NEW YORK, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP announced today that Kenneth L. Johnson has joined the firm's intellectual property group as counsel. He will be resident in Chadbourne's New York office.

Mr. Johnson's practice focuses on the procurement, management and licensing of IP assets, particularly patents. He also represents clients in connection with high-stakes IP litigation, complex technology transactions and IP support for corporate transactions.

Prior to joining Chadbourne, Mr. Johnson was Chief Patent Counsel for Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLP. In addition, since 2008, Mr. Johnson has served as co-chair of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) IP Subcommittee of Technology & Regulation. This influential committee advocates for improving patent quality and strengthening commercial competitiveness in the U.S. and counts among its members most of the major financial institutions in the country. At Chadbourne, Mr. Johnson will continue to represent the IP interests of Credit Suisse.

His hiring continues the dramatic expansion of Chadbourne's IP group and reinforces the Firm's commitment to provide full service and authoritative counsel to the financial services industry. Mr. Johnson joins the recent, high-profile additions of former Goldman, Sachs Chief Intellectual Property Counsel John Squires and former Time Warner Inc. Chief Patent Counsel Charles M. Fish.

"With John, Chuck and now Ken, we have hired three of the premiere IP attorneys practicing in the private sector to strategically grow the Chadbourne IP team to support the firm's IP capabilities in our 12 U.S. and international offices," said Chadbourne Managing Partner Charles K. O'Neill.

Mr. Squires, who co-chairs Chadbourne's IP group, said, "We are seeing, and in many ways driving, a transformation in the market for IP legal services, which places a premium on in-house experience at the practice-head level and on leading edge expertise in emerging technology and interoperability issues."

"We continue to acquire top-notch talent on both fronts and have attracted additional existing and new client work as a result," Mr. Squires added. "Ken's hiring is a continuation of this strategy. He is a tremendous addition to our team as we build-out this best-in- breed model for serving the global IP needs of our diverse client base."

Mr. Johnson, 47, joined Credit Suisse as Chief Patent Counsel in May 2006, where he was charged with handling all patent needs of Credit Suisse, including its various financial services and back- office operations.