Speaker Bios
Natasha Walwyn Robinson is Legal Counsel on the Innovation Legal team at Splunk Inc., a Silicon Valley based data and security technology company. At Splunk, she advises various solutions groups and business teams. She works closely with key internal business and technology partners on various strategic and day-to-day legal matters relating to the development and release of Splunk offerings.
Prior to Splunk, she was Senior Counsel at Progress Software where she was responsible for intellectual property, litigation, employment and general business matters. At Progress, she made history as the first Black female legal counsel in the company's 40 year history, she co-founded the Blacks@Progress employee resource group, and she served on the hiring committee for Progress' first ever Chief Diversity Officer.
Holly Chastain Nini is Senior Corporate Counsel and the Corporate Secretary for CITGO Petroleum Corporation in Houston, Texas where she manages the legal affairs for several of CITGO’s multi-billion dollar businesses, including Product Supply, Distribution and Trading; Terminals and Pipelines; Strategic Planning; Government and Public Affairs and CITGO’s international private non-profit foundation and the Corporate Secretary’s office and previously CITGO’s refining operations in Corpus Christi, Texas, Corporate Procurement and other business segments. In addition, Ms. Nini has been appointed by CITGO’s CEOs to serve as the legal advisor to several Executive committees that review and approve high significant matters and strategic projects for the company. Prior to joining CITGO, she was Regional Legal Counsel with Schlumberger where she managed the legal affairs for Schlumberger’s exploration and production oil and gas, technology and meter manufacturing businesses both onshore and offshore in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Her experience includes a broad range of strategic and high level domestic and international transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, complex litigation, corporate governance, compliance, financings, risk management, regulatory matters and other legal areas. Ms. Nini received her Juris Doctor from The University of Alabama School of Law with honors and a B.S. in Commerce and Business Administration with studies in International Business and French from The University of Alabama, graduating Summa Cum Laude and with other high honors, including a Presidential Scholarship and 3 other Scholarships. Ms. Nini also studied at the University of Provence in Aix en Provence, France.
Hannah Lee is an experienced patent litigator, having conducted numerous trials before judges and juries in U.S. district courts, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the International Trade Commission. She represents clients across a variety of technology sectors including start-up companies and publicly held corporations. In 2020, Hannah was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under Hot List. She is a member of Kramer Levin’s Women’s Initiative Committee and Attorneys of Color Affinity Group.
Puja Detjen came to Patterson + Sheridan with a unique skillset that she has since put to good use in her intellectual property law practice. As a former member of GE’s Operations Management Leadership Program, Puja supported corporate strategy objectives across manufacturing, operations, and supply chain management. Today, she leverages her diverse business experience to lead the way for inventors seeking to align their IP efforts with a strategic plan.
Puja’s practice is focused on patent preparation and prosecution, due diligence for IP transactions, and brand protection. She has experience in a variety of technical areas including wireless communications, wearable devices, audio output devices, and neural networks. Puja’s ability to focus on the bigger picture without losing sight of the details ensures that her client’s inventions have the needed protection to thrive across multiple jurisdictions. Minimizing risk while maximizing value
In addition to preparing and prosecuting patents, Puja provides transactional support for clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. For Puja, this involves performing IP portfolio due diligence and analyzing assets such as trademarks, patents, and licensing agreements. Puja also collaborates with inventors, in-house counsel, and foreign and domestic associates to manage the myriad of working components and competing interests that accompany these complex transactions. Relying upon a cohesive mix of her legal expertise and management skills, Puja is able to deliver exceptional results that meet each party’s individual needs.
When she isn’t devoting her time to helping clients navigate the patent application process or the intricacies of an M&A deal, Puja enjoys the performing arts, spending time with her husband and children, and pursuing her passion for wellness and healthy living.
Jennifer is an experienced intellectual property litigator. As a partner at Delaware law firm Morris Nichols, she focuses on patent and trade secret disputes in federal and state court.
Her experience encompasses all aspects of litigation from outset to trial and through appeal in both lead counsel and co-counsel roles.
An MIT graduate with degrees in electrical engineering & computer science and management, she frequently draws on her technical background in her patent litigation work.
Lois Brommer Duquette holds the position of Counsel at McNees Wallace & Nurick in the intellectual property group. She advises clients of all sizes on matters involving intellectual property rights, including licensing, disputes, trademark prosecution and transactions. Before joining McNees, Lois was the Associate General Counsel, Global IP and Regulatory for The Hershey Company. Prior to joining Hershey, Lois litigated a variety of intellectual property cases as an associate at a large Boston law firm.
