IRELL - Key Persons
Alan Heinrich's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. He has extensive experience litigating patents in the fields of biotechnology, medical devices and high tech. He has been a member of trial teams that have obtained multi-hundred million-dollar judgments on behalf of patent owners and have also successfully defended against multi-hundred million-dollar damages claims on behalf of accused infringers.
Alan previously served on Irell & Manella LLP's Executive Committee and as chair of the firm's Hiring Committee. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches Patent Intensive, an advanced patent law seminar, and has also taught Patent Law and Federal Courts at Loyola Law School.
Experience
VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (W.D. Tex). Co-lead trial counsel for VLSI Technology LLC in a patent infringement lawsuit against Intel Corporation. The lawsuit involves two patents that improve the speed and performance of microprocessors. In March 2021, a jury found that Intel infringed the patents in suit, rejected Intel's invalidity defense, and awarded $2.18 billion in reasonable royalty damages. In April 2022, a judge issued a $2.3 billion final judgment in the case. Alan was recognized as an Am Law "Litigator of the Week" for his role in the case.
VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (W.D. Tex). Co-lead trial counsel for VLSI Technology LLC in separate patent infringement lawsuit against Intel Corporation. The lawsuit involves a patent on improved memory access requests that increase the performance of microprocessors. In November 2022, an Austin, Texas jury found that Intel infringed the patent in suit, rejected Intel's invalidity defense, and awarded over $948 million in reasonable royalty damages, the exact sum requested by VLSI.
Alector v. Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D. (JAMS arbitration). Co-lead trial counsel for Dr. Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D. in a JAMS arbitration proceeding brought by Alector Inc. Dr. Abeliovich is the founder and CEO of Prevail Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's and Frontotemporal Dementia. He is also the co-founder and a former consultant for Alector. In June 2019, Alector filed an arbitration against Dr. Abeliovich, claiming that he misappropriated Alector's trade secrets in developing Prevail's gene therapies. Alector sought a substantial monetary award as well as sweeping ownership rights to Prevail's intellection property estate. After a two-week arbitration trial in July 2020, the arbitrator rejected all of Alector's principal claims against Dr. Abeliovich, including allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets. Specifically, the arbitrator rejected Alector's claims that Dr. Abeliovich used Alector trade secrets or confidential information in connection with his work on behalf of Prevail, as well as Alector's claim that it had any rights to Prevail's intellectual property.
Koninklijke Philips N.V. et al. v. ZOLL Medical Corp. (D. Mass.). Represented ZOLL Medical Corp. in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by its competitor Philips relating to external defibrillator technology. Irell took over the case from other counsel in 2014 after a loss at the liability phase. Philips initially sought over $900 million in damages. After Irell succeeded in knocking out some claims on appeal of the liability judgment, Philips reduced its damages claim to $217 million. In August 2017, a jury returned a verdict in which it rejected Philips's claim for lost profits damages, found that ZOLL did not willfully infringe and awarded Philips a net of $7.1 million in damages, less than four percent of Philips's claimed damages.
Kite Pharma v. Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research (PTAB). Represented Sloan Kettering and Juno Therapeutics in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Juno's competitor Kite sought to invalidate all claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,446,190. The PTAB upheld the validity of all claims of the patent in a final written decision, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit summarily affirmed in June 2018.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, et al. v. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, et al (D. Mass.). Represented Alnylam and the Max Planck Institute in a complex patent dispute concerning rights to fundamental technology covered in two families of patent applications in the field of RNA interference (gene silencing). The case was successfully resolved on favorable terms through a creative settlement that used co-ownership rights and other cooperative mechanisms to overcome U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejections in both patent application families, leading to a robust estate of issued patents.
University of Utah v. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, et al. (D. Mass.). Represented Alnylam, Max Planck Institute, Whitehead and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a dispute over inventorship rights to fundamental patents in the RNA interference (gene silencing) field co-owned by the defendants. In this case, Irell represented all of the parties involved in the lawsuit listed above, including parties who were adverse to Alnylam and Max Planck Institute in that lawsuit. The district court granted summary judgment against the University of Utah and in favor of the defendants on all claims. University of Utah did not appeal the district court's ruling.
