Dickinson Wright PLLC continues its North American expansion with the opening of its seventeenth office in Austin, Texas. Joining Dickinson Wright’s Austin office as Members will be Corporate & Securities attorney, Darrell R. Windham and Intellectual Property attorneys Ross Spencer Garsson and K. Lance Anderson.

“We are honored to be a part of Dickinson Wright’s expansion into Texas and spearhead the opening of the Austin office,” said Darrell Windham, the managing Member of the Austin office. “Dickinson Wright is a well-known law firm with a strong presence across the U.S. and in Canada. As attorneys with long-standing presence in the coolest and fastest-growing city in the country, we look forward to continuing to serve our clients with the highest level of quality and expertise they deserve. Dickinson Wright offers our Austin clients access to top-quality legal talent and resources across the country and globally, and the firm shares our commitment to providing Austin’s philanthropic and community organizations with our support and leadership.”

“Dickinson Wright’s expansion into Texas is an exciting opportunity to join a rapidly-growing major market with a vibrant business community,” said William T. Burgess, CEO of Dickinson Wright. “Austin has grown into a diversified economy with significant opportunities targeting emerging markets. Our attorneys in Austin collectively bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise, with an emphasis on corporate law, intellectual property, private equity, securities, and emerging technologies. With the convergence of healthcare and life sciences, an ever-present high-tech community and a top-tier public research institution, Dickinson Wright looks to play a strategic role in the growth and success of this unique capital city.”

Below is a description of Dickinson Wright’s new attorneys and their practices:

Darrell R. Windham, Member – Darrell has more than 35 years of experience in all types of business, transactional and securities matters. His experience includes representing clients in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, financing and restructuring transactions, strategic alliances and public and private securities offerings. He also advises clients on business start-ups and organizations, corporate governance, securities law compliance, joint ventures and other domestic and international business and technology transactions. Mr. Windham has served as lead counsel to acquirers, sellers and issuers in hundreds of merger and acquisition transactions and public and private securities offerings, including the representation of issuers and investment banks in initial and secondary public offerings and in the purchase and sale of, strategic alliances with, and investments in, medical device, life science, manufacturing, software and semiconductor businesses and technologies. He also counsels technology companies and investors from organization through early and later stage financing rounds and exit transactions. Mr. Windham received his B.B.A. in Accounting from The University of Texas and his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Darrell has served as a director and executive officer of public companies and private businesses and in leadership positions in the Austin community in many charitable and non-profit organizations, including serving as President and Chairman of the Texas Exes and as the first President of the Contemporary Austin.

Ross Spencer Garsson, Member – Mr. Garsson has more than 20 years of experience practicing intellectual property and technology law. He focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, patent prosecution and intellectual property portfolio management in a variety of technology areas, including chemical, nanotechnology, semiconductor and computer technologies. He has litigated numerous intellectual property disputes in state and federal district courts, in the U.S. Court of Appeals, and at the U.S. International Trade Commission. He has worked closely with nanotechnologists to procure and license their technologies. His work with the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University and the Alan G. MacDiarmid Nanotech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas has resulted in some of the most important patents for producing and manipulating carbon nanotubes. He represented Xitronix in defense of patent infringement claims involving Xitronix’s systems for non-destructively testing of semiconductor chips and represented Bain Consulting (now Growtheorem Consulting) in a breach of contract dispute regarding health care payment technologies. Mr. Garsson received both his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and B.A. in Mathematics from Rice University. He received his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Ross serves on the Board of Directors of ACE Academy, a private school for gifted and talented children in Austin, and is the on the Board of Members of the Rice Alliance.

K. Lance Anderson, Member – Mr. Anderson has more than 15 years of experience preparing and negotiating complex technology and intellectual property transactions. A registered patent attorney, Mr. Anderson also conducts due diligence for licensing, mergers and acquisitions, technology agreements, strategic planning patent prosecution, trade secrets and employment mobility, and related operational legal issues. Of particular focus, Mr. Anderson represents clients within the innovation and research enterprise including academic and institutional technology transfer, research and development, clinical and regulatory matters, strategic collaborations, CRADAs, manufacturing, distribution, confidentiality and materials exchange, and related alliances. In addition to representing clients on intellectual property issues, he has been involved in many aspects of corporate law, operations, financing and litigation ranging from start-up and early stage companies to mature market leaders. Mr. Anderson received both his B.S. in Entomology and MS in Crop Science from Texas Tech University. He received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law.

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