Rachel Hadrick is a senior associate in the Litigation Group at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC with experience in intellectual property litigation as well as a variety of other areas including consumer protection and products liability defense, and class actions. Prior to attending law school, Rachel worked in student services at a liberal arts college, focusing on diversity. She is active in several professional affinity and social justice organizations.
Cynthia Parks McCaskill is Leader – Intellectual Property Asset Development at GE Aviation. Cynthia leads a team of IP attorneys, agents, and paralegals to craft and execute strategies for protecting industry-leading aviation innovation technologies. Prior to joining GE Aviation, Cynthia was the founding partner of Parks IP Law LLC, an intellectual property boutique that counseled sophisticated Global 500 / Fortune 500 clients with substantial patent and trademark portfolios
Shayon T. Smith is Chief Counsel, Global Intellectual Property and Litigation at The Hershey Company. She leads Hershey’s IP team, overseeing the management and protection of the company’s global IP portfolio, including over 8000 trademarks. Shayon also leads Hershey’s global litigation portfolio and claims including IP, class actions, employment litigation, consumer protection matters, and commercial disputes. Prior to joining Hershey, Shayon was a partner at Goodell DeVries and served as in-house counsel with Steelcase Inc.
Kevin Robb is the leader of the firm’s Electrical, Software, and Telecommunication Group. He has more than 20 years of experience representing clients in a wide array of intellectual property areas including domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, patent infringement and invalidity opinions, intellectual property and software licensing, technology transfers, strategic intellectual property planning, intellectual property standards bodies issues, patent pools and antitrust issues related to patents, and copyright issues involving music licensing. Additionally, he has extensive experience managing and developing patent portfolios for Fortune 500 companies and negotiating commercial agreements involving procurement, sales and equity transactions.
Kevin’s technical expertise includes telecommunication technologies including network architectures, switches, routers, call processors, and enhanced service platforms; wireless technologies including radio access technology network architectures, base stations, antennas, and mobile communication devices; software and information systems including architectures, operating systems, and applications; data processing systems across multiple business and government sectors including healthcare, human resources, transportation, and security; electronics hardware and firmware for input and output devices including printing, scanning and multifunction platforms and digital data storage products, such as CD and DVD drives, and magnetic tape drives media; optical systems including lasers, discrete and distributed amplifiers, switches, and network architectures; Global Positioning System architectures and applications; and microelectronic devices including memory architectures and design.
Prior to joining JONES ROBB, PLLC, Kevin was a partner at a patent boutique law firm and Senior Counsel at Sprint Nextel Corporation.
Liz Burke has been working in the patent field for 30 years. After earning a degree in biomedical engineering, Liz joined the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as a Patent Examiner, examining patent applications directed to implantable medical devices, medical fluid delivery systems, catheters, endoscopic systems, and absorbent products. She left the USPTO to pursue a master’s degree in bioengineering while simultaneously working for the university’s tech transfer program, where she assessed the patentability and commercial potential of new inventions, evaluated licensing opportunities and identified potential partners to develop and commercialize the new technologies. Liz then went to law school, earning her degree at night while working as a student associate during the day, learning the arts of patent prosecution, opinion writing, and patent litigation. These early experiences in the patent field form the foundation of her current practice today.
Liz enjoys counseling startup companies on all aspects of patent law—from the filing of a first patent application, through rounds of funding and the release of a first product to acquisition. She has prosecuted thousands of utility and design patent applications around the world, relying on her experience as an examiner to achieve effective and cost-efficient prosecution and build global patent portfolios for her clients. Her experience in patent litigation allows her to assist clients in identifying and minimizing risk, and to craft patent claims with an eye toward enforcement. Liz’s practice also includes conducting due diligence in support of investment and acquisition opportunities; advising clients on licensing and collaboration efforts; conducting freedom-to-operate and infringement analyses; oral argument before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB); and post-grant practice, including reissue, reexamination, PGR, IPR, and CBM proceedings.
Liz’s technical experience extends to diverse technologies in the biomedical, mechanical, and electromechanical fields, and she has counseled clients in fields such as medical technologies, automotive technologies, imaging systems, packaging technologies, oil well drilling technologies, and business methods.
Amanda Hyland focuses on intellectual property, media, and First Amendment counseling and litigation for a variety of corporations and non-profits. She has been recognized by numerous organizations, including Chambers, World Trademark Review, and Best Lawyers in America as a national leader in intellectual property.
