Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has recruited another large group of IP lawyers and staff from McDermott Will & Emery, bringing the total tally of lawyers and staff switching firms to well over 50.

At least nine more partners from McDermott are making their way to Morgan Lewis in Orange County, California, along with nearly 40 other lawyers and staff, over the next several weeks. Combined with the seven partners who made the same move late last month, the group of hires includes 16 partners, 14 other lawyers and about 30 nonlawyer patent professionals.

The Orange County group is led by partner Mark Itri and also includes partners Christopher Bright, Michael Dreznes, M. Todd Hales, Karen Laub, John Magluyan, Andrew Mickelsen, Nathan Smith and Kenneth Cheney, Morgan Lewis said.

The seven partners who joined Morgan Lewis at the end of July included five in Chicago, one in Washington, D.C., and one based in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

The Orange County group “provides us for the first time in Southern California with a deep and broad intellectual property practice,” Morgan Lewis managing partner Steven Wall said.

Itri said McDermott rolled out a business and strategic plan about two years ago, and it did not include IP as an area of focus in that plan.

“It's extremely important to be at a firm where IP is strategic, and for Morgan Lewis that is exactly what we have found,” Itri said. “For us, it was not a difficult decision to go to a firm where they prioritize this practice area.”

In a statement, McDermott's head of IP, Nicole Jantzi said, “IP is an important part of McDermott's service portfolio and one where we continue to invest in top talent. Since my team and I arrived—and certainly since I've assumed leadership of the IP group—I have received full support for our vision, which is to put the right people in place to execute on innovative strategies and surpass client expectations in the process.”

When Itri first started talking with Morgan Lewis, he was unaware that McDermott colleagues from other offices were also considering a move, he said. That was “a very pleasant surprise,” he said.

“There was a short window of time when [the discussions with each group] were parallel, and then they converged,” Morgan Lewis chair Jami Wintz McKeon said. “There's no question that the synergy of having them all in the same place at the same firm is an attraction.”

McKeon said she expects the Orange County group to bring all of their clients with them, which includes some existing Morgan Lewis clients. Wall said the lawyers represent several large, consumer branded technology clients that Morgan Lewis also represents. And in the life sciences industry, the new group represents some clients in IP matters that Morgan Lewis represents in other practice areas.

McKeon also noted that the group consists of lawyers from different generations, including “a lot of people who will be leading the firm for years to come.”

Despite the number of lateral defections, Jantzi was upbeat.

“Our vision for the McDermott IP group is clear, and we appreciate that our path is not for everyone,” she said in her statement. “As we streamline our operations, we're excited to see the team coming together and stepping up to deliver the kind of creative, strategic solutions our clients have come to expect from McDermott IP attorneys.”

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