In keeping with its stated goal to strategically expand its award-winning Intellectual Property & Technology Practice, leading global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has added Robert J. Hollingshead as a Shareholder and Chair of its Japan IP Practice. Hollingshead’s joining underscores Greenberg Traurig’s commitment to the growth of its Tokyo office. Hollingshead will help grow the firm’s IP presence in Japan and assist clients from the firm’s Tokyo office as well as spending time in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Hollingshead joins from the Tokyo office of Morrison & Foerster, LLP, where he was a partner and leader of its Japan patent practice since 2008.
“Bob Hollingshead has a long and successful history of working and living in Japan and helping some of that country’s most significant companies there as well as in the U.S. Like Greenberg Traurig, he is committed to Japan’s business community and culture, and knows first-hand the importance of truly understanding the practical aspects of the Japanese economy and Tokyo’s position as a gateway to international business opportunities,” said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Greenberg Traurig’s Executive Chairman. “His addition continues our strategy of developing those practices that we consider to be key for clients as global markets change, as we further solidify our strong practice in Tokyo.”
Since June 2019, Greenberg Traurig has added 33 members to its IP Practice of more than 210 intellectual property attorneys and agents in the United States, Asia, and Europe.
“Having Bob join us as Chair of the Japan IP Practice speaks to the reputation of the team, which is of course reflective of the trust clients place on us for complex matters that are often key to the survival of their enterprises,” said Ian C. Ballon, Scott J. Bornstein, and Mark R. Galis, Co-Chairs of the firm’s Global Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Group in a joint statement.
“We welcome Bob to our Tokyo practice where he joins an award-winning team committed to assisting clients here in Japan on a global level with a focus on innovation and strategic advice,” said Koji Ishikawa, Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Tokyo office.
“Greenberg Traurig’s track record of delivering world-class legal services to clients, its commitment to expanding its Japan IP practice, and its global presence are very attractive to me. With 41 offices and over 2200 attorneys worldwide, it is possible to spin the globe and identify a firm professional who is preeminent in his or her specialty and eager to assist a client,” Hollingshead said. “I am also impressed by Greenberg Traurig’s diversity of practice, including complex litigation, internal investigations, general corporate, outbound M&A, life sciences, technology transactions, employment, real estate and antitrust, among others.”
A registered patent attorney and a former patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Hollingshead obtained degrees in Electrical Engineering before attending law school. Hollingshead’s practice focuses on patent litigation, adversarial patent licensing, settlement negotiations, and related counseling. He represents clients in litigations and license negotiations relating to electronics, mechanical systems, automotive, semiconductor design and fabrication, display technologies, software, wireless telecommunications, medical devices, and metallurgical and magnetic technologies.
Hollingshead’s legal practice has been recognized by several publications and legal directories. For 2020, he is listed in The Best Lawyers in Japan. In 2019, he was listed in Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific, “Dispute Resolution Star – Intellectual Property”; Managing Intellectual Property, “IP Stars”; IAM Magazine, “IAM Patent 1000 – Intellectual Property”; The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, “Leading Individual – Japan: Intellectual Property”; and Chambers Global, “Japan: Intellectual Property.” He is active in several organizations, including the Tokyo Intellectual Property American Inn of Court for which he was a Founding Officer; and the Licensing Executives Society of Japan where he serves as an Editor.
Hollingshead received his J.D. from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America, where he was a member of the editorial staff of the CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy. He received an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and B.S. degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Maryland. He is admitted in Japan (Gaikokuho Jimu Bengoshi), the District of Columbia, Maryland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
