving and we are delighted to add him to our San Diego office," he added.
"I'm thrilled to be rejoining McDermott," said Duchene. "The Firm has a highly regarded IP practice and a reputation for offering high quality resources, who wouldn't want to be a part of that?" he added.
John Hankins, head of the Firm's San Diego office, co-vice chair of the Firm's Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department and co-head of the Firm's Patent Prosecution Practice Group, commented, "Dennis is a high quality lawyer and his appointment represents continued progress in our strategy to expand our San Diego office to serve the region's most innovative and successful companies."
Mr. Duchene's practice will encompass representing clients in various areas of technology including electrical, computer, software, wireless communication, internet-based technology, electro-mechanical devices, image processing, networks, digital communications and biomedical arts. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Duchene worked as an engineer in the aerospace industry. His technical experience includes flight computer system design, simulation software design, and digital communications networks development, integration and testing.
Mr. Duchene received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law where he was a member of the appellate moot court board and the national moot court team. He earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mr. Duchene is admitted to practice in California and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Our Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department includes more than 200 lawyers and patent agents working in all of our offices throughout the world. We have more than 95 registered patent lawyers and agents, representing one of the largest and most accomplished concentrations of prosecution experience worldwide. A recent edition of Intellectual Property Today ranked McDermott Will & Emery one of the most active patent prosecution firms. Our Department is composed of professionals with experience in virtually all fields of technology, with particular strengths in telecommunications, computer hardware and software, semiconductor fabrication, robotics and servomechanisms, biotechnology and pharmaceutical chemistry. More than 135 of our lawyers hold technical and/or scientific degrees and have acquired industry experience in specialty fields with major corporations. Our Department includes numerous lawyers and agents with valuable experience as former administrative patent judges, U.S. Patent Office examiners, petition specialists and government international representatives.
