Team Building: IP Attorney Mika Reiner Mayer Moves to Cooley with 11 Other Attorneys

by | Aug 8, 2016

Mika Reiner Mayer

For Mika Reiner Mayer, there are three critical elements to leadership: a vision, a plan for accomplishing that vision, and good managerial skills. Her recent move from Morrison & Foerster to Cooley exemplifies the effectiveness of those three essential components.

At MoFo, Mayer lead the firm’s medical device patent group and co-founded and lead its venture intellectual property group for nearly a decade. In June, Mayer moved to Cooley where she is building a life sciences patent practice in the firm’s Palo Alto office. And she isn’t doing it alone: after she left MoFo, 11 attorneys and patent agents—nine of whom are women—joined her at Cooley, along with a number of staff.

“My decision to move firms was motivated by the obvious synergies between my team’s practice and Cooley’s,” says Mayer. “Cooley lawyers were already working on corporate and licensing matters for my clients and Palo Alto is the firm’s largest strategic market. I had a vision of building a life sciences patent practice here from the ground up, but none of that would be possible without my former team members from MoFo.”

That so many of her colleagues made the move is a testament to Mayer’s skills as a leader, as well as her ability to articulate her strategy for accomplishing her vision. In fact, when asked about her professional accomplishments, she says that she is proudest of her team. One tangible sign of the significance Mayer places on her team hangs on her office wall. “I was ecstatic that my team decided to join me at Cooley—so much so that I took a picture of each one signing the Cooley offer letter,” Mayer says. “Those photos are now framed in my office.”

Team Building: IP Attorney Minka Reiner Mayer Moves to Cooley with 11 Others

Mayer, a WILEF board member, credits MoFo lawyer Thomas Ciotti with teaching her many lessons about leadership. A senior partner when Mayer was a junior associate, the pair founded MoFo’s venture intellectual property group.

“Tom was much more than a mentor to me, he was my sponsor,” Mayer says. “He’s someone who believed in me from the beginning, gave me challenging projects and demanded excellence. Tom constantly promoted me with and outside the firm, and always brought me to the table, even at board meetings. He’s amazing, and even today I rely on him for sage advice.”

Other Moves:

National insurance coverage lawyers Joanna Crosby, Linda Tai Hoshide, Katherine Tammaro and Kathleen Williams have joined Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker as part of an 11-lawyer team that previously practiced at Tressler. All of the women are joining Wilson, Elser as partners. Hoshide will be resident in the firm’s Los Angeles office, while Crosby, Tammaro and Williams will work from Florham Park, NJ, office.

Dentons has hired Gail A. Lione as senior counsel in its Washington, D.C., office. She joins the firm from Harley-Davidson, Inc., where she served as executive vice president, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer, as well as president of The Harley-Davidson Foundation until her retirement. Lione spent 23 years leading corporate legal departments, and prior to Harley-Davidson was general counsel and secretary of US News & World Report and its affiliates, and general counsel at Sun Life Group of America.

Barrie VanBrackle has joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. VanBrackle was previously co-chair of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips’ global payments and consumer financial services practice.

Sedgwick has recruited trial lawyers Tiffany Alexander and Margaret Holm to join the firm as partners. Alexander works from the firm’s Newark office. She was previously a shareholder at Campbell, Campbell, Edwards and Conroy. Holm was one of a four-person group that joined the firm from Bonne Bridges Mueller O’Keefe & Nichols. She is resident in the firm’s Orange County, Calif., office.

Sullivan & Worcester has hired Marian Boyle as a partner in its London office. Boyle, who joins the firm from Dentons, heads Sullivan & Worcester’s UK insurance and disputes practice.

Littler Mendelson has hired an 11-member labor and employment litigation group from Locke Lord, five of whom are women counsel: Siobhan Sweeney, Alice Kokodis, Laura Raisty and Caroline Turcotte in Boston and Marcy Gilroy in Newark.

Greenberg Traurig has recruited Laurie L. Green and Melissa Hunter-Ensor as shareholders. Green, who is resident in the Fort Lauderdale office, works in the corporate and securities practice. She was previously at Holland & Knight. Hunter-Ensor is an intellectual property lawyer working with life sciences companies and is based in Boston. Hunter-Ensor previously practiced at Saul Ewing.

Trademark and advertising lawyer Julie Hopkins has joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice’s Baltimore office. A registered patent lawyer, Hopkins was previously chair of Tydings & Rosenberg’s IP practice. She also chairs the intellectual property section of the Maryland State Bar Association.

Zelle has opened a Miami office and hired Anaysa Gallardo Stutzman as office managing partner. Previously a partner at Cozen O’Connor, Stutzman handles insurance disputes and general commercial litigation.