Ms. Hyland serves a variety of companies across numerous industries, including Fortune 100 companies, retail and consumer brands, telecommunications, software and technology companies, national publishers, influencers and celebrities, manufacturers, restaurant chains, advertising agencies, and corporations in the energy and water infrastructure industries. She provides industry insight and pragmatic strategies to work as a creative partner with each of her clients.
Ms. Hyland offers rates that create value without sacrificing experience, responsiveness, or results. She is often able to provide flat fee and retainer structures for domestic and international portfolio management and enforcement, and she works with colleagues across the globe to provide a comprehensive, effective brand management strategy that prioritizes her clients’ needs for predictability, budgeting, business objectives, and results.
Ms. Hyland has served as lead counsel in trademark/trade dress infringement, unfair competition, copyright infringement, and defamation cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts across the country. She has litigated more than 80 cases, with five going to trial. Her wins include involving novel issues in cybersquatting, internet advertising, trademarks as key words, color as trademark, product trade dress, trademark priority, and trademark ownership. She also has significant experience litigating trademark disputes in the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board.
Additionally, Ms. Hyland has significant experience with transactional intellectual property matters, including United States and international trademark applications and prosecution, licenses and assignments, usage issues, copyright applications and due diligence. She maintains more than 2,500 trademarks domestically and internationally, including for several high-profile clients, consumer brands, and Fortune 100 companies.
With a background in journalism and media, Ms. Hyland is also an effective partner in assisting clients with publication-related matters, including defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of publicity rights, and copyright issues that arise in traditional print, on social media, and in documentaries, movies, and other video formats.
Ms. Hyland is actively involved in several professional organizations including the Atlanta Intellectual Property Inn of Court, International Trademark Association and the State Bar of Georgia’s Intellectual Property section. She is also involved in her community, and currently is on the Executive Board of Kate’s Club. She loves sharing her legal skills with organizations that advocate for the welfare of children and animals.
She earned her JD, cum laude, from the University of Florida, where she obtained a certificate in Intellectual Property Law, served as Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Entertainment Law Review and Executive Articles Editor of the Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, and taught undergraduate journalism classes as part of her fellowship. She also earned her master’s degree in journalism, with distinction, and her undergraduate degree in journalism, summa cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
Rina Wang is Senior Legal Counsel at Endless West, a molecular alcoholic beverage and food start up, in San Francisco. She also trains companies on best practices for managing within the law and respectful workplaces. She previously worked as general counsel of a global software company. Since practicing law for 11 years, she is a broad corporate generalist and her IP practice includes patent and trademark.
Scott Hayden is the Vice President of IP Operations at Amazon. He leads a growing team of 70+ IP professionals in acquiring, maintaining, and enforcing the global intellectual property rights of Amazon.com. For the past 14 years, Scott has contributed to Amazon.com’s rapid growth by supporting the business team’s ability to innovate and delight customers.
By leveraging 30 years of experience as a hiring manager with proactive recruiting, he has assembled a diverse and talented IP operations team.
Scott has written and prosecuted thousands of US and international patent applications and is a co-inventor on five granted US patents.
He is licensed in MO, IL, WA (in-house), and with the USPTO.
Sabiha Chunawala is VP & Deputy General Counsel at Contentful Inc., the global leader in omnichannel content platforms. Sabiha serves as global legal advisor to the Go-to-Market (“GTM”) organizations consisting of Sales, Customer Experience, Partnerships, and Marketing and manages a global team focused on commercial transactions. She also leads development of foundational global policies for Contentful and is a member of Contentful’s Inclusion & Diversity Committee. Prior to Contentful, she held leadership positions at Juniper Networks, Inc. and Portal Software, Inc., later acquired by Oracle Corporation.
Outside of work, Sabiha serves as a mentor for students in the Santa Clara University School of Law: Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, Tech JD program, and ChIPs chapter. She also serves as a Library Commissioner for the Town of Los Gatos Library and as Co-Chair for the South Asian Women Attorney Network (SAWAN).
Nancy Del Pizzo is a member of Rivkin Radler’s Commercial Litigation; Intellectual Property; and Privacy, Data & Cyber Law Practice Groups. She resolves commercial disputes, including intellectual property matters such as trademark, trade dress, copyright and patent infringement, restrictive covenants and domain name disputes, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition, false advertising, defamation and trade libel.
Salumeh litigates intellectual property matters in federal courts around the country, representing a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 e-commerce and software companies. She has represented both plaintiffs and defendants, and multiple clients in joint defense groups and in large multi-defendant litigations. She has extensive experience managing complex patent litigations, including participating in trials, taking and defending depositions, working with experts, and engaging in settlement negotiations.
