DLA Piper Expands Patent Litigation Capabilities, Adding Frost and Johnson in Houston
Leading Patent Litigators Bring Significant Technical Experience; Additions Highlight Continued Expansion in Key Market
(Houston) June 1, 2011 – DLA Piper today announced that Claudia Wilson Frost and Dr. Jeffrey L. Johnson have joined the firm as partners in the Houston office working with the Intellectual Property and Technology practice in the Patent Litigation group. They join the firm from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Frost has almost three decades of experience handling federal and state trials, arbitrations and appeals of complex litigation matters, including in the areas of intellectual property, oil and gas, products liability, healthcare and other complex commercial litigation. Johnson has a wealth of experience with Texas patent litigation matters and holds a rare double Ph.D. in organic chemistry and mechanical engineering.
“The addition of Claudia and Jeffrey reflects our commitment to attracting high-caliber lawyers to the firm’s Houston office as we continue to build our presence there across a number of key practices and strategic areas,” said J. Terence O’Malley, DLA Piper US Managing Partner. “Their vast knowledge and experience – Claudia has a wide range of trial experience and Jeffrey’s technical knowledge is unparalleled – will be valuable assets to our clients. Conversely, they will be well served by DLA Piper’s global platform, which will allow them to expand their client base both nationally and internationally.”
“Claudia and Jeffrey are well known and respected in the Houston legal community,” said John Allcock, Global Co-Chair of DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice. “They will be integral in expanding our patent litigation presence in Texas, which continues to be an attractive destination for patent infringement filings.”
The new arrivals represent the latest move in the continued expansion of DLA Piper’s Houston office, which also includes the recent addition of Frank Wu to the firm’s Corporate and Securities Group earlier this year.
“Claudia and Jeffrey, combined with the recent addition of Frank Wu, deepen our resources among our already strong Transactional, Securities, Intellectual Property, and Litigation practices in our Houston office, particularly within the energy, healthcare, and intellectual property industries,” said Jack Langlois, partner in the Energy practice of DLA Piper’s Houston office. “We are pleased to welcome lawyers of their caliber to the firm.”
About the Lawyers
Claudia Wilson Frost’s experience also includes section 337 actions in the International Trade Commission and appellate experience in the Federal Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, DC Circuit, Texas Supreme and intermediate appellate courts, and the US Supreme Court.
Frost’s practice uniquely integrates her trial experience, appellate skills and strategic analysis to provide clients with innovative yet practical solutions to controversy related problems. Chambers USA reported that “Clients admired [this] ‘highly responsive and fabulous strategist’ for her powers of ‘brilliant analysis.’ She has a trial background and a depth of appellate experience, with a particular niche in patent infringement.”
Frost participates in a number of professional and bar activities. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers; a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates; a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum; founder of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas Law School; past President and Director of Houston Law Review, Inc.; and past President of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.
She is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is recognized by Chambers USA, Texas Super Lawyers, Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America, The Best Lawyers in Texas and Euromoney’s Guide to Leading World Litigators.
She received a B.A. from the University of Texas and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center, where she was Editor in Chief of the Houston Law Review.
Dr. Jeffrey L. Johnson focuses his practice on intellectual property, with an emphasis in patent litigation, opinion work and client counseling. He represents clients in a variety of technologies, including DVR devices, optical disc devices, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas (liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, downhole tools, drilling equipment, drilling muds, and mud additives), fuel cells, waste treatment, foams, adhesives, telecommunications, medical devices, software, mineralogy, chemical processing, and polymer chemistry.
Johnson is an adjunct research professor at the University of Houston Law Center; a member and former board member of the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association; a member of the Eastern District of Texas Bar Association; a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association; a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association; and a member of the Federal Circuit Bar Association.
He received a B.S. from East Texas Baptist University, a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center.
About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper has 4,200 lawyers in 30 countries and 76 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.
