Burns & Levinson Adds Leading Intellectual Property Attorney Christopher Carroll as a Partner

Boston, MA, Mar. 19, 2020– Burns & Levinson announced today that veteran patent attorney Christopher Carroll has joined the firm as a partner in its Intellectual Property Group. Carroll was previously a partner at White & Case, and brings 17 years of experience advising clients on their patent, trademark and copyright strategies to the firm. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office and the UK High Court. Carroll will be based in Boston, but Burns & Levinson will open an office in London to accommodate his significant European practice.

An electrical and computer engineer by training, Carroll’s clients have included mechanical, electrical, software, and communications engineering companies such as an Oakland, CA-based marine technology company; UK and Spanish-based MEMS technology company; a Sweden-based satellite communications company; and a utilities-focused infrastructure company working in the U.S. and Canada.

“We are excited to add Chris and his extraordinary talents to our world-class IP team,” said David P. Rosenblatt, managing partner at Burns & Levinson. “Our IP group has been expanding rapidly over the past several years and we are always looking for outstanding lateral hires to help us meet increasing client demand for our services.”

In addition to developing patent portfolios for clients around the world, Carroll regularly prepares legal opinions regarding patent validity, infringement and freedom-to-operate and IP due diligence. He is knowledgeable in technology-related license agreements, and has extensive expertise handling Opposition and Appeal proceedings at the European Patent Office.

“Chris is a highly-regarded attorney with deep expertise in patenting complex technologies,” said Joseph Maraia, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice. “We have one of the strongest electrical engineering IP practices in Boston, and adding his electrical and computer engineering skills and his international abilities to our team will be particularly valuable for our clients. We are thrilled to welcome him to our firm, and look forward to providing European IP services from our new London office.”

Before law school, Carroll supervised research related to wireless communications network security at Verizon and GTE Laboratories. He also developed a Mobile IP cryptographic key distribution procedure used by Verizon Wireless in its 3G data service. He is an inventor of eight U.S. patents related to wireless security.

Carroll received his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2003. He earned an M.S. in computer engineering in 1998 and a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1994 from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

About Burns & Levinson LLP

At Burns & Levinson, we provide high-level, client-centric and results-oriented legal services to our regional, national and international clients. We are a full-service law firm with over 125 lawyers in Boston, Providence and other regional offices. Our areas of expertise include: business/finance, business litigation, divorce/family law, venture capital/emerging companies, employment, estate planning, government investigations, intellectual property, M&A/private equity, probate/trust litigation, and real estate. We partner with our clients to solve their business and personal legal issues in a collaborative, creative and cost-effective way. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com.

Recent Law News

• BigLaw vs In-House Counsel Salaries 2026: The $75K Gap Driving Legal Talent Crisis
  Let’s cut the corporate speak: your legal department is bleeding talent, and pretending it’s just about billable hours versus work-life balance isn’t going to stop the hemorrhage. Here’s what’s really happening in Q1 2026; and if you’re a General Counsel, CLO, or corporate counsel, you need to pay attention because the landscape just shifted beneath your Italian loafers. LawFuel took a look at recruitment strategies for in-house counsel and what recruiters and corporates can do to attract in-house legal talent in the face of BigLaw’s big money advantage. What Is the Current Salary Gap Between BigLaw and In-House Counsel? First-year BigLaw associates are now pulling in $240,000. Read that again. First. Year. Meanwhile, your mid-level in-house counsel with five years of actual business experience, the one who just negotiated that complex vendor agreement and actually understands your company’s risk tolerance, is making $175,000. Maybe $185,000 if they negotiated hard. Log in to read . . .
• Kirkland Loses Elite Energy Makers as Paul Weiss Goes on Offense
  Paul Weiss Goes to Houston And The Energy Talent War Just Escalated When… Read more: Kirkland Loses Elite Energy Makers as Paul Weiss Goes on Offense
• Brad Karp’s Paul Weiss Exit – When ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Evenings Come Back to Haunt You
  Brad Karp’s 18-year reign atop Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison ended Wednesday night not with a bang, but with a carefully worded statement about “distractions.” Translation: the Justice Department’s release of millions of Epstein-related documents last week made his position untenable faster than you can say “conflict of interest.” The emails paint a picture that’s more uncomfortable than a BigLaw associate’s billable hours target. In July 2015, Karp thanked Epstein for “an evening I’ll never forget,” describing it as “truly ‘once in a lifetime’ in every way, though I hope to be invited again.” Epstein’s response? A promise of “many many nights of unique talents” and assurances Karp would “be invited often.” Spoiler alert: those invitations are now exhibit A in why being Chair of a white-shoe law firm and socialising with convicted sex offenders don’t mix well.
• Perkins Coie Loses Partners as Seattle Rival Offices Launch
  A significant group of partners has left Perkins Coie to help establish new… Read more: Perkins Coie Loses Partners as Seattle Rival Offices Launch
• LA Lawyer’s Eviction Notice to Billie Eilish
  Avi Sinai claims to be the leading eviction lawyer in LA County and… Read more: LA Lawyer’s Eviction Notice to Billie Eilish
• California Draws a Line on Legal AI And Lawyers Need to Pay Attention
  For years, lawyers have been quietly experimenting with generative AI while publicly pretending it was all very theoretical. That luxury just expired however has expired as the California passes a first-of-its kind bill that will doubtless be replicated in other jurisdictions. The California Senate has passed SB 574 aimed squarely at how lawyers use artificial intelligence in legal practice. If it becomes law, California will be the first major jurisdiction to formally regulate AI use by lawyers, not with vague principles, but with obligations that cut straight to competence, ethics, and liability. In short: lawyers can use AI, but they own the consequences. And that’s something many will find daunting given the hallucinations and legal repercussions of legal AI’s misuse.
• Texas Judge Indicted After Handcuffing Defense Attorney Mid-Hearing
  A Texas judge faces criminal charges following a courtroom clash that saw a… Read more: Texas Judge Indicted After Handcuffing Defense Attorney Mid-Hearing
• The Fastest Growing Personal Injury Law Firms in America
  6 Personal Injury Law Firm Leaders Norma Harris, LawFuel contributing writer America’s fastest‑growing… Read more: The Fastest Growing Personal Injury Law Firms in America
• Four Thousand an Hour Arrives in US Big Law Billing
  Reuters reports the new top line for Susman Godfrey’s trial stars and sets it against peers where rates already crossed three thousand last year. Public filings and prior coverage show Latham partners at just over three thousand and Quinn Emanuel partners near that mark, with associates at some shops topping one thousand six hundred. Four thousand is not only a flex, but also one that needs to be ‘sold’ to clients. If law firms want this price to clear, they must show time saved, risk shifted and outcomes earned. Log in to read . . .
• Latham & Watkins Achieves Law360 Honor For Seventh Consecutive Year
  Firm honored in six Practice Group of the Year categories for cutting-edge work… Read more: Latham & Watkins Achieves Law360 Honor For Seventh Consecutive Year
• Willkie Farr Hit With $735m Fraud Suit: Franchise Group, Conflicts And Big Law Risk
  Willkie Farr & Gallagher is now at the centre of a $735 million… Read more: Willkie Farr Hit With $735m Fraud Suit: Franchise Group, Conflicts And Big Law Risk