Salumeh also represents clients in trademark and copyright infringement suits in federal courts and in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
As a Business Development Executive at IBM, Lorie is responsible for all aspects of monetizing IBM’s patent portfolio. Lorie has a deep technical background, having begun her career as a software developer before moving into management. After managing programs, projects and people, Lorie pursued multiple entrepreneurial endeavors before earning her J.D. from Campbell Law in Raleigh. Lorie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Penn State University and is licensed to practice law in North Carolina.
Ms. Chowdhury is an experienced Seasoned Senior IP Counsel with years of a complete spectrum of strategic global IP experience prosecuting, litigating, licensing, conducting due diligence, & assessing patentability/freedom to operate to support business objectives. She developed and supervised strategic global IP portfolio of companies in line with business objectives considering competitor presence, legal enforceability, and detectability in cost effective manner by saving over $500,000 per year. As first and only in-house patent attorney for last 8 years, established and implemented international trade secret protection plan and managed global IP portfolio of companies. Advised CEO, R&D leaders, and upper management on freedom-to-operate, due diligence investigations, collaboration agreements, in- and out-license deals, joint ventures, and MA matters to assist with business needs.
Kari Barnes has over 15 years of experience in complex intellectual property matters. She advises clients on a broad range of Intellectual Property prosecution and associated transactional endeavors. She also assists in the defense and enforcement of Intellectual Property assets to protect market share and monetize IP portfolios. Ms. Barnes is proficient in domestic and international patent prosecution for a wide variety of technologies, including electronic devices, computer hardware and software, aerospace, and medical devices.
Ms. Barnes currently advises a number of technology companies around the Alice decision—a Supreme Court case ruling a software method unpatentable as an abstract idea. Her experience in technology patent prosecution includes identifying users on a network, propensity assessments based on user activities, data transfer through storage area networks, devices and methods for secure remote access, data encryption and transfer, authentication methods and algorithms, statistical assessments for medical analysis based on historical data sets, devices and signal processing for long range communication systems, electronic hardware accessories for mobile and computer devices, user interface hardware and software for controlling mobile devices, and devices and methods for augmented or virtual reality systems including distortion correction, personalization detection and calibration.
Ms. Barnes has extensive experience assisting aerospace, medical device, and other companies and the unique needs of these companies as they work with the government under government contracts. The intellectual property requirements and obligations change under many of the regulations defining government contract terms, and Ms. Barnes has extensive experience guiding and counseling clients through these complex regulations. She has participated on a number of government sponsored programs supporting recipients of the Small Business Innovative Research grants, and has lectured groups, and counseled clients on how to maintain and maximize intellectual property rights in view of these regulations. Ms. Barnes has counseled aerospace companies including light weight space inflatables, self-navigating aircraft, drones, and long range communication systems under the SBIR grants of the DoD, NASA, MDA, and JPL, and medical device companies including in field diagnostic and medical devices under the SBIR grants of the army, DoD, and NIH.
Ms. Barnes currently advises a large international medical device company on its intellectual property strategy, including creating and maintaining a foreign and domestic patent portfolio; offensive and defensive opinions regarding infringement, freedom to operate, and patentability; as well as assessing the intellectual property assets of potential acquisitions. She has prosecuted a large number of patents protecting stents, catheters, catheter placement systems, needle safety devices, ultrasound devices, urological slings, and other implants and delivery systems. She also advises a number of mid-sized and smaller medical device companies in their intellectual property portfolio strategy and implementation.
She counsels large companies on a cost effective strategy to maintain protection on a large market share, while balancing the cost of a large portfolio. She counsels small businesses and start-ups on intellectual property strategy and portfolio planning to protect an emerging market share or to retain and maximize intellectual property rights in view of joint venture research and development, and government grants.
Prior to joining Buchalter, Ms. Barnes was an attorney at Rutan & Tucker, LLP and Morrison Foerster, litigating and prosecuting patents for large companies involving toys, storage area networks, medical devices, DVD technologies, cell phones, and computer hardware interfaces, including touch screens. Prior to law school, Ms. Barnes instructed at the Colorado School of Mines’ Physics Department. As an adjunct professor, she taught undergraduate physics courses in mechanics and electromagnetism. She was also a researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the opto-electronics department.
Ann is responsible for managing USAA’s growing patent portfolio, supporting Innovation and licensing efforts, and facilitating the integration of intellectual property across the enterprise.
