Newsbriefs

Troutman Sanders said yesterday it is expanding its New York office by hiring five intellectual property lawyers who were left adrift after the abrupt collapse in December of Dreier LLP. The group, led by senior patent litigator Albert Jacobs Jr., has had a bumpy ride. Mr. Jacobs brought his team to Dreier from Greenberg Traurig in 2007. But 18 months later, Marc S. Dreier was under arrest for fraud and Mr. Jacobs’ group was rushing to escape the fallout. “It’s not the way I wanted to spend my Christmas, let’s just say,” Mr. Jacobs said. Mr. Dreier was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison for defrauding investors.

After the arrest, Mr. Jacobs quickly formed a boutique, Albert Jacobs LLP, for his team while they looked for a general practice firm to call home. Despite the scandal, all of their clients followed, he said. Mr. Jacobs, Gerard Diebner, and Daniel Ladow have joined Troutman as of counsel, along with two associates. Troutman said in a statement it is hiring the group in an effort to build a life sciences practice. The IP group has experience not only in life science but also with a range of technologies, including chemical and business methods.