LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP (“ECJ”) acted as California counsel for Ascenta (UK) Limited in the March 2014 acquisition by Facebook’s Connectivity Lab of Ascenta’s team and know-how responsible for the development of solar-powered drones. According to news reports, Facebook hopes to use high-altitude long-endurance air crafts to bring Internet service to the 5 billion people who currently lack it. Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated “Today we are also bringing on key members of the team from Ascenta, … whose founders created early versions of Zephyr, which became the world’s longest flying solar-powered unmanned aircraft. They will join our team working on connectivity aircrafts.”

ECJ’s partners Randy Leff and Ken Luer worked with Ascenta’s London-based counsel, the law firm of Addleshaw Goddard LLP and Alan Rajah of Lawrence Grant Chartered Accountants, with respect to U.S. intellectual property law and California legal issues related to the transaction. Both ECJ and Lawrence Grant are member firms in Geneva Group International, an international alliance of law and accounting firms.

Ervin Cohen & Jessup is a full-service law firm that provides a broad range of business-related legal services including litigation; intellectual property and technology; corporate law; real estate transactions and finance; tax planning and controversies; estate planning; employment law; health care law; and bankruptcy, receivership and reorganization. ECJ is a member of the international organizations Geneva Group International and Law Firm Alliance. For additional information, please click here.

SOURCE Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP