Clyde & Co has poached DLA Piper's head of intellectual property (IP) for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa region, Joycia Young, to join its Middle East IP Group.
Young's principle areas of practice are intellectual property and franchising and she will be working closely with Clyde & Co's head of IP, Rob Seans, in leading the IP group, as well as taking a lead role in further developing the firm's regional franchising offering.
Named as 'a leading IP lawyer in the region' by legal directory Legal 500, and as a 'foremost legal practitioner' in the area of franchising in both 2009 and 2010 by The International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers, Young's defection is the latest blow to DLA's mounting exodus of senior partners and lawyers leaving the firm in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region.
"Clyde was the natural choice for me as I looked to broaden my IP practice. They have a well established infrastructure to manage large IP portfolios," Young said.
Earlier this year, DLA Piper lost its Singapore managing director of eight years, Desmond Ong to UK-based law firm Eversheds as it opens its second East Asian office.
One of the issues Ong raised with DLA Piper was the "professional and business conflicts, which have led us to having to decline instructions".
According to Ong, several of his colleagues have left the firm after news of his departure broke.ALB
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