National law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C. this month bolstered its life sciences practice with an 11-attorney team partially based in Los Angeles.

Additionally, that team’s leader, Siegmund “Sige” Gutman, will chair the firm’s life sciences litigation practice and serve as co-chair of patent litigation. He and others involved in the move joined the firm’s Century City office.

Life sciences is a major wing of Mintz’s operation, with about a third of the firm’s global headcount involved in the industry. 

In addition to L.A., the new team shores up offices in New York and the Boston headquarters.

“Life sciences and IP are top priorities at Mintz, which makes it an ideal place for our team to thrive long term,” Gutman said in a statement. “We are excited to join Mintz’s world-class IP practice and look forward to bringing further value to clients through the firm’s multidisciplinary life sciences platform.”

Gutman migrates from the neighboring outpost of Proskauer Rose LLP, where he clocked in 10 years and was chair of the life sciences patent practice. 

His educational background includes graduate-level degrees in molecular and cell biology as well as biophysical chemistry. Before embarking on private practice, Gutman was senior patent litigation counsel at Thousand Oaks biotech giant Amgen Inc.

Among others, the new team also includes David Hanna, a drug patent litigator who worked under Gutman at Proskauer Rose.

“Sige adds to our highly regarded IP practice, a best-in-class, immensely respected life sciences litigation practice,” Bob Bodian, firmwide managing member, said in a statement. “That practice complements perfectly our life sciences transactional and patent prosecution practices, as well as our high-tech IP litigation practice.” 

Mintz entered the L.A. market in 2001 and now has a headcount of 24 attorneys. It is headed by Joshua Briones.