Venable has hired veteran intellectual property litigator Shane Brun to bolster its intellectual property capabilities in the Bay Area.

Brun joins Venable's IP litigation group as the firm prepares to complete its acquisition of IP-focused Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto on Nov. 1. Brun was most recently a partner at Goodwin Procter, a firm he joined four years ago from K&L Gates.

“The addition of the Fitzpatrick folks to the already talented Venable IP team has put Venable's IP practice over the top,“ said Brun in a statement Tuesday announcing his move to Venable. “From what I've seen, Venable has a unique platform for both IP and any type of complex litigation. I will be able to provide a broader range of services to a broader range of clients than I have in the past.”

Venable, which earlier this week saw a seven-lawyer real estate group in New York decamp for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, doubled the size of its Big Apple base to more than 170 lawyers as a result of its combination with 100-lawyer Fitzpatrick Cella. Venable has also expanded its presence in California this year by recruiting former Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth IP litigation partner Sarah Brooks in Los Angeles and adding ex-Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer associate Benjamin Pelletier as counsel for its patent prosecution practice in San Francisco.

“Strength in IP is a key differentiator for the firm. And that strength is a huge asset in the Bay Area, where the need for practitioners with deep knowledge in biotech, life sciences, electronics and technology is important for so many clients,” said a statement from James Nelson, partner-in-charge of the firm's San Francisco office. “As we look to build upon our IP capabilities on the West Coast, Shane's experience as an intellectual property litigator in the technology sector will be perfect addition to the practice.”

Nelson joined Venable in 2010 after serving as co-head of DLA Piper's technology and sourcing practice. That same year Brun left Morrison & Foerster for K&L Gates, where he would spend nearly the next five years. Brun had began his legal career as an associate at California's Keesal, Young & Logan and K&L Gates predecessor Preston Gates & Ellis, but left private practice at the height of the dot-com boom in 2000 to serve as an in-house counsel at digital television technology company OpenTV and NBCUniversal's short-lived internet portal NBCi.

In 2003, Brun joined Morrison & Foerster, where he would spend the next seven years before moving back to K&L Gates. Throughout his legal career, Brun has represented clients in a number of industries—such as audio products manufacturer Beats Electronics and network security company FireEye Inc.—in patent litigation and other IP and technology-related matters.

Brun once helped F5 Networks Inc. win a complex patent infringement case filed against the Seattle-based technology company by Implicit Networks Inc.