Haynes and Boone office sign/photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM

Haynes and Boone has doubled the size of its 4-year-old Chicago office, adding two intellectual property partners from Chicago IP boutique Brinks Gilson & Lione.

Ralph Gabric and Laura Beth Miller, who joined Haynes and Boone on Monday, said moving to a full-service firm from an IP boutique provides their clients with a greater breadth of service.

“They can offer legal services to IP clients who have growing businesses … and need additional help,” Miller said.

At 115-lawyer Brinks Gilson, Gabric formerly chaired the litigation practice, and Miller was a co-chairwoman.

Adding IP lawyers in Chicago fits with Texas-based Haynes and Boone's growth plans for that office, which the firm acquired in 2015 when lawyers from IP boutique Mavrakakis Law Group joined the firm in Chicago and Palo Alto.

Timothy Powers, managing partner of Haynes and Boone, said via email that the growth strategy in Chicago is focused on technology—the IP lateral hires fit there—finance, private equity and real estate. Powers wrote that the Chicago office wasn't a high priority in the first few years Haynes and Boone had a presence there, because the legal community there is well-served by top firms. But the firm has been looking for the “right opportunity” to add Chicago lawyers that fit the firm's strategy and culture, he added.

“Philosophically, we don't go into a new market unless we believe that we can differentiate ourselves in that market in our four core sectors of energy, technology, financial services and private equity,” he wrote, adding that as the firm grows in Chicago, it will find ways to make itself stand out in those areas.

Gabric said he and Miller have practiced together for many years, and weren't  looking to move to a full-service firm. But he has gotten to know a number of Haynes and Boone lawyers over the last 20 years and he started chatting informally with some about a potential move. He and Miller agreed it was the right fit for their practices.

Miller said Haynes and Boone's IP practice has “fantastic lawyers” with technical expertise in emerging and growing areas in IP, including software and artificial intelligence.

Richard Rochford, chairman of Haynes and Boone's IP litigation practice group, said in a press release that Gabric and Miller are a perfect fit because “our practice is built around top-notch IP trial lawyers and teams that work well together and put the clients first.”

Gabric is a trial lawyer whose clients are in such industry sectors as software, medical devices, communications networks, cellular telephony, automotive, infrared cameras and internet-based technologies. He also represents generic pharmaceutical companies in litigation. Miller represents high-tech companies in patent infringement actions before the International Trade Commission and in arbitration over the misappropriation of trade secrets. They declined to identify their clients.

Gabric said it wasn't an easy decision to leave Brinks Gilson, because he had practiced there since 1988. “Brinks has great lawyers and even better people,” he said.

Gus Siller, president of Brinks Gilson, said in an email that the firm wishes its former colleagues well and remains excited about the firm's future in Chicago and in national markets.