CHICAGO (July 22, 2010) — Ulmer & Berne LLP today announced that attorneys Kurt Lebakken and Brian Bianco have joined its Chicago office. Mr. Lebakken, who most recently practiced in the London office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, joins the firm as a partner in the Corporate Practice. Mr. Bianco joins Ulmer & Berne as an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice. He most recently was associated with the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP. The additions of Mr. Lebakken and Mr. Bianco continue Ulmer & Berne’s aggressive growth in the Chicago market, where it has increased the attorney headcount from two to 14 in just nine months.
“While we have said all along that our goal in Chicago is to aggressively expand the office through high-level lateral recruiting, it is critical that we do so in a measured, strategic manner that supports our long-term vision for both this office and the firm as a whole,” said Kip Reader, managing partner of Ulmer & Berne. “Based on this vision, Kurt and Brian are ideal additions to our team. Not only are they skilled legal counselors who add depth and breadth to our Chicago capabilities, but their commitment to providing clients with outstanding value is one of the key philosophies upon which Ulmer & Berne was built.”
Kurt Lebakken
Mr. Lebakken’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities and general corporate matters. He has represented leading companies in numerous domestic and cross-border transactions and has significant experience advising clients on regulatory and compliance matters, particularly under the U.S. federal securities laws.
Mr. Lebakken’s representative matters include representing a consortium of banks in connection with a €50 billion secured financing for a European bank; representing a paper manufacturer in connection with an $800 million offering of senior secured high-yield notes; representing a Fortune 200 company in its acquisition of a communications technology manufacturer; and representing a French real estate developer in connection with the restructuring of €300 million in high-yield notes via a debt-for-equity exchange offer.
Mr. Lebakken earned a B.A., with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin, an M.A. from Cornell University, and a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was senior editor of the Law Review and a Stone Scholar. He also earned an LL.M. from the Université de Paris II and studied for a year at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Mr. Lebakken began his legal career with the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in 1996, and has subsequently practiced law in Paris, Chicago and London. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and is proficient in Portuguese and Italian.
Brian Bianco
Mr. Bianco concentrates his practice on patent litigation. He has represented companies in patent and intellectual property matters spanning a variety of technologies, including telecommunications, computer hardware and software, electronics, the Internet, and medical devices. While his practice currently focuses on litigation work, Mr. Bianco has also written and prosecuted numerous patent applications, as well as handled reexaminations, reissues and appeals in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Mr. Bianco earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law.
In the last year, Ulmer & Berne has substantially expanded its presence in Chicago, adding a number of outstanding partners, associates, and counsel from well-known Chicago and national firms. It also rolled out new service offerings and practice areas, including Hedge Funds, Investment Management, Regulatory Counseling and Compliance, and Risk Management, with the goal of adding additional practice groups in Chicago through strategic lateral recruiting. Ulmer & Berne also recently moved into larger, state-of-the-art office space in Chicago, occupying more than 18,000 square feet on the 36th floor of the Citigroup Center at 500 West Madison St., to better accommodate its expansion.
About Ulmer & Berne LLP
Ulmer & Berne, established in 1908, is a full-service Midwest regional law firm with 175 attorneys in Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Ulmer & Berne represents publicly traded and privately held companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, family businesses, international joint ventures and affiliations, investor groups, start-ups and emerging businesses, public bodies and nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.ulmer.com.
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