Despite high rent and plenty of competition, law firms that are active in IP can’t seem to resist the lure of the nation’s capital. In recent months, Dallas-based McKool Smith, Irvine, California–based Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear and San Francisco–based Townsend and Townsend and Crew are among those that have opened new offices in Washington, D.C.

“There are two places to have your patent attorney: either right near you—or in Washington,” says Richard Meyer, new head of East Coast litigation for Townsend. “Clients seem to think that you have the inside scoop here.” And to some extent, that’s true, Meyer says. Before joining Townsend in July, Meyer worked for McGuireWoods as chair of their entire patent practice. Meyer was at McGuireWoods’ office in Tysons Corner, Virginia, a Washington suburb, but he says that actually being in the city makes it easier to talk with judges and socialize with movers and shakers in the Washington IP community. “[Townsend] was feeling that it lost out on some business because it didn’t have an East Coast presence,” Meyer says. Townsend has already landed some brand new clients though its Washington office, including drug maker Mylan Laboratories Inc., headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The office opened in July with nine attorneys, and Meyer projects having 25 to 30 attorneys in the next two years.

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