May 21, 2004, San Francisco, CA- LAWFUEL -Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (K&L) is pleased to announce that Christopher O.B. Wright has joined as a partner in the Antitrust and Trade Regulation and Intellectual Property practice groups.
Wright was a partner at Cooley Godward LLP in Palo Alto, California from 1997 to 2004. His prior experience includes time as an associate attorney at both Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Latham & Watkins.
Wright, age 44, is a 1986 graduate of U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law and a 1981 graduate of Stanford University with an undergraduate degree in public policy.
Wright focuses his practice on antitrust matters for technology companies, in particular the strategic use of intellectual property assets. He has experience serving as outside counsel in technology transactions and litigation for more than 50 public companies listed in the most recent Silicon Valley 150 published by The Mercury News. He has significant experience in complex transactions including mergers and acquisitions; venture capital financings; joint ventures and strategic alliances; technology licenses and collaborations; and standard setting.
At K&L, Wright will continue to serve both venture capital funds and their privately held portfolio companies, while also advising chief executive officers and other senior management of the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading public companies.
“Chris is a fantastic addition to the firm,” said Peter W. Sheats, K&L’s Administrative Partner in San Francisco. “He is well-known in the Silicon Valley community, and his connections and experience will help enhance our market position in this region.”
“This latest addition of another high-profile lateral partner is another sign of California’s growing importance in the global economy, as well as California’s significance in K&L’s overall growth plans,” said Peter J. Kalis, Chair of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart’s Management Committee
K&L’s San Francisco office opened in April 2000 and has grown to more than 35 lawyers including 14 partners, practicing in a broad range of areas. These areas include investment management, securities enforcement, broker-dealer regulation, public and private corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, mortgage banking, consumer and commercial finance, bank regulation, employee benefits and ESOP, civil and intellectual property litigation, and project finance.
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart serves a dynamic and growing clientele in regional, national and international markets that includes representation of over half of the FORTUNE 100. Currently more than 700 lawyers in ten offices, K&L’s practice embraces three major areas–litigation, corporate and regulatory–and related fields.
