Cooley Welcomes IP Partner DeAnna D. Allen in Washington, DC


WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Jun 11, 2012) - Cooley LLP announced today that DeAnna D. Allen has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, DC office. Allen, most recently a partner of Dickstein Shapiro LLP, is an intellectual property practitioner with a particular focus on patent litigation, along with significant patent prosecution experience. She also counsels clients in a variety of industries on matters relating to wireless and wired communication technologies. Prior to practicing with Dickstein Shapiro, Allen served as in-house counsel to Burger King Brands.

"DeAnna's arrival further escalates the momentum within a national IP practice that has never been busier," said Frank Pietrantonio, the national head of Cooley's IP practice and Partner-in-Charge of the firm's Reston, VA office. "Her past in-house experience provides an even greater dimension to her broad skill set and experience. She will be an asset to our firmwide patent litigation and general IP capability, as well as a welcome addition to our burgeoning Metro DC capabilities."

"I am thrilled to be joining the Cooley IP team, which is one of the strongest in the country," Allen said. "I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the firm in delivering strategic and business-savvy IP to clients who are defining the future course of technology both nationally and globally."

Cooley's IP group, comprised of approximately 110 lawyers and 50 other professionals, represents many of the world's leading technology and life sciences companies. The group was recognized in May 2012 by the National Law Journal in its first-ever "IP Hot List" of the elite national IP legal practices among US law firms.

Allen's arrival at Cooley coincides with that of New York-based IP partner Joseph M. Drayton, who joins Cooley from Kaye Scholer. Allen is co-chair of the Diversity Subcommittee to the American Bar Association Sector of Litigation IP Committee, and is an Executive Board member and Diversity Committee chair of the National Association of Women Lawyers. She has won numerous accolades for her litigation skills, leadership in the IP sector and her championing of diversity issues.

Allen received her JD, cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law and earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland. Prior to attending law school, Allen was an instrumentation and control design engineer for Florida Power and Light.

About Cooley LLP
Cooley's 650 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, venture capital, clean energy, real estate and retail. The firm has full-service offices in major business and technology centers nationwide: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO, Washington, DC, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA. The firm also has an office in Shanghai, China.

Contact Information:

Thomas Freeman

212-479-6514

DeAnna Allen, Cooley LLP