Aaron L.J. Pereira, Philip L. Hirschhorn and Erin M. Dunston of Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel.

A group of IP lawyers with a long history of working together has left Big Law to reunite in a move to Philadelphia-based IP boutique Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel.

Erin Dunston and Phil Hirschhorn recently joined the firm as partners from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, while Aaron Pereira, a lawyer they worked with at Buchanan until 2016, is joining Panitch Schwarze as counsel from Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

The three lawyers are reuniting with colleagues Travis Bliss and Stephany Small, who joined Panitch Schwarze in February as a partner and patent agent, respectively, also from Buchanan.

Hirschhorn said he and the others had been thinking about moving "back to our roots" in the boutique space. He had previously worked at Hopgood Calimafde Judlowe & Mondolino, which merged into Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 2002.

Dunston, likewise, had previously worked in an IP boutique that later became part of a larger firm. She was an associate at Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis, which merged into Buchanan in 2005—Dunston made a move to Bingham McCutchen that same year, but later came back to Buchanan in 2009, also the year Hirschhorn joined the firm.

Dunston, whose work is largely focused on the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices industries, said she has long enjoyed a mix of prosecution and litigation in her practice. While some firms have "strict barriers" against that, she said, maintaining that balance was easier in a boutique. She said she learned about Panitch Schwarze when Bliss and Small made their move.

And Pereira, reflecting on his move from Weil Gotshal, noted that he's going to a smaller, niche environment. While boutiques can sometimes operate in a "silo" closed off from other segments of the industry, he said, that was not the impression he got from Panitch Schwarze. He noted as an example the firm's recent pivot to being completely remote due to the pandemic—all three lawyers said they perceived that transition as painless for the firm, and it didn't cause problems in their lateral move.

"It's not just a smaller, older IP boutique," Pereira said.

Hirschhorn and Dunston both said their ongoing matters are coming with them to Panitch Schwarze. And Pereira, who worked on pharmaceutical and biological litigation at Weil, said he expects to bring "relationships and the prospect of future work" to his new firm as counsel.

The group's book of business is roughly in the mid-seven figures.

Looking toward how their practice may be affected by current events, Dunston said she expects life sciences to remain active as an industry and to generate IP work.

"What I personally would love to do once things get a little calmer is to highlight—for those able to make a change—that right now the world is craving diagnostics," she said.

She explained that the current state of IP law, and how it has been interpreted by the courts, makes it difficult for those who innovate in the diagnostics sector to protect their intellectual property. The light shined on diagnostics in fighting the coronavirus pandemic "will hopefully help people see that we need to strike a more reasonable balance," she said.

Hirschhorn said the IP world is not immune to the effects of the pandemic, just as the legal industry as a whole is not immune. But he now sees that much of his work can be done remotely, even when it comes to processes involving patent offices and district courts, he said. And that's a positive for continuity in IP practices.

Asked about the departures, Buchanan CEO Joseph Dougherty said in an email statement: "We thank them for their contributions and wish them well."