Lawyer 'exchange program' has U.S., U.K. associates swapping firms - Reuters

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(REUTERS) - Banner Witcoff, a Chicago-based law firm, boasts four U.S. locations and none overseas. But that did not stop Reilley Keane, a senior associate at the intellectual property-focused firm, from practicing in London for about two months under an unusual collaboration announced this week.

Banner Witcoff and two IP firms based in the United Kingdom and the European continent, 90-attorney Withers & Rogers and 100-attorney Boult Wade Tennant, said their new initiative will benefit clients and give their lawyers "a more enlightened perspective on various facets of intellectual property law" in the United States and the European Union.

Keane, who normally practices in 125-attorney Banner Witcoff's Washington, D.C., office, lived in central London for seven weeks starting in July as the program's first participant. He said he split his time between the London offices of both European firms, working and socializing at their summer events.

"I feel like I know about 50% of the rules of how to play cricket at this point," he said.

This week London-based Withers & Rogers associate Daniel Varley began a similar four-week stint in Banner Witcoff’s D.C. office, and Boult Wade Tennant plans on sending an associate in the spring, said Ross Dannenberg, senior partner at Banner Witcoff.

While Dannenberg said the firms share some clients, Keane was working on his own firm's work while in London, he said. Dannenberg said he and Withers & Rogers partner Nick Wallin developed the idea when the pandemic made clear that lawyers could work from almost anywhere. Each firm pays for their own lawyers' time and expenses.

Dannenberg said the program will build relationships and pave the way for future collaborations. He said he was inspired partly by his own experience as an associate over a decade ago, when the firm hosted a Japanese attorney from Tokyo-based IP firm NGB, creating lasting connections.

"If you want to work with someone, you have to have the ability, the availability and the affability, but in reverse order," he said.

Withers & Rogers has offices in the U.K., France and Germany, and Boult Wade Tennant has offices in the U.K., Germany and Spain.

Read More:

Arnold & Porter adds trio from Chicago IP boutique

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Chinekwu Osakwe

Thomson Reuters

Chinekwu Osakwe covers legal industry news with a focus on midsize law firms. Reach her at Chinekwu.osakwe@thomsonreuters.com.

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