Intellectual property law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP is opening a Washington practice and raiding local law offices to staff it. The San Francisco-based firm, with more than 200 attorneys and patent experts, is opening a temporary office at 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW while it negotiates a lease for permanent space on K Street. Firm spokesman Brian Colucci would not disclose the K Street location. It is Townsend's eighth office and its first on the East Coast. D.C. law firm Kenyon and Kenyon will lose three partners to Townsend. Gary Morris will serve as partner-in-charge of the new office. Neil McCarthy and John McGroarty, also Kenyon partners, will move to Townsend.

Richard Meyer, previously chair of the patent practice at McGuireWoods LLP, will join Townsend from McGuireWoods' Tysons Corner office, serving as head of East Coast litigation. Also joining Townsend from McGuireWoods is partner Jonathan Link, special counsel Andrew Pratt and associate Andrea Tiglio.

"For an IP firm, Washington, DC is a logical choice by virtue of its proximity to the Patent and Trademark Office, the International Trade Commission and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - all venues where we have been extremely active for years," said Townsend Chairman James Gilliland in a statement.

Townsend also recently opened practices in Seattle and San Diego. In addition to its home office in San Francisco, it also has practices in Palo Alto and Walnut Creek, Calif., Denver and Tokyo.

http://www.townsend.com