University of Pennsylvania, et al. vs. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, et al. (E.D. Pa.). Represented Juno Therapeutics in a lawsuit against the University of Pennsylvania and Novartis Corporation. The lawsuit involved patent and contract claims concerning a novel cancer immunotherapy treatment developed by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and exclusively licensed to Juno. The treatment uses a "chimeric antigen receptor" that re-programs a patient's own immune cells to identify and destroy cancerous B cells to treat diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma. The case settled favorably after several years of litigation, with Juno receiving upfront and milestone payments from Novartis as well as ongoing royalties.
Job Titles:
- Attorney Recruiting Contact
An experienced patent litigator, Amy E. Proctor advises clients on intellectual property issues and handles patent infringement disputes across a wide range of technologies. Amy has helped obtain hundreds of millions of dollars for patent holders. Amy also defends clients against patent infringement claims, protecting the accused from significant liability. With technical and industry expertise, Amy provides solution-oriented advice to overcome the unique challenges facing each of her clients.
Among several high-profile awards, in 2023, Amy was selected to The Recorder's "Lawyers on the Fast Track (under 40)" for the second year running. In 2022, she was named to Bloomberg Law's nationwide "They've Got Next: The 40 Under 40" list for her "intelligence, drive and common sense thinking on complicated matters" and selected to the Daily Journal's "Top 40 Under 40" lists. Law360 also named her as one of only five "Technology Rising Stars" in 2021.
Amy has particular expertise in proving patent damages, including by carefully apportioning complex technology to a patented invention's footprint. She believes in applying innovative scientific and econometric approaches to quantify the specific benefits created by her clients' inventions, and then distilling those benefits into value that is easily recognized.
Amy is involved in many aspects of firm management, including serving as vice chair of Hiring and a longtime member of Irell's Mentoring and Diversity Committees. Amy is passionate about recruiting and retaining diverse talent to continue Irell's legacy of creativity and client success.
Amy earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, where she graduated Order of the Coif and received the Malcolm Lucas Award. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in the University of Florida Chan Physics Lab, where she helped implement a method for measuring the quantum forces associated with the Casimir effect. Her research focused on refining fabrication techniques to improve microelectromechanical system performance. Amy also completed an REU program at the University of California, Los Angeles Physics Department, where she assisted with high-speed tracking of membrane proteins.
Experience
VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (W.D. Tex.). Represents VLSI Technology in a patent infringement lawsuit against Intel. The suit involves two patents that improve the speed and performance of microprocessors. In March 2021, a jury found that Intel infringed the patents in suit, rejected Intel's invalidity defense, and awarded $2.18 billion in reasonable royalty damages. In April 2022, a judge issued a $2.3 billion final judgment in the case. Developed VLSI's damages case and examined VLSI's primary damages expert before the jury.
General Electric Co. v. Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. et al. (C.D. Cal.). Represented Vestas, one of the world's largest wind turbine manufacturers, in patent infringement litigation brought by GE involving patents on remaining connected to power grids during faults. Involved in all aspects of the district court case, which included claims by GE and counterclaims by Vestas, and in inter partes review (IPR) challenges to the patents. After the PTAB instituted IPRs of GE's patents, the case settled and all claims were dismissed.
Intel Corp. v. Future Link Systems, LLC (D. Del.). Represented Future Link in a declaratory judgment action originally brought by Intel seeking relief with respect to nine patents. Counterclaimed for infringement of 15 patents-including patents relating to on-chip interconnect architectures, integrated circuit thermal monitoring systems, computer security, power saving techniques and processing performance optimization-and obtained favorable claim construction and summary judgment outcomes. Developed detailed damages analyses for all asserted patents, each of which survived any Daubert challenges. The case settled shortly before the first trial.
Santarus Inc. v. Par Pharmaceutical Inc. (D. Del.). Obtained a $100 million settlement for Santarus, an innovative pharmaceutical company based in San Diego, in this case involving Santarus's drug Zegerid, which is used to treat disorders relating to excess stomach acid. After Par won at the district court level and launched a generic version of Zegerid at risk, the Federal Circuit found for Santarus, leading Par to voluntarily withdraw its infringing generic from the market in 2012. On remand, designed a detailed lost profits case to quantify Santarus's damages for Par's two years of infringing sales. The case then settled shortly before trial.
