© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.
By Natalie Posgate
(March 24) – Intellectual property partner Thomas Sankey will lead Duane Morris’ Houston office as its new managing partner, the Philadelphia-based law firm said this week.
Sankey, who assumed his new position last week, succeeds corporate partner Charles Harrell, who has led the Houston office for the last 10 years. Sankey said his leadership will focus on “expanding the footprint of the Houston office” and growing the 750-lawyer firm’s presence in Texas.
Houston is currently the only Texas city that Duane Morris has an office in. Sankey said he hopes to “double or triple” the amount of lawyers in Houston over the next 18 to 24 months. The office currently has 14 lawyers who predominantly practice IP and corporate law.
“I’d like to add some other practice groups – energy, bankruptcy, labor and employment, healthcare – areas we often rely upon some of our other offices to handle,” Sankey said. “We also have a great client base in Dallas and Austin, so those are always possibilities as we increase our Texas presence.”
Duane Morris’ Houston expansion goals come at a time when national law firms continue to invade Texas – especially Houston – by poaching some of the top talent at Texas law firms. Though Duane Morris is also a national firm, Sankey said he believes it has an advantage over others since it has already been in the Houston market for 16 years.
“We already have a footprint in the city. The lawyers here have worked for their entire careers in this market,” Sankey said. “As a result, you end up knowing many of the lawyers in Houston. I think it’s a big benefit to come in here and know people as opposed to hiring people you don’t know.”
Sankey, who heavily focuses his IP practice on trade secrets, will remain the head of the intellectual property litigation division of Duane Morris’ trial practice group. A 1986 graduate of South Texas College of Law, he also handles matters involving patents, copyrights, unfair competition, employer/employee disputes and the Lanham Act.
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