Duane Morris Chicago Partner John Maher Appointed General Counsel of Federal Office of Personnel Management

September 8, 2008

CHICAGO, September 8, 2008 - President George W. Bush has appointed Duane Morris partner John N. Maher general counsel of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Maher was a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group in its Chicago office until his move.

OPM is an independent agency of the United States government that administers the nation's entire 1.8 million employee civil service. OPM supports all federal agencies in recruiting, hiring and retaining a high-quality and diverse civilian workforce. It also creates and enforces human resource policies and regulations for the government. In his role as general counsel, Maher will help oversee the work of all federal employees and will likely appear before Congress and give weekly briefings to the White House on all issues related to the OPM.

"We are all very proud of John's appointment and know that his dedication and skill will greatly benefit OPM and the nation's civil service," said John Soroko, Duane Morris' Chairman and CEO.

At Duane Morris, Maher practiced in the areas of intellectual property law, complex commercial litigation, including government contracts and white-collar criminal defense. Maher has more than a decade of experience in representing clients in commercial and criminal matters before trial and appellate courts in the U.S. and abroad, having participated in more than 40 trials and acting as the lead litigator in more than 20. He served as IP counsel in pharmaceutical and other patent disputes in federal courts throughout the U.S., including oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the GAO. He was involved in licensing and transactional matters related to companies in the electronics, engineering, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology fields. Related to his broader litigation practice, Maher also counseled defense contractors, software companies, telecommunications firms and other high-tech companies in securities fraud class actions, breach of contract claims and government contract and procurement claims.

Maher was formerly a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he defended federal agencies in trial and appellate matters while working on government contract disputes, international trade and federal labor and employment law. Prior to that, he served as an attorney for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps in Germany, the Balkans and Washington, D.C., where he concentrated on federal and military trial and appellate court matters. A member of the Committee on Attorney Registration and Discipline and the Committee on Military Affairs for the Illinois State Bar Association, Maher is an assistant professor of aviation law in the U.S. and Europe at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and is an adjunct professor of law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. In addition, he serves as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and holds a government security clearance.

Maher is a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of the Northern Illinois University College of Law and a magna cum laude graduate of Bradley University. He is pursuing an LL.M. in Patent and Health Law from DePaul University.

About Duane Morris

Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm of more than 650 attorneys, offers innovative solutions across diverse industries in the United States and internationally to address the legal and business challenges of today's evolving global markets.