FROM: DLA Piper
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DLA Piper Adds IP and International Finance Partners to Integrated Global
Sports, Media and Entertainment Group
Frank Ryan, Henry Liu, and Nicholas Papastavros join in New York and Boston
NEW YORK and BOSTON (June 3, 2010) – DLA Piper announced today that Frank Ryan, Henry Liu and Nicholas Papastavros have joined the firm as partners in the firm’s newly integrated Global Sports, Media and Entertainment Group. Ryan and Papastavros will also help to bolster the firm’s already top notch Intellectual Property and Technology practice, while Liu will add a new dimension to the firm’s Corporate & Finance team with his well-respected China practice. Additionally, their arrival will strengthen the firm’s growing presence in New York, where Ryan and Liu will reside, and in Boston, where Papastavros will reside. Ryan, Liu and Papastavros will once again join forces with their former Nixon Peabody LLP colleague, Peter White, who along with a team of transactional sports lawyers, arrived at the firm earlier this month to establish the world’s first truly global sports business law practice.
Ryan, Liu and Papastavros have worked closely with their former Nixon colleagues on matters involving the intersection of intellectual property litigation and sports, media and entertainment commercial transactions. They have also collaborated on international ventures in numerous jurisdictions including China, the UK and the Netherlands.
“Frank, Henry and Nick are leaders in their respective fields, and their addition to our Global Sports, Media and Entertainment Group is a function of putting talent where business lies,” said Roger Meltzer, Global Chair of DLA Piper’s Corporate and Finance practice. “Their combined transactional and litigation experience provides a unique advantage, positioning us to help clients navigate a range of intricate IP and commercial matters in today’s complex sports, media and entertainment industries.
“DLA Piper’s international platform aligns perfectly with the needs of our clients – from media and entertainment companies to sports teams, leagues, sponsors and investors,” said Ryan. “The firm’s wealth of resources will enable us to broaden the range and scope of services we offer – in all major business centers, from New York to Los Angeles and beyond.”
About the New Partners
Frank Ryan is a trial lawyer, as well as a trusted counselor, for intellectual property, sports and entertainment, media, technology, and litigation issues, advising clients on global privacy and data protection rights. As outside intellectual property counsel to ESPN, he has represented the company in a wide variety of matters relating to ESPN’s worldwide intellectual property portfolio. Other representations include American Broadcasting Company, Orly Adelson Productions, TomTom, Caché, and the Walt Disney Company. Additionally, Ryan practices in the areas of patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, First Amendment rights, and trade secrets.
Ryan received J.D. and B.A. degrees from Syracuse University in 1994 and 1990, respectively.
Henry Liu is a widely recognized leader in the Asia-related legal, business, financing, and regulatory communities. As former Chair and Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody’s China and Asia Pacific Practice, he has been involved in all major types of cross-border corporate and financing transactions and regulatory matters involving Asia and China, across all major industry sectors, in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking and financing, private equity and investment funds, foreign direct investments, real estate, technology transfers, and regulatory matters. Liu was among the first group of Chinese international lawyers studying in the U.S. in the 1980s. He was a practicing lawyer and a pioneer on China practices in New York in the early 1990s before becoming the general counsel and director-general at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s national securities regulator, from 1995 to 2000.
Liu received an LL.M from Harvard Law School, a Doctoral law degree from Peking University School of Law and a B.A. degree from Nankai University in China. He was also awarded an MBA from Said Business School at the University of Oxford.
Nicholas Papastavros is the former Co-Chair of Nixon Peabody’s Privacy and Data Protection Team, and focuses his practice on technology-related litigation and licensing matters, emphasizing patent, trade secret, trademark, and copyright disputes. He advises clients on remediating data breaches and compliance with federal and state privacy laws and regulations and has significant experience handling intellectual property transactions and related due diligence, and negotiating content, distribution, services and data reseller agreements.
Papastavros received his J.D. from Columbia University in 1993 and a B.A., cum laude, from Cornell University in 1990.
About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper has 3,500 lawyers in 29 countries and 67 offices throughout the US, UK, Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.
