Carmen Castellano, with Acuminis in Milan

California intellectual property boutique Acuminis has reconnected with its European roots by opening a new office in Milan.

To lead the new office, the Costa Mesa-based firm has hired a former Allen & Overy senior associate, Carmen Castellano, who was the head of Allen & Overy's Italian intellectual property practice. With Castellano's addition, the firm has a total of three partners, leading a group of five attorneys.

"In a way, we're going back where we came from," said Acuminis co-founding partner Christian Liedtke, who started out his legal career at Linklaters in Germany and the U.K.

Liedtke said his firm specialises in representing "large multinational corporations" that are coming out of Europe.

"So, the opportunity of going back to Europe, if you will, and gaining a foothold there was something that I have had on my radar since the time I started the firm in the U.S.," he said.

Liedtke left Allen & Overy to start the boutique with partner Gary Schonwald in 2014. Schonwald, who is primarily based in New York, was previously a partner at Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt until 2010. Finding the right fit for additional partners is key, Liedtke said, and that's something he saw in Castellano after working with her.

"Carmen and I have been working together on some U.S. matters that she had referred to us [when she was with] Allen & Overy. And it just worked out rather well and so we decided to take it to the next level," Liedtke said.

Prior to joining Allen & Overy, Castellano spent 10 years at intellectual property boutique Jacobacci & Associates.

"I've known Christian for some years, and having worked with a lot of clients and companies in the U.S., I thought well, why not take this chance, then to do something more," Castellano said.

Castellano, whose practice focuses on patent, trademark, design, copyright, and unfair competition litigation, will serve as the firm's Milan managing partner.

"I think there is also some benefit of operating in Italy, especially because many of the patent industries are located here, which is where most of the IP work I do is, and also main publishing company," Castellano said. "So, the IP market here is quite vibrant and quite active."