Foley & Lardner has taken over Palo Alto patent specialists Swiss Law Group to open a Silicon Valley arm as the firm begins to consolidate its US presence following the failure of merger talks with Edwards & Angell.

The Milwaukee-based giant has taken over the four-partner practice with founder Gerald Swiss joining Foley as the only partner. Fellow Swiss partners William Benz and Lorna Tanner join as of counsel and an associate respectively.