Ballard Spahr to Acquire Atlanta IP Boutique
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll has ended a 15-year search for an intellectual property group with the acquisition of Needle & Rosenberg in Atlanta.
Ballard Spahr chairman Arthur Makadon told the Am Law Daily that the merger was approved on Thursday. Makadon said his firm had interviewed more than 100 lawyers, whole practice groups and separate law firms in a quest to find the right fit of lawyers to establish an IP practice.
The smaller firm has 26 lawyers, including seven partners. Partner William Needle told the Am Law Daily his firm was struggling because of competition from larger firms that were establishing their own IP practices.
Other law firms that have acquired intellectual property groups include Jones Day, which merged with most of Pennie & Edmunds, and Ropes & Gray, which merged with Fish & Neave.
For now the smaller firm will be known as the Needle & Rosenberg Intellectual Property Practice of Ballard Spahr.
