Kilpatrick Townsend Expands Asian Presence with Strategic Move into Shanghai

ATLANTA and SHANGHAI, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP announced today that it has opened an office in Shanghai, People's Republic of China to serve strategic client needs and increase access to the significant growing legal and commercial activity in the region.

Kenneth Chang, a leading intellectual property attorney who has practiced for over 10 years in the firm's Denver office, will serve as Kilpatrick Townsend's Managing Partner of the Shanghai office. Charles Gray, an intellectual property associate in the firm's Denver office, also has relocated permanently to Shanghai.

"Kilpatrick Townsend's internationally-recognized intellectual property department, with over 300 attorneys, is committed to creating a significant presence in this burgeoning area of the world," said Paul Aguggia, Kilpatrick Townsend's Chair. "The Shanghai office creates an outstanding opportunity for growth. A presence here, along with our offices in Tokyo and Taiwan, is critical to giving direct access to the region's key markets."

Kilpatrick Townsend's Shanghai office is located in the ZhangJiang High-Tech Park which includes an area of over 25 square kilometers with 100,000 employees and approximately 2,000 high-tech companies.

For nearly 20 years, Kilpatrick Townsend has provided Chinese companies intellectual property legal advice. "Strategically, we wanted to be where our clients are located and ZhangJiang fits our needs perfectly," said Ken Chang, Kilpatrick Townsend Shanghai Office Managing Partner. "Kilpatrick Townsend attorneys will be working closely with our clients to primarily focus on serving their intellectual property needs including both China-based companies and American companies with interests in the region. This move will facilitate business development and the building of relationships with existing and new clients located across Asia."

Mr. Chang focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and counseling. He has extensive experience litigating matters concerning semiconductor processing and equipment, circuitry design, software and medical devices both in Federal Court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Mr. Chang has substantial experience representing the interests of Asian clients in U.S. litigation, as well as negotiating settlements and license agreements on behalf of those companies. Mr. Chang's experience in Asia and his relationships with foreign law firms also further the interests of his U.S.-based clients with business or litigation interests in Asia.  He was named a 2011 SuperLawyer by 5280 Magazine and one of Denver's "40 Under 40" by the Denver Business Journal.

Mr. Chang earned his J.D. with honors, from the University of Denver College of Law; his M.S. in Physiology with dissertation from the University of Texas; and his B.A. from Trinity University.

Mr. Gray focuses his practice on patent counseling and prosecution of both U.S. and international patent applications. In addition, he has significant experience in providing patent invalidity and infringement analysis and drafting written opinions. Mr. Gray advises clients on a wide range of intellectual property matters, including licensing negotiations. He counsels clients in a variety of technology fields, with a particular emphasis on computer networking, satellite, cellular, and other wireless communications, computer architecture, software systems and financial transactions.

Mr. Gray has an extensive Asian-area practice with a focus on Chinese patent counseling and prosecution. He has lived and worked in Asia and has extensive knowledge of Chinese patent practice and is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Prior to practicing law, Mr. Gray was a software engineer and project manager, where he developed adaptive language, music, and mathematics learning software. He also developed collaborative legal English learning software and program environments designed for Chinese judges and attorneys.

Mr. Gray earned his J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law and his B.S. in Computer Science from Brigham Young University.

The Kilpatrick Townsend Shanghai office is located at Suite 401, 50 Boxia Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai, P.R. China.    

For more information about Kilpatrick Townsend, please visit: www.kilpatricktownsend.com.

Follow the firm on Twitter: @KTS_Law.

SOURCE Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP