March 3, 2006

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By Anna Oberthur

SILICON VALLEY – Longtime Silicon Valley attorney Richard Allan Horning, who found a niche helping Swedish companies get into the region’s market, has left Tomlinson Zisko to join Fish & Richardson’s Redwood City office, the firm announced Thursday.

Horning, who is best known for his work counseling emerging growth technology companies, left 11-attorney Tomlinson Zisko after a decade.

At Fish & Richardson, Horning will practice in the venture and technology group, focusing on tech companies at all stages of development.

“Horning’s being brought on board to Fish & Richardson to really go out and market and help brand the corporate practice,” which is reasonably new, said legal recruiter Larry Watanabe of Watanabe Nason & Seltzer, who handled the deal.

Adding Horning to the venture and tech group “accelerates our growth plans,” David Miclean, managing partner of the firm’s 40-attorney Palo Alto office said in a news release. The addition of Horning is part of the firm’s strategy to expand its international technology practice.

Horning was among the first attorneys to put down roots in Silicon Valley and has been a name partner of two firms. Leaving a partnership at what is now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman in 1977, he struck out on his own, forming Ream, Train, Horning, Ellison & Roskoph with offices in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

Horning stayed at Ream Train until the firm dissolved in 1983. He then formed San Francisco’s Horning, Janin & Harvey, which dissolved in 1995.

Fish & Richardson, a 350-attorney firm with 10 offices nationwide, boasts that it’s the “only firm with a truly national intellectual property practice.”

That’s one of the reasons Horning made the move.

“The opportunity to join a firm with the rich, deep IP practice that Fish & Richardson is known for was of particular interest to me,” Horning said. “As my practice has evolved I need to have a broader team of people who can help with supporting the clients.”

In the past, Horning has represented Rolling Stone Magazine, Hewlett Packard and Italian scooter-maker Vespa. He said his clients have followed him to Fish & Richardson, but he declined to identify them.

Horning said young executives are looking for someone with connections and experience to guide them and help their fledgling companies become successful.

“I have 7,500 names in my Rolodex,” Horning said. “And that’s what I do.”