Jennifer Kelly, co-chair and founder of Fenwick & West's games industry group, has left the firm to join her husband Ryan Tyz's litigation boutique, Tyz Law Group.

Monday was Kelly's first day at Tyz's firm, which Tyz established in 2015 after leaving Fenwick. Kelly practiced for 19 years at Fenwick, where she also served as chair of the firm's intellectual property and commercial litigation group.

“It became clear to me, over the years, that the practice that I have built was better suited a smaller platform,” Kelly said. “A lot of what I do is to provide strategic counseling to my clients, and it is really just me giving advice to a client, not a team of people.”

In addition to representing clients on intellectual property and litigation matters, Kelly more often serves as a strategic adviser to her clients, working with them on issues ranging from IP protection and enforcement to commercial disputes, she said.

“My model is [to] keep my clients out of litigation as much as possible, and when they do get into litigation, end it as quickly as possible. So it is a lot of strategic advice,” Kelly added.

She has also defended and worked on copyright cases for high-profile clients, including King.com Ltd, Peak Games, Glu Mobile Inc., Gram Games, Sega Games Co. Ltd, Electronic Arts Inc. and Capcom Co. Ltd.

Kelly is the third partner to join Tyz Law Group, a five-attorney firm, which also has two associates. Kelly, Tyz, partner Erin Jones and associate Aaron Myers all previously worked at Fenwick.

Tyz left Fenwick to practice as a solo attorney in 2015. Shortly after, he formed a team with two other former Fenwick attorneys, Ryan Marton and David Schumann, to create patent litigation boutique Tyz Marton Schumann.

According to Kelly, after about a year working together, the group decided to go separate ways because the “three of them had different visions about what they wanted the firm to look like.” Marton and Schumann later joined former Fenwick partners Carolyn Chang and Hector Ribera to launch Marton Ribera Schumann & Chang in 2017.

“Jennifer and I met at Fenwick, and the qualities that drew me to her are the same qualities that make her such a valuable addition to the firm: she is one of the smartest and most strategic people I have ever known,” Tyz said in a statement.

Tyz's firm has fixed billing rates and encourages the use of contingency fees or other success-based pricing models, which is another draw for her to join the firm, Kelly said.

As someone who wears many other hats—including serving on the executive board of TechLaw Group Inc., a referral network and best practices hub for 28 international law firms; serving on the board of the Video Game Bar Association; and raising two sons—Kelly also noted that she enjoys the lifestyle available to her at a small firm.

“I think that being at a smaller firm, working with my spouse, is going to give me a lot more flexibility and freedom in my life,” she said.

In a statement, Fenwick lawyer Jennifer Stanley, who will now serve as the sole chair of the games industry group, said: “Jennifer is a wonderful colleague and we will continue to collaborate and work together to help our clients.”

According to Fenwick, litigation partner and privacy and cybersecurity practice co-chair Tyler Newby will now chair the firm's IP and commercial litigation group.

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