NewsIrell Adds Two Counsel to DC Office
Irell & Manella LLP announced today that Lana Guthrie and Blair Silver have joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as counsel. Guthrie handles a broad range of intellectual property and general commercial litigation matters, and Silver’s practice focuses on complex IP disputes. Both of their practices emphasize appeals.
“We’re delighted to welcome Lana and Blair to the firm,” said Jonathan Kagan, a member of Irell’s Executive Committee. “Both of them continue our culture of excellence and expand our already unparalleled IP and appellate practices.”
Both former clerks, Guthrie and Silver further bolster Irell’s deep bench of expertise at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In particular, Kathleen O’Malley joined Irell in April after serving as a Federal Circuit judge for over a decade. The group also includes multiple other former clerks from the Federal Circuit, as well as other appellate courts.
Guthrie joined Irell after spending over 11 years as the career law clerk to Judge O’Malley. As a long-time Federal Circuit clerk, she worked on cases spanning the breadth of the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction, including IP, international trade, tax, government contracts, veterans’ benefits, and federal employment benefits. Before joining the Federal Circuit, Guthrie served as Judge O’Malley’s law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and spent time in private practice at a large law firm in Ohio.
Guthrie has also taught appellate advocacy and legal research and writing as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she was Order of the Coif and associate editor of the Ohio State Law Journal. She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and History from University of Rochester.
“I’m excited to be part of the Irell team and to continue working with Judge O’Malley,” said Guthrie. “Irell is one of the best firms in the country and the ideal place to practice law at the highest level.”
Silver has extensive experience with proceedings before district and appellate courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. He has represented clients in a wide variety of high-stakes appellate matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit. Silver also provides strategic appellate advice and counseling to companies preparing for trials and appeals in patent cases with billions at stake. At the trial court level, he has briefed, argued and won dispositive motions and litigated cases from filing through trial on behalf of companies ranging from technology startups to industry leaders. He has also handled more than 100 inter partes review and other PTAB proceedings.
Silver served as a law clerk for Judge Alan D. Lourie of the Federal Circuit. With a background in electrical engineering, he has significant experience with a wide range of technologies and industries, including electronics and computers, financial technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. In addition to patents, his practice also includes copyright and trademark litigation. He was recently also an adjunct professor for Patent Trial Practice at Georgetown University Law Center.
Silver earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.S., magna cum laude, in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University.
“I have had the opportunity to co-counsel with Irell lawyers and see them in action, and I couldn’t be happier to join the team,” said Silver. “I look forward to bringing to bear my experience to help the firm’s clients in their most important IP disputes.”
Opened in September 2021, Irell’s D.C. office is focused on IP, particularly in the areas of appeals, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office proceedings and policy work, as well as complex commercial litigation. The office is led by Irell partner Andrei Iancu, the former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, who rejoined the firm in April 2021.