NEW YORK — The international law firm Chadbourne & Parke has announced that it has launched a nanotechnologies practice, with a transdisciplinary approach bringing together the expertise of long-established Chadbourne practices.  The strategy reflects the needs of clients developing or directly interested in nanotechnology-based products and services in multiple sectors of the global economy.

Nanotechnology, the science of manipulating and engineering matter at the atomic and molecular level, offers vast opportunities in such fields as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, energy, manufacturing, electronics, communications and transportation.  Nano-based global commerce could amount to $1.5 trillion by 2015.

To address that opportunity, Chadbourne's nanotechnologies practice will harness the firm's expertise in several of its core practice areas, including energy, insurance, private equity, intellectual property, litigation and products liability.

"The commercialization of nanotechnology calls for an innovative, cross-disciplinary team approach to legal and business problem-solving, because nanotechnology covers a lot of ground," said David L. Wallace, head of the nanotechnologies practice."

In addition to Wallace, whose practice is concentrated on product liability counseling and defense, other Chadbourne attorneys with an active hand in the firm's nanotechnology push include counsel John P. Cahill and partner Jonathan M.A. Melmed.

Before joining Chadbourne, Cahill was commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation under New York Gov. George E. Pataki, now a Chadbourne counsel who concentrates his practice on energy, environmental and corporate matters.  Cahill worked closely with Gov. Pataki on groundbreaking public policy initiatives and state-funded investments in support of nanotechnology R&D that have positioned New York as a worldwide leader in university-based research and economic partnership with high-tech commercial interests of all sizes.  Melmed's practice focuses on international private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings, with extensive experience in the life sciences, biotech and renewable energy sectors.

Also contributing to the practice are Todd Alexander and Chaim Wachsberger, project finance partners in New York; Walter Hanchuk, intellectual property partner in New York; Keith Martin, project finance partner in Washington, D.C.; David Raim, insurance/reinsurance partner in Washington, D.C.; Edward Zaelke and Adam Umanoff, project finance partners in Los Angeles; Charez Golvala, corporate partner in London; and Mark Pring, insurance and reinsurance partner in London.

In addition to its client work, Chadbourne is helping to advance legal and business thinking in regard to the promise and challenge of nanotechnologies.  In January, the firm organized a conference called "Nanotechnology Law & Commerce: Business at One-Billionth of a Meter" that brought together leading industry, regulatory and academic figures to discuss the business, legal, regulatory and scientific aspects of nanotechnology's commercialization.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Mexico City, London (a multinational partnership), Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Kyiv, Almaty, Dubai and Beijing.