February 11, 2004 (Boston, MA) - Proskauer Rose LLP, a leading law firm with over 600 lawyers in the U.S. and Europe, announced it has expanded to Boston. Steven M. Bauer, Joseph A. Capraro, Jr., and Daniel J. Bernstein, all formerly partners in Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault's intellectual property group, will spearhead the opening of the new office, the firm's seventh. Messrs. Bauer and Capraro have joined the firm as partners; Mr. Bernstein has joined as senior counsel.
"Proskauer Rose, over its more than 125-year history, has become one of the country's leading law firms, with established practices in all areas of business law," said Alan S. Jaffe, chairman of the firm. "The city of Boston and the Route-128 corridor are areas with among the highest concentrations of high-tech companies and universities in the world - presenting a significant opportunity to further expand our practice.
"As intellectual property becomes an increasingly valuable business asset, its protection has become more and more important," Jaffe continued. "As a result, litigation and the need for skilled IP lawyers have increased dramatically.
"Steve Bauer, Joe Capraro and Dan Bernstein have an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience dealing with a range of complex IP issues," Jaffe added. "They are invaluable additions to our firm and will lead the way in establishing our new office, which we hope to grow to approximately 20 attorneys by the end of 2004."
A founder of the intellectual property group at his former firm, Mr. Bauer has over two decades of complex patent and other intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution experience. He has been the successful lead trial counsel in over a dozen patent, trademark and licensing trials in federal courts across the country. Most recently, he has represented clients in matters involving nanotechnology, encryption and computer security software, high-temperature superconductors, medical electronics, plasma physics, and telecommunications, among others. Mr. Bauer earned S.B. and S.M. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his law degree from Boston University School of Law. He is an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law, and is vice-chair of the Litigation Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
"Proskauer Rose is a premier corporate law firm, with tremendous experience in myriad legal areas, including intellectual property," said Mr. Bauer. "Establishing the new Boston office expands the firm's capacity to serve the needs of a greater number of scientists and engineers, venture capitalists and businesses in a very important market center. We are pleased to join the firm and spearhead the expansion effort at this exciting time."
Mr. Capraro has been advising clients in all aspects of the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for more than a decade. His experience spans the spectrum of intellectual property issue areas including strategic intellectual property portfolio development, patent and trademark prosecution, intellectual property and technology licensing, intellectual property due diligence in corporate transactions, alternative dispute resolution and intellectual property litigation. He represents a wide range of clients having products in the engineering arts with particular emphasis on plasma devices, semiconductor equipment, medical lasers and other devices, software, optical components, alternative energy technologies, and image processing and communications devices. Before practicing law, he spent five years as an electrical engineer working in the defense electronics industry. Mr. Capraro received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Mr. Bernstein's practice focuses on the licensing of intellectual property rights in the high-technology and biotechnology industries. Mr. Bernstein has substantial experience in structuring cross-licensing arrangements, strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Before reentering private practice, Mr. Bernstein was a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Digital Equipment Corporation. Mr. Bernstein received his A.B., summa cum laude, from Cornell University and his J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Messrs. Bauer, Capraro and Bernstein join Proskauer's existing intellectual property group, which already includes 21 patent attorneys in addition to 25 copyright, trademark, trade secrets, unfair competition and technology transfer lawyers. The firm's existing patent practice works with a diverse set of industries, with a special emphasis on pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, video processing, DVD and CD technology, circuit design, semiconductor processing technology, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, polymer adhesives, material science, business methods and financial services.