New York, NY (August 30, 2005) Heller Ehrman LLP today announced the addition of Kevin Collins as a shareholder in the New York office. Mr. Collins was formerly Co-Chair of the life sciences practice at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where his practice focused on general corporate and securities law, including mergers & acquisitions, SEC registered offerings and private placements, equity financings, debt financings, divestitures and general corporate counseling. Mr. Collins has extensive experience representing companies in the life sciences and health care industries, as well as companies in other technology sectors. In addition to serving as Co-Chair of his former firm’s life sciences practice, Mr. Collins had also served as Co-Chair of Dorsey & Whitney’s capital markets practice and served on the firm’s policy committee for the last five years.
“Kevin’s strengths complement those of our corporate practice in New York, and his experience and leadership in life sciences in New York and New Jersey are great additions to our very strong firmwide practice,” said Joseph T. McLaughlin, Office Managing Shareholder and Chairman of Heller Ehrman’s New York office. “We’ve been aggressively building Venture Law Group, our emerging company practice, here on the East Coast and Kevin is a great new member of our team. In addition to Kevin, Marty Levenglick also recently joined us in New York, bringing with him significant venture-backed early stage and emerging company experience.”
“Heller Ehrman has both the platform and commitment to succeed in New York, and so I’m very excited about the many opportunities that presents for expanding and building my practice and Heller Ehrman’s corporate practice in the New York market,” noted Mr. Collins. “What is most impressive to me are the strength, depth, and reputation of Heller Ehrman’s life sciences team. The firm is clearly a leader in the life sciences – and combining that strength with the technology powerhouse of Venture Law Group, you have an almost unmatched, unbeatable resource for emerging companies,” he added.
Heller Ehrman’s Life Sciences Practice Group is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the United States. For more than 40 years, we have played a pivotal role in the growth and development of today’s most innovative emerging and established life sciences companies. During the period of May 2004 – April 2005, Heller Ehrman ranked third in health care on Dow Jones’ VentureOne list of Law Firms by Number of Private Company Clients’ Equity Transactions.
Our life sciences team of more than 100 lawyers and patent professionals sets the standard for legal representation in this rapidly growing industry. From startups to multinational corporations, we provide legal guidance in all aspects of business and intellectual property strategy and development. Our industry-experienced litigators vigorously protect and defend patents, trademarks and other intellectual property. We help guide our clients through their dealings with regulatory agencies. We also represent major sources of funding for the industry.
We combine our legal knowledge with both scientific and industry experience, enabling us to work in partnership with our clients for the best result. At least 28 of our colleagues hold doctorates in scientific fields, ranging from molecular biology to immunology. We also draw on the diversity of experience of our firm’s other attorneys, including a former FTC Commissioner, a former general counsel to the Department of Commerce and several Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examiners.
Heller Ehrman Venture Law Group is one of the premier emerging technology practices in the country. With more than 100 attorneys throughout the United States and in Asia, Heller Ehrman VLG combines senior-level counseling and extensive industry knowledge to help emerging technology companies grow and prosper. We work in partnership with clients to build and represent deal-intensive emerging companies, both public and private, as well as with the venture capital and investment banking firms that support them.
We provide emerging companies with focused business and legal advice from incorporation through initial public offering, merger and beyond. We concentrate on general corporate counseling, venture financing, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, technology transactions, employment, executive compensation and tax. We possess relationships with the nation’s leading venture capital investors and investment banks and are among the leaders in structuring and negotiating venture capital financings, PIPE transactions and public offerings. We play an active role in bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and investment banking firms. Many of our attorneys have backgrounds in computer science, the life sciences, engineering, mathematics, market research, accounting and finance. And, as our clients grow and mature, they can benefit from the power of Heller Ehrman’s nationally recognized corporate and litigation practices to solve all of their legal and business problems.
Some facts about Heller Ehrman Venture Law Group:
· Represents more than 400 venture-backed private and public technology companies;
· Consistently rank among the top law firms in venture financings, according to Dow Jones VentureSource;
· Market leader in initial public offerings for life sciences and technology clients.
Heller Ehrman’s New York office, which has over 90 attorneys, recently moved into new offices in the landmark Times Square Tower and currently represents financial institutions, professional service firms and Fortune 500 companies, including VISA U.S.A, Ernst & Young LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Philip Morris USA, Washington Mutual, GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp., Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs and Allen & Company, LLC.
Heller Ehrman LLP has more than 720 attorneys and professionals in 12 offices worldwide – Anchorage; Beijing; Hong Kong; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley, Singapore; and Washington, D.C. As a full-service law firm, we represent a wide range of industry leaders, from entrepreneurial, technology-driven enterprises to established, multinational conglomerates. At Heller Ehrman, we take a multidisciplinary approach to the practice of law, drawing upon our legal, scientific and industry knowledge from across the firm to build the best legal teams for our clients. Through commitment to our core values of Excellence, People, Teamwork, Innovation, Community and One Firm, we offer clients unparalleled legal service.
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Contact:
Wayne Kessler
+1.212.847.8680
wayne.kessler@hellerehrman.com
John Buchanan
+1.415.772.6715
john.buchanan@hellerehrman.com
