Back to Archived News
Experienced Patent Litigator Steven Rizzi Joins Thelen in New York
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
New York, NY -- Steven Rizzi, formerly a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, has joined the New York office of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, where he will assume a leading role in expanding Thelen's Patent Litigation practice on the East Coast.
Mr. Rizzi, who joins Thelen as a partner in the firm's Commercial Litigation Department, is a veteran patent litigator who has successfully represented a number of leading corporations during his 15 years at Weil Gotshal, including News Corporation, DirecTV, NDS Ltd., and The Walt Disney Company. He has handled numerous electrical, mechanical, and computer-related patent cases involving Internet, telecommunications, and television-related technologies, among others. His addition significantly enhances Thelen's existing patent litigation team, which includes experienced patent trial lawyers in the firm's New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles offices.
Clients have praised Mr. Rizzi's skills as a lawyer and ability to grasp sophisticated technologies. "We're delighted for Steven," said Ismat Levin, Vice President and General Counsel of NDS Group PLC, a digital technology provider for the broadcast industry. "We've worked closely with him for over 10 years and have come to rely on his understanding of our business, his ability to assess a situation accurately, and his sound advice and insight."
Mr. Rizzi's arrival comes closely on the heels of Ellen Friedman joining Thelen's New York office in September as a partner in its Business and Finance Department after spending 17 years at Dewey Ballantine LLP.
Douglas Davidson, Managing Partner of Thelen's New York office -- the firm's largest office, with more than 200 attorneys -- noted that the recruitment of Ms. Friedman and Mr. Rizzi is the latest step in Thelen's push to pursue top New York talent at both the partner and associate levels. "Clearly, leading lateral partner and associate candidates are seeing the opportunities created by our national and international footprint," Mr. Davidson said. "Anyone considering a move to a national law firm with a large, well-established New York presence has to look seriously at Thelen."
According to Mr. Rizzi, these factors drove him to join Thelen. "I joined Thelen because I see a unique opportunity to build on a top-tier technology-focused practice," he said. "Thelen is a recently integrated firm with the resources and commitment to grow in an area that's a particularly good fit with my background and experience." Thelen was formed by the 2006 merger of Thelen Reid & Priest LLP and Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP.
"We are very excited to attract an attorney of Steve's caliber," said Thelen's New York-based Co-Chairman Julian S. Millstein. "The fact that we have been able to attract talented and respected practitioners such as Steve Rizzi and Ellen Friedman certainly validates the vision that drove our merger in the first place. There are not many firms that can claim to have Thelen's bi-coastal presence, combined with our destination practices in corporate and real estate finance, energy, construction, technology and intellectual property, and complex litigation."
Mr. Rizzi, a New York native, received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, a Master of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Prior to law school, Mr. Rizzi worked for more than three years in the aerospace industry.
About Thelen
Thelen is an international law firm with approximately 600 attorneys, and offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Hartford, Northern New Jersey, Shanghai, and London. The firm provides superior legal services in complex commercial litigation; corporate and capital markets transactions; project and asset finance; construction; labor and employment; intellectual property; information technology; domestic and international tax; employee benefits; government affairs; and real estate.
Back to Archived News