Reed Smith has hired Holly Roth as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office. A member of the firm’s global regulatory enforcement practice, Roth was previously a partner at Kelley, Drye & Warren and co-chair of its government contracts practice.

Regulatory lawyer Geneviève Michaux has joined Mayer Brown’s government and global trade practice as a partner. She will work from the Brussels office. Previously, Michaux was at Hunton & Williams.

Chadbourne & Parke has hired Irina Tymczyszyn as a partner in its London office. The English-qualified solicitor previously practiced at Bryan Cave.

Patent lawyer Kristin L. Yohannan has joined Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy’s Washington, D.C., office as special counsel. She was previously at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and also worked as associate solicitor in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Lisa Prager and Lara Covington have joined Holland & Knight as partners in the national white-collar defense and investigations practice. They were previously at Schulte Roth & Zabel. Prager will work from the New York office while Covington will be resident in the Washington, D.C., office.

Litigator Megan K. Bannigan has joined Debevoise & Plimpton’s New York office as counsel. Prior to joining the firm, Bannigan worked in the office of the New Jersey governor.

Addleshaw Goddard has hired Anna Nerush and Sarah Z. Vasani as partners in its London office. Vasani was previously at King & Spalding, while Nerush previously worked at Morgan Lewis.

Annamarie Daley has joined Jones Day’s newly opened Minneapolis office as a partner. Daley, who practices complex commercial litigation, was previously at Barnes & Thornburg.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal has hired Laetitia Costa to head the firm’s Banking and Finance practice in London. Previously, Costa worked at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

Elizabeth Brandon has joined Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office from Vinson & Elkins. She is a partner in the litigation practice.

Bracewell has hired Annette Tripp as a partner in its Houston office. The financial institutions lawyer was previously at Thompson & Knight.

IP lawyer Marjan Noor has joined Allen & Overy as a partner in the firm’s London office. Noor previously practiced at Simmons & Simmons.

Joanne Owen has joined Proskauer Rose as a partner in the firm’s private equity real estate practice, resident in the firm’s London office. She previously practiced at DLA Piper.

Elizabeth Davis has joined Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella’s Chicago office from Nixon Peabody. Davis joins as a partner and will practice corporate law.

Dorsey & Whitney’s New York office has hired Janet M. Weiss as a partner in the firm’s finance and restructuring practice. Weiss comes to Dorsey from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Business litigator Amanda Martinsek has joined Ice Miller’s Cleveland office as partner from Thacker Robinson Zinz Co. The firm has also hired Lindsay Shanahan as an associate in its public affairs and government law practice. Previously she was executive director for the non-profit Connect Ohio and counsel for broadband research and planning for the non-profit Connected Nation.

Jackson Lewis has hired litigator Candace Harrison as a principal in its Orange County, Calif., office. Harrison previously worked at Littler Mendelson.

Osborne Clarke has hired Rebecca Gordon as a partner in its London office. Previously at Dentons, Clarke is a member of the equity capital markets team in the corporate practice.

Batya Goodman has joined Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith as a partner. Resident in the Fort Lauderdale office, Goodman was previously at Greenberg Traurig. She is a member of the firm’s business practices practice.

Littler Mendelson has hired S. Jeanine Conley as a shareholder in its Philadelphia office. The employment litigator was previously a partner at BakerHostetler.

Stacy J. Stotts has left Stinson Leonard Street to join Polsinelli’s Kansas City office as a shareholder. She is a member of the firm’s environment and natural resources practice.

Tax lawyer Kristen Chang Winckler has joined Ropes & Gray as a partner in the firm’s tax practice. Resident in the firm’s New York office, she was previously a partner at Paul Hastings.

Schiff Hardin has hired Marisa Murillo as a partner in its Chicago office. Murillo, who is part of the finance practice and corporate and transactional practice, was previously at Katten Muchin Rosenman.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton has recruited Rebecca Edelson to join the firm as partner in its Century City, Calif., office. Previously at Steptoe & Johnson, Edelson is a member of the firm’s intellectual property and litigation practices.

Elizabeth Robertson has left K&L Gates to join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s London office as a partner in the government enforcement and white-collar crime practice.

Real estate and banking lawyer Ashley W. Anderson has joined Thompson & Knight’s Dallas office as a partner. Previously she was a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell.

Vedder Price has hired Blythe E. Lovinger to join its labor and employment practice as a shareholder. Resident in the firm’s New York office, Lovinger was previously a partner at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman.

Labor and employment lawyer Nicole A. Smith has joined Venable’s Washington, D.C., office from DLA Piper. At DLA Piper she was the firm’s Washington, D.C., hiring partner and led the DLA Piper’s domestic OSHA practice.

Robinson & Cole’s health law group has brought on Melissa (Lisa) Thompson as a partner in the firm’s Boston and Providence offices and Erica S. Youngerman as an associate in its New York office. Thompson joined from LeClairRyan.