Gael Diane Tisack is the Global Head of Intellectual Property for Olympus Corporation, managing a patent portfolio of over 25,000 patents and an IP staff of nearly 200 around the globe. Prior to joining Olympus in 2018 Gael founded and led the Technology Transfer Office at Wichita State University. Before WSU she was at Terumo Cardiovascular Systems for nearly 13 years where she started as a patent attorney and worked her way to be the Senior Vice President and General Counsel. She was an Associate Attorney at Brinks, Gilson & Lione after law school. Gael graduated, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and is a registered Patent Attorney before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She is a frequent guest lecturer at several universities including Georgetown Law School, the University of Michigan, the University of Maryland and Wichita State University. Gael has been named an IP Star by Managing IP multiple times and won the Women Leaders in Life Sciences Empowerment Award in 2016 She holds a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and was an engineer and manager at Ford Motor Company for 11 years where she was awarded a patent for a shielded circuit module.
Samantha recently joined Spark Therapeutics, the dedicated gene therapy subsidiary of Roche Holdings AG (NASDAQ: RHHBY), leading legal support for the corporate functions, including Human Resources, Real Estate & Corporate Facilities, Finance, Information Technology and Corporate Communications. Prior to joining Spark, Samantha served as Executive Director, Corporate Counsel at Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY), helping the S&P 500 Component biopharmaceutical company build and execute strategies required to take the company global, enter new markets, double its annual revenue to ~$2 billion, and increase its headcount to 1,400. A strategic business partner, senior leadership team member, corporate generalist, and prior business unit general counsel, Samantha serves on several of Spark’s corporate leadership teams with responsibility for advising key stakeholders on enterprise-wide initiatives.
Throughout her 20+ years working with multinational, national, and regional companies across sectors, Samantha has always loved sitting down with business leaders to develop and execute business strategies. She has partnered on projects involving numerous countries, including Switzerland, the EU, Brazil, China, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Canada and the U.K.
Samantha attributes much of her success to her commitment to knowing business models, drivers, pressures, and personalities. She learns every step, from R&D to end user. Samantha’s work has touched nearly every aspect of both corporate functions and day-to-day operations, including executive advising, new market entry, corporate initiatives, product development, business development, corporate transactions, securities litigation, compliance, employment law, employee training, intellectual property protection, software and IP licensing, commercial contracts, supply chain, global trade compliance, risk management, construction, commercial litigation, dispute resolution, team management, and budget and resource allocation.
Since business decision-making is very seldom black and white, Samantha strives to give pragmatic legal advice that helps decisionmakers operate in the inevitable shades of gray, while maintaining their commitments to their company, shareholders, the public, and other stakeholders.
Throughout, Samantha and her teams emphasize integrity, equity, fairness, and humility
Perving Taleyarkhan is Legal Counsel at Whirlpool. Her experience includes IP strategy, contract negotiation, as well as litigation. Prior to Whirlpool she served as Legal Associate in the IP legal team at Purdue University. She earned her BSChE in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and her J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney, School of Law. Pervin is actively involved in the American Bar Association, where she serves on the Editorial Board of the ABA Journal, and is also Editor-in-Chief of the Young Lawyer Division (ABA YLD)'s flagship The Young Lawyer. She is currently Vice Chair of the IP Law Section of the ABA YLD. In addition, Pervin is active in the ABA IP Law Section in various capacities, including work on the Editorial Board of the ABA IPL Section's Landslide magazine and chairing the Section's In-house IP Committee. She is also serving on the IP Counsel at the State Bar of Michigan and the Board of Directors for the Michigan Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). At the regional level, Pervin co-chairs the ACC's Southwest Michigan Committee.
IP Law Counsel at IBM. Having first trained in general sciences and then Computer Science, she has wide-ranging experience in protecting and harvesting IP as well as monetising IP through deals, collaborations and licensing. She is also actively involved in policy work in the Data, AI and Copyright fields.
Anita is involved in a number of external organisations in Europe and the UK for policy, give-back and diversity issues: EPI: Examiner for European Qualifying Examinations, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), IP Federation and IP Inclusive (founding member of IP&ME, a diversity network for BAME employees and their allies).
Emily is a European patent attorney based in San Francisco, providing on-the-ground European IP support to West Coast companies.
Well-versed in patent prosecution and IP strategy for multinational companies, Emily’s technical expertise includes software, aerospace and medical devices.
Emily co-founded Oxford University’s mental health awareness campaign many years ago and retains a keen interest in mental health. Emily feels strongly about addressing the gender gap in professional services, and has researched female inventorship in worldwide patent filings.
