Squire Sanders announced today that it has applied to the Korean Ministry of Justice to open an office in Seoul, Korea.  The announcement follows the ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which will come into effect on March 15, 2012.

Perkins Coie announced today that Marcelo Halpern has joined the firm as Partner in the Licensing & Technology practice in Chicago. He joins the firm from Latham & Watkins.

Edward V. Anderson has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm’s 75-attorney Intellectual Property practice group, based in the firm’s Palo Alto office.  Anderson joins from Sidley Austin in Palo Alto, where he led the firm’s Northern California IP practice.  In January, partner Jill Pietrini joined Sheppard Mullin’s Century City office from Manatt, where she previously chaired the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group.  In October, Sheppard Mullin partner and co-chair of the IP practice group Nick Setty joined the firm’s Palo Alto office from Fish & Richardson, where he founded and was managing principal of its Atlanta office and resided part-time in its Silicon Valley office.  Special counsel George Kanabe joined Setty from Fish & Richardson in Sheppard Mullin’s Palo Alto office in January.