Andrew Strabone focuses his practice on complex business disputes, with an emphasis on intellectual property and securities litigation. He has represented clients in a broad range of industries, including the financial services, telecommunications, computer hardware, semiconductor, entertainment and biopharmaceutical industries. Andrew has experience at all stages of litigation, including recently obtaining nine-figure verdicts and findings of patent infringement, validity and willfulness in each of five separate jury trials.
Andrew attended UCLA School of Law, where he served as co-editor in chief of the Journal of Law and Technology. Additionally, Andrew maintains an active pro bono practice. Most recently, he successfully argued on behalf of a pro bono client in front of the California Court of Appeal to reverse and remand a custody order granting legal custody to a proven domestic violence abuser. Andrew is also a member of the firm's Hiring, Diversity and Mentoring committees.
Experience
Netlist Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. (E.D. Tex.). Part of the trial team that secured a $303.15 million jury verdict for Netlist in a suit against Samsung involving five patents relating to computer memory technology. The jury also found willful infringement, and determined Samsung failed to prove any of the patents are invalid.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Counsel / Los Angeles
Andrew Krause has represented clients from a variety of industries in patent litigation in district court and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as well as in strategic patent prosecution and portfolio management. Andrew's clients in the life sciences industry include Genentech and Gilead Sciences, while his technology clients include Juniper Networks and Skyworks Solutions.
From 2008 to 2010, Andrew worked as a patent examiner at the USPTO.
Experience
DePuy Synthes Products Inc. v. Veterinary Orthopedic Implants, Inc. and Fidelio Capital AB (M.D. Fla., PTAB). Represented DePuy Synthes, an industry leader in veterinary orthopedic implants, in patent infringement litigation against VOI and Fidelio Capital. Secured a jury verdict in favor of DePuy Synthes on all issues, finding that VOI and Fidelio willfully infringed and awarding over $59 million in damages. The court subsequently entered a permanent injunction against VOI and Fidelio.
Alector v. Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D. (JAMS arbitration). Represented prominent neuroscientist and drug developer Asa Abeliovich, the founder and CEO of Prevail Therapeutics, a company developing gene therapies for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, in a trade secret arbitration proceeding. The case involved allegations that Prevail's work was based on Alector's alleged trade secrets, for which Alector sought relief in the form of substantial monetary damages as well as ownership rights to Prevail's intellectual property estate. After a two-week arbitration hearing at which Andrew handled the examination of Dr. Abeliovich's scientific experts, the arbitrator rejected all of the principal claims against Dr. Abeliovich, including all claims alleging misappropriation or misuse of trade secrets and confidential information.
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant for Professor
Benjamin Manzin-Monnin focuses on intellectual property litigation, complex business litigation, and post-grant review proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Benjamin's experience includes analyzing and valuing IP portfolios, managing discovery including complex source code review, taking and defending depositions, working closely with expert witnesses, and drafting and arguing motions.
Benjamin earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he was elected to Order of the Coif. He earned his B.S. in Industrial Engineering, with minors in Computer Science and Economics, from Columbia University. Benjamin is a member of the firm's Diversity Committee and of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association's Young Lawyers Committee.
Benjamin's previous experience includes working as business development director for an investment fund of an international family with holdings in North America.
Experience
G+ Communications, LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co. LTD., et al (E.D. Tex.). Represented G+ Communications in a jury trial against Samsung on patents essential to the 5G standard originally created by ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company. The jury found infringement of two patents and also rejected Samsung's claim that G+ breached its obligation of good faith negotiation, which exists because the patents are standard essential. The jury awarded a royalty rate of $1.50 per unit. The damages up until the trial were $67.5 million. Benjamin's role at trial included directing the technical expert on infringement and validity of the patents-in-suit.
Netlist Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. (E.D. Tex.). Part of the trial team that secured a $303.15 million jury verdict for Netlist in a suit against Samsung involving five patents relating to computer memory technology. The jury also found willful infringement, and determined Samsung failed to prove any of the patents are invalid. Benjamin's responsibilities at trial included directing the expert witness regarding infringement of three of the patents-in-suit.
Ben Hattenbach's practice is focused on intellectual property litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on the trial of complex patent infringement matters. He has served as a member of the firm's Executive Committee for more than a decade, and is vice chair of the Litigation practice.
While representing patent holders, Ben has obtained more than six billion dollars in judgments and settlements, including the largest judgment in the history of our patent system. In addition, on multiple occasions he has represented patent litigation defendants who succeeded in turning the tables and recovering hundreds of millions of dollars from the plaintiffs that had sued them.
For 10 years, the Daily Journal has named Ben one of the top 75 intellectual property litigators in California. He was recognized by The American Lawyer as a "Litigator of the Week" in 2021, and by Best Lawyers as the Los Angeles Technology Law "Lawyer of the Year" for 2022 and 2024. He has been described as "an exceptionally talented patent litigator who fully dedicates himself to his clients," "fantastically smart" and "super-bright, creative and tenacious" (Chambers USA), and "a tactically clever lawyer who thinks 15 moves ahead" (IAM 1000).
Ben represents clients of all sizes in intellectual property-related disputes before federal and state courts, as well as the U.S. International Trade Commission and arbitration panels. A registered patent attorney, he also regularly litigates contested proceedings, such as inter partes reviews, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On the transactional and counseling side, Ben provides strategic guidance regarding patent portfolio management, licensing and acquisitions. In his spare time, Ben is an internationally published landscape photographer who enjoys exploring remote wilderness areas.
Experience
VLSI Technology v. Intel (W.D. Tex.). Secured a $948 million jury verdict, plus running royalties, for VLSI in this suit regarding patented innovations used to provide improved performance and scalability in server microprocessors.
Job Titles:
- Counsel / Washington, D.C.
Blair A. Silver focuses his practice on complex intellectual property disputes at all stages. He has extensive experience with proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, federal district courts, the International Trade Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Blair has represented clients in a wide variety of high-stakes appellate matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit. He also has provided strategic appellate advice and counseling to Fortune 500 companies preparing for trial and possible appeal in patent cases with more than $1 billion at stake. At the trial court level, Blair has briefed, argued and won dispositive motions and litigated cases from filing through trial on behalf of companies ranging from technology startups to industry leaders. He has also handled more than 100 inter partes review and covered business method review proceedings before the PTAB.
With a background in electrical engineering, Blair has significant experience with a wide range of technologies and industries, including electronics and computers, financial technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. His practice also includes copyright and trademark litigation.
Experience
Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. (Fed. Cir.). Advised Centripetal on appellate strategy in defending a nearly $2.7 billion willful infringement verdict against Cisco on networking technology.
Job Titles:
- Partner / Los Angeles
- Professionals
Chris Abernethy's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, transactions and counseling. With an emphasis on patent litigation, Chris has represented clients at trial and on appeal in numerous federal courts, in the U.S. International Trade Commission, and in contested proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Chris's practice also includes patent portfolio management, licensing and transactions. Chris is an IP strategist who combines his deep understanding of technology and intellectual property to support his clients' business goals and maximize the value of their portfolios.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate / Los Angeles
David Z. Kahn is an associate in the Litigation group. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine School of Law, which he attended on a full scholarship as a Distinguished Decade Scholar.
During law school, David received several honors, including the Faculty Award for highest performance in a course for his work in Patent Law, Copyright Law, Contracts, Torts, Lawyering Skills II, and Legal Profession. He also served as a board member and executive editor of the UC Irvine Law Review. In addition, as a student in the Ninth Circuit Appellate Litigation Clinic, he victoriously briefed and argued a Cuban asylum seeker's petition for review.
David was a judicial extern for the Hon. Gail Ruderman Feuer of the California Court of Appeal for the Second District.
David earned his B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University, with a concentration in Human-Computer Interaction. Before Stanford, he studied Jewish law and theology at a rabbinical seminary in Israel.
Dominik Slusarczyk's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, evaluation and licensing. He has represented a variety of clients-patent inventors as well as a range of corporate plaintiffs and defendants-at all stages of intellectual property disputes. The bulk of Dominik's experience is in patent cases relating to complex technology, including computer architecture, data processing and semiconductor packaging.
Dominik earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was senior editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. While in law school, he served as a judicial intern at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Prior to law school, Dominik worked as a software and embedded systems engineer in real-time applications. He is fluent in Polish and conversational in Spanish.
Experience
Intel Corp. v. Future Link Systems, LLC (D. Del.). Represented Future Link in a declaratory judgment action originally brought by Intel seeking relief with respect to nine patents. Counterclaimed for infringement of 15 patents-including patents relating to on-chip interconnect architectures, integrated circuit thermal monitoring systems, computer security and processing performance optimization-and obtained favorable claim construction and summary judgment outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Marketing Specialist
- Media Contact
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate / Los Angeles
Drew Henderson is an associate in the Litigation group. He earned his J.D. from USC Gould School of Law, where he was senior production editor for the Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice and served as a teaching assistant and research assistant. During law school, he was recognized as a Katz Research Fellow and earned a Federal Circuit Bar Association Giles S. Rich Memorial Scholarship, among other honors.
Drew obtained his B.S., magna cum laude, in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. As an undergraduate, he also worked as a project engineer for a construction management company.
Practice Areas
Litigation
Job Titles:
- Partner Emeritus / Los Angeles
Eric Webber's practice covers a wide range of business transactions, including private and public mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, business organizations and restructurings, public and private debt offerings (senior, mezzanine and subordinated debt), commercial lending (asset based lending, secured and unsecured bank debt and other financing transactions), workouts and recapitalizations, and public and private equity offerings.
In M&A transactions, Eric has led legal teams on acquisitions and dispositions of operating businesses as well as patent portfolios and television and film libraries. In equity offerings, he has represented issuers as well as underwriters and investors. In debt transactions, he has directed dividend recapitalizations, leveraged buyouts and restructuring transactions. Eric's financing deals include public and private company transactions, both in and outside of bankruptcy, and the representation of borrowers and debtors as well as lenders and creditors.
Additionally, Eric advises individuals on issues relating to service as executive officers or board members for private and public companies, including corporate governance, fiduciary and other duties, insurance, indemnification and risk management.
Eric's clients span a variety of sectors, from more traditional retail, entertainment, media, financial services, healthcare services and manufacturing businesses to new media, mobile communications, cutting-edge electronics, software and clean technology businesses. His clients include both operating businesses and investors and U.S. as well as European and other international clients.
Eric has written and spoken on various topics relating to equity and debt financing, bankruptcy and restructuring, commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, banking, securities law and lawyer ethics. He has also served in the firm's General Counsel's office and as a member of its Executive Committee.
Experience
Debt Financings
Job Titles:
- Associate / Newport Beach
Ericka DiMeglio is an associate in the Litigation group. Prior to joining Irell, Ericka clerked for the Hon. William Bertelsman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Ericka earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif and Order of Barristers. During law school, she served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. She was a senior supervising editor for the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law and submissions editor for the Berkeley Business Law Journal. She also served as a member of the Berkeley Law Trial Team, as well as co-chair of the Berkeley Law Board of Advocates.
Ericka obtained her B.S., cum laude, in Chemistry with high honors from the University of Cincinnati, where she was on the Dean's List and was a University Honors Scholar. Before law school, she taught with Teach for America.
Practice Areas
Litigation
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate / Los Angeles
Grant Gabriel is an associate in the Litigation group. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as treasurer and an executive board member for the Yale Law and Business Society, as well as co-president of the Yale Entertainment and Sports Law Association. Grant was also lead editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation, in addition to serving as a teaching fellow and research assistant.
Grant obtained his B.A. in Classics from Yale College. He was one of 30 freshman selected to participate into the four-year Yale Leadership Education and Development program. He served as director of the Youth Leadership Program for the Yale Leadership Institute and as a founding board member of the American Enterprise Institute Executive Council, among other activities.
Grant clerked for the Hon. Jay S. Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also interned for the Hon. Mark Gibbons of the Nevada Supreme Court. He had several political internships as an undergraduate, including for former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Nevada Sen. Dean Heller.
Annita Zhong focuses her practice on patent litigation, contested patent office proceedings and licensing in the United States, the European Union and China.
Examples of her recent, diverse practice include serving as lead Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) counsel defending a portfolio of patents in 29 inter partes review (IPR) proceedings filed by the largest handset manufacturers in the world, resulting in a perfect record with no claims invalidated including two final written decisions upholding all challenged claims. This was the largest campaign against a single patent owner in a single year.
Annita also served as lead PTAB counsel defending a large cellular standard essential patent (SEP) portfolio against Apple, resulting in a perfect non-institution record in the PTAB. Additionally, she served as lead Chinese patent and litigation counsel in the defense of a large cellular SEP portfolio in China that involved 28 contested proceedings before the Chinese Intellectual Property Office and the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court.
After receiving her Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology and before attending law school, Annita worked as a senior research scientist in the areas of catalysis, semiconductor packaging and bio-imaging at General Electric Company's Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York. She is a co-author and co-inventor of peer-reviewed journal articles and issued patents, including serving as a lead author on a paper that garnered over 300 citations.
Annita's time as a senior research scientist exposed her to a wide array of technology and allows her to rapidly develop subject matter expertise in diverse technologies. Her deep knowledge in semiconductor fabrication and packaging, computer architecture, telecommunication technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and chemistry and materials, makes her an extraordinarily valuable asset for holders and creators of intellectual property.
Annita was selected as one of the Minority Leaders of Influence by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2021 and 2022. Among other recent honors, she has been named to the PTAB Bar Association's Top 50 Women in PTAB Trials list, has been recognized by The Legal 500 for Intellectual Property-Patent Litigation (Full Coverage), and has been listed as a "Notable Practitioner" in Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars.
Annita is a native speaker and writer of Chinese, and graduated at the top of her class from a leading Shanghai high school (one of only two directly under the Ministry of Education).
Experience
Optis Wireless Technology LLC et al. v. Apple Inc. (E.D. Tex.). Secured a $300 million jury award for PanOptis in a patent infringement suit against Apple involving 4G LTE technology. The award represented the fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) royalty that jurors determined Apple owes PanOptis. Jurors in a previous trial found Apple infringed claims of the five patents at issue, determined all asserted claims were valid and found Apple's infringement was willful.
Ian Washburn's practice focuses on intellectual property and complex business litigation, including patent and trademark pre-grant and post-grant proceedings, as well as appellate work. He has represented clients in numerous federal courts as well as before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the Delaware Court of Chancery. In addition, he assists companies in developing and managing intellectual property portfolios and advises them during patent license negotiations.
Ian's experience spans a wide range of industries, including the biomedical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor and semiconductor packaging and computer networking sectors as well as higher education. He has also taught classes regarding patent law and patent licensing at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and University of California, Irvine School of Law. He serves as vice chair of the Patent Law Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and previously served as vice chair of the Licensing Committee.
Prior to law school, Ian worked for an investment management firm in New York and lived in Beijing.
Experience
VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation (W.D. Tex.). Secured a $948 million jury award plus running royalties for VLSI Technology in a suit against Intel involving a microprocessor technology patent. The Austin, Texas jury found that Intel infringed the asserted claims in the patent and that Intel had not shown the patent was invalid.
Iian Jablon is a seasoned trial attorney who represents individuals and businesses in a broad array of complex business disputes in federal and state courts, arbitrations and administrative proceedings. In addition to being a trusted advisor to law firms and professionals in numerous fields, he has extensive trial experience, including first-chairing high-stakes cases.
Iian's clients span a wide range of industries. His practice includes business litigation, intellectual property litigation, professional liability defense, securities litigation, complex class actions and white collar defense. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in complex disputes involving trade secrets, patents, fiduciary duties, contracts, securities, real estate, valuations, corporate governance, waste of corporate assets, bankruptcy and employment, among other issues.
Iian is focused on finding practical solutions tailored to his clients' business goals. In addition to his litigation practice, Iian has served as the firm's general counsel since 2010, which gives him unique insights into the complex, multi-faceted issues that his clients confront. This perspective enables him to be highly responsive to his clients' needs and act as a crucial confidential resource on a range of legal matters as they arise.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate / Los Angeles
Isabella Chestney is an associate in the Litigation group. While attending UCLA School of Law, she earned a Masin Family Academic Excellence Gold Award for Trademark and a Silver Award for Remedies. She was a member of the Moot Court Honors Program, served as managing editor of the Women's Law Journal, and worked as a research assistant.
Isabella earned her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy from the University of Maryland, where she was on the Dean's List.
Job Titles:
- Installed As Century City Bar Association President
- Partner Emeritus / Los Angeles
Jane Shay Wald chairs the firm