Fenwick’s New Washington, DC, Office Will Further Its Regulatory Reach and Tech and Life Sciences Focus

Fenwick’s announcement of its plans to open an office in Washington, DC, has attracted significant media attention. The American Lawyer, Law360, Reuters Law and Bloomberg Law and other publications all reported on the launch and the arrivals of three DC-based regulatory partners—Tom Ensign, Melissa Duffy and Steve Albertson.

The American Lawyer reported that “law firms have seen tremendous growth in demand for antitrust advice recently—especially in the technology sector.” Antitrust partners Ensign and Albertson, together with trade regulation partner Duffy, join the firm’s existing regulatory group led by Mark Ostrau and will establish Fenwick’s regulatory position in DC.

In an interview with Law360, Ensign said the decision to open the new office was very much led by Fenwick's clients, who wanted assistance with issues that are Washington-focused.

"As an antitrust lawyer, Fenwick presents the opportunity to assist clients in tech and life sciences with the antitrust challenges that are coming," Ensign told Law360. "It affords the opportunity to build an antitrust practice that serves the needs of existing clients and attracts new clients to the firm. There are no other firms in the country that can offer that.”

Duffy added that the DC office will be an important focal point for her international trade practice. She told Law360 that Fenwick will become part of the antitrust and international trade community, and that the office is in a prime location for interacting with regulators.

Reuters reported that the DC office will be the third office Fenwick has launched within the past five years. “Technology and life sciences are not as concentrated in places like Silicon Valley as it once was,” firm chair Richard Dickson told the publication, “As that grows, we’ll grow along with it."

Bloomberg noted that while the firm has not selected a physical space, much of the firm continues to work primarily from home. “It’s a unique time and a unique circumstance and that has made it not necessary to secure the space first,” Dickson told Bloomberg. “In some ways we’ve been able to focus on what’s most important — people first.”

Fenwick was founded in Silicon Valley to serve technology and life sciences clients. It has offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Seattle, New York, Shanghai and now Washington, DC.

About Fenwick

Fenwick provides comprehensive legal services to leading technology and life sciences companies — at every stage of their lifecycle — and the investors that partner with them. We craft innovative, cost-effective and practical solutions in areas ranging from venture capital, public offerings, joint ventures, M&A and strategic relationships, to intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, taxation, antitrust and trade regulations, and employment and labor law. For more than four decades, Fenwick has helped some of the world's most recognized companies become and remain market leaders.