Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC announced the addition of two notable attorneys to its thriving technology transactions practice. Joining the firm as members are Todd Harris and Sanjay Beri who will practice in the firm's Tysons Corner, Va. 0ffice.

"We gain a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial talent and experience," said Dan Mackesey, Managing Member of Womble Carlyle's Tysons Corner office. "Together, they have counseled hundreds of technology companies and completed billions of dollars in transactions."

Harris's practice will focus on commercialization of information technology and digital media, including software licensing, Internet-based services, sales of IT to the federal government, technology transfer from universities and federal labs to private industry, international IT outsourcing, IT and media distribution (like online music and streaming video), and supply chain agreements. He advises clients on monetizing their proprietary technologies, structuring and negotiating corporate and commercial transactions, and intellectual property aspects of financings, and mergers. Harris teaches commercial law and licensing at Georgetown University Law Center and holds a law degree from Yale Law School.

"Womble Carlyle is well-known for its strong technology transactions practice, especially in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast technology corridor," said Harris. "Its strengths in the venture capital space, corporate securities law, intellectual property and government transactions fit well with the clients we have served over the years and will allow us to provide them even more comprehensive services."

Beri's practice will focus on technology licensing, specifically monetizing clients' intellectual property assets in the high-tech and software industries. He has deep experience negotiating technology-related agreements along a property's life cycle. Beri was formerly part of the legal team supporting the mobile and embedded operating system businesses of Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash. He holds a law degree from Cornell Law School.

"Womble Carlyle's innovative thinking about the practice of law and its advocacy of the Association of Corporate Counsel's Value Challenge is a solid match for us and our high-tech clients," said Beri.

Harris and Beri join Womble Carlyle from the law firm Cooley Godward Kronish LLP.

Womble Carlyle - Innovators at Law

A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among American Lawyer magazine's list of the 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.

The firm also is the first law firm to be awarded the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award, which is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with more than 500 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Tysons Corner, VA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; and Wilmington, DE.