Gordon & Rees announced the opening of two new offices in Carlsbad, California and St. Louis, Missouri. The new offices, the 21st and 22nd respectively for Gordon & Rees, reflect a continuation of the firm’s ambitious expansion plans that have taken it from a regional, California-based legal services provider to a full service national law firm in the span of less than 10 years.
The St. Louis office will open initially with partner Ryan Brown and senior counsel Paul Lore, both of whom were previously located in the firm’s Chicago office. Mr. Brown’s practice focuses on insurance coverage, professional liability, employment, and franchise law, while Mr. Lore specializes in environmental and toxic tort claims with an emphasis in the area of asbestos and product liability defense. His practice also includes employment law, representing clients in age, sex and ADA discrimination cases.
The Carlsbad office features an intellectual property team led by partner Laurie Axford, a highly-experienced IP attorney whose practice focuses on all phases of patent prosecution, including forming initial patent strategies for new technologies and managing complex existing portfolios. Her industry focus includes a large cross-section of life science-related fields including diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices and consumer goods. Also staffing the office is associate Brooks Gifford, who is admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“St. Louis and Carlsbad represent two additional strategic locations of importance for Gordon & Rees, enabling us to be increasingly accessible and responsive in those geographic regions where our clients have needs,” observed Dion Cominos, the firm's managing partner. “Carlsbad is well known as a biotechnology hub, while St. Louis is home to a number of manufacturing businesses which we represent.”
Hayes Ryan, managing partner of the Chicago office, will oversee the St. Louis location, while Kevin Alexander, managing partner of the firm’s San Diego office, will have responsibility for Carlsbad.