Jamie Lucia represents companies in all phases of high-stakes intellectual property litigation. She is particularly well-versed in pharmaceutical patent litigation, including infringement disputes under the Hatch- Waxman Act. Jamie has extensive experience representing clients before district courts and the US International Trade Commission (ITC), addressing matters involving biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer electronics, and business methods.
Before launching her legal career, Jamie undertook graduate coursework in chemical physics and optics, and was a research chemist at a pharmaceutical company.
Danielle has more than 15 years of experience handling complex patent, trade secret, copyright, and trademark litigations for clients in a wide range of technology areas, including pharmaceutical, medical device, computer hardware and software, digital television and telecommunications. Her experience also includes handling ex parte and inter partes proceedings in the Patent & Trademark Office, patent prosecution, and counseling clients in a variety of IP and due diligence matters. Danielle received a 2020 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing as co-author of “How Fed. Circ. May Defer To PTAB In Facebook Case.”
Amanda Swaim is Senior IP Counsel within Broadcom, Inc.’s Intellectual Property and Licensing division. She is responsible for managing offensive and defensive patent litigation, licensing activities, and Broadcom’s worldwide trademark portfolio.
Before joining Broadcom, Amanda practiced intellectual property litigation and transactional law at several national and regional law firms.
Laurie Charrington is the Associate General Counsel at Intel Corporation. Her responsibilities focus on strategy and execution of patent litigation as well as other litigation focused issues. Furthermore she heads up Intel's global patent indemnity program. Laure co-chairs Intel's Black Leadership Counsel as well as being a key member of the leadership team at Leading Edge - Intel's Women Leadership Initiative.
Her experience further includes Associate roles at Jones Day, Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder, Sills Cummis Epstein Gross and Fenwick & West LLP. Laure Charrington earned her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.
Nicholas Kim is a Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft Corporation and focuses on IP litigation. Mr. Kim joined Microsoft from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, where he was a trial attorney in the Intellectual Property Section. Before that, Mr. Kim was a patent attorney in private practice in Washington, DC.
Uma N. Everett is a director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group. She concentrates her practice in the area of patent litigation and has represented clients in patent cases in federal courts and before the United States International Trade Commission in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries. She has extensive experience representing clients in the pharmaceutical industry in litigation arising under the Hatch-Waxman Act.
Uma is experienced in the development of all aspects of case strategy and the efficient management of complicated electronic discovery issues. She has served as trial counsel in multiple proceedings, and is experienced in all aspects of litigation from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal. In addition, she has handled appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal and Third Circuits.
While attending law school at Georgetown University Law Center, Uma served as the senior notes editor of The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Prior to attending law school, Uma worked at Price Waterhouse as management consultant. Uma received her B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia.
Karen has led teams in patent infringement lawsuits involving agricultural chemicals, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, biotechnology products, and networking technologies. In late 2012, Chambers USA Women in Law recognized Karen’s work by nominating her for its 2013 Up and Coming Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year Award and in 2018, BTI Consulting named Karen as one of 326 outside lawyers, and the only Delaware lawyer, as “absolutely best at client service.”
Karen also serves as a member of the Sedona Conference’s Patent Litigation Working Group 10 on Patent Litigation Best Practices and has been a faculty member for various corresponding Working Group Meetings. Karen served as the President of the Delaware Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the primary liaison between the district court bench and the Delaware federal bar. In 2013, Karen was recognized for her service to the District of Delaware with the Judge Caleb R. Layton, III Service Award.
Taking on pro bono representations is also a regular part of Karen’s practice, including a civil rights action for discriminatory arrest in which the jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages. After the district court judge overturned the verdict on post-trial motions, Karen successfully argued the appeal to reinstate the jury’s original verdict. She has also successfully represented pro bono clients in immigration, family law matters and before the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals.
Karen has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Pennsylvania State University and worked at GlaxoSmithKline conducting drug discovery research. Karen prosecuted patent and trademark applications during law school and worked on other intellectual property litigation matters at an intellectual property boutique firm in Philadelphia and at one of Delaware’s largest law firms before founding Shaw Keller LLP in 2011.
Adrienne E. Dominguez focuses her practice on intellectual property and commercial litigation. She has represented national clients in cases involving patent and copyright infringement claims, with particular expertise in patent infringement damages. Adrienne has also litigated complex commercial matters involving misappropriation of trade secrets, recovery of health care benefits, and antitrust, class action, and breach of contract lawsuits.
