Howrey Announces Partner and Counsel Promotions

Nine Partners and Two Counsel Named

Howrey is pleased to announce that it has invited nine of its lawyers to the partnership and two to counsel effective January 1, 2009. The promotions are across many of Howrey’s offices in the US and Europe and in each of the firm’s three practice areas - - antitrust, complex commercial litigation and intellectual property. New partners include: Patricia Cappuyns (Brussels), Thomas Dillickrath (DC), Vanessa Forsythe (DC), John Hamann (San Francisco), Robert Harkins, Jr. (San Francisco), Romeo Quinto (Chicago), Michael Stimson (Irvine), Tyler VanHoutan (Houston) and Wallace Wu (Los Angeles). Counsel include: Steven Cattoor (Brussels) and Alvaro Ramos (Brussels).

In making the announcement, Bob Ruyak, Howrey’s CEO and Chairman praised the new partners, saying, “We are so proud of their efforts and talent. Please join me in congratulating each one of them on this wonderful achievement.”

Partners

Patricia Cappuyns (Brussels, Intellectual Property) - Patricia Cappuyns, a Partner in Howrey's Brussels office, has extensive experience in enforcing and challenging intellectual property rights including patents, trade marks and copyrights. Her practice is strongly focused on cross-border patent litigation, including ground-breaking proceedings before the Belgian courts concerning indirect patent infringement and obtaining enforcement measures such as "saisie-contrefaçon" procedures. Patricia has also litigated in the area of unfair competition. A keen scholar of the interaction between intellectual property and competition law, Patricia regularly advises clients on issues that arise at the interface between these areas of law. Patricia is a member of the team representing Qualcomm focusing on the intellectual property and competition issues arising in standard-setting.

Thomas Dillickrath (DC, Antitrust) - Thomas Dillickrath is a Partner in the Antitrust practice group at Howrey, specializing in complex litigation, appellate practice and antitrust merger clearance. Mr. Dillickrath’s practice focuses on antitrust litigation involving high-tech and telecommunications industries. In the merger context, he has represented clients before both domestic and foreign competition agencies. His appellate practice has focused on antitrust issues related to multi-product bundled discounts. He has also argued before the DC Superior Court on behalf of the Community for Creative Non-Violence, a pro bono client, winning dismissal of a suit filed against it.

Vanessa Forsythe (DC, Antitrust, Commercial Litigation) - Vanessa Forsythe is a Partner in Howrey’s Antitrust and Global Litigation practice groups. Ms. Forsythe's practice focuses on antitrust litigation and other commercial matters in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels. She has represented clients in complex private antitrust and multi-district class action matters, including defending clients against claims brought under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, and in commercial contract disputes and franchise/distributor terminations. Ms. Forsythe has served clients in the biotechnology, manufacturing, alcoholic beverage industries.

John D. Hamann (SF, Intellectual Property) - Mr. Hamann's practice focuses on patent litigation, primarily in the area of electrical arts. Mr. Hamann has handled patent litigation involving a variety of electrical subject matter, including software, hardware, system architecture, Power Over Ethernet devices, set-top boxes, and Internet-related technologies. Prior to law school, Mr. Hamann served as the Engineering Manager for a leading radio frequency consulting firm. Mr. Hamann also was a Communications Engineer for a certified frequency coordinator for the Land Mobile Branch of the Federal Communications Commission. Mr. Hamann is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Robert Harkins, Jr. (SF, Intellectual Property) - Bob Harkins is a trial lawyer with Howrey’s Intellectual Property team, primarily focused on patent litigation, as well as trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation. Mr. Harkins has handled a variety of subject matters in intellectual property counseling and disputes, with a particular focus on computer hardware, software, system design, television and satellite broadcasting and Internet-related technologies. He also has experience in alternative dispute resolution, licensing matters, complex commercial litigation and defense of class actions.

Romeo Quinto, Jr. (Chicago, Antitrust, Commercial Litigation) - Romeo Quinto litigates commercial and antitrust matters, including class actions, at both the appellate and trial levels, representing national and international companies in the auto, food, pharmaceutical, and tobacco industries. Claims alleged in these matters include franchise law violations, global trade secret misappropriation, price discrimination, products liability, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and various other claims under federal and state laws.

Michael Stimson (Irvine, Intellectual Property) - Michael J. Stimson is a partner in the Intellectual Property practice group. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cornell University. He is active in patent litigation and appeals, client counseling, and drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His litigation experience includes patent enforcement and defense trials and appellate experience including appeals to the Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Ninth Circuit. He has successfully led high stakes patent litigation teams and obtained summary judgments and highly favorable settlement terms on behalf of his clients. His patent prosecution experience includes complex cases in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from patent interferences and appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to reexamination and reissue applications.

Tyler VanHoutan (Houston, Intellectual Property) - Tyler VanHoutan is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Howrey LLP and is based in the firm’s Houston office. Mr. VanHoutan’s practice involves all aspects of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on patent litigation and patent prosecution. Mr. VanHoutan’s patent litigation experience includes participation in cases encompassing a wide range of industries including the oil and gas and telecommunications industries. Mr. VanHoutan has been involved in bench and jury trials, Markman hearings, and all aspects of pre-trial discovery, including motion practice and conducting and defending depositions. Mr. VanHoutan also has extensive experience litigating in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, one of the busiest venues for patent litigation in the United States. Mr. VanHoutan’s patent prosecution experience includes drafting and successfully prosecuting U.S. and foreign patents relating to the oil and gas industry. Mr. VanHoutan’s patent prosecution experience also includes drafting and successfully prosecuting reexamination and reissue patent applications.

Wallace Wu PhD (Los Angeles, Intellectual Property) - Mr. Wu focuses on patent litigation, prosecution, and counseling in the areas of biotechnology and chemistry. He has worked on a variety of litigation matters, involving medical devices, scientific instruments, diagnostic tests, and molecular genetics. Mr. Wu also has extensive experience in patent prosecution and portfolio evaluation.

Counsel

Steven Cattoor (Brussels, Intellectual Property) - Steven Cattoor, Counsel in Howrey’s Brussels office, specializes in intellectual property litigation, with a particular focus on patent litigation in the Life Sciences industry, where he has represented a number of research-based manufacturers. During his career, Steven has worked across the full range of IP disciplines both in litigation (particularly patent and copyright law, advertising, IT and distribution law) as well as in providing non-contentious legal advice (negotiation and drafting of IT, R&D and licensing contracts, corporate IP support). Steven is involved in a number of competition cases most particularly the Commission’s investigation into the pharmaceutical sector. He is also a regular guest-speaker on "Introduction to Patent Law" at the University of Brussels (VUB).

Alvaro Ramos (Brussels, Antitrust) - Alvaro Ramos is Counsel in Howrey’s Brussels office and specializes in EU and Spanish antitrust law. Alvaro’s experience covers the whole range of antitrust including cartels, dominance (monopolization) and mergers across a range of industries, including high technology, energy, consumer goods, automotive, aviation and pharmaceuticals. In the area of cartels, Alvaro has represented clients before the European Commission in transatlantic investigations in the fields of chemicals, aviation and consumer goods. He has advised on dawn raid procedures, internal antitrust audits, leniency applications as well as compliance and training programs. Alvaro has worked extensively in merger control, obtaining regulatory approval for a number of mergers from the European Commission, the Spanish Competition Authority, as well as the coordination of multijurisdictional filings. Alvaro also has significant experience in the energy sector being involved in several merger transactions, representing parties in the granting of exclusive rights and dealing with third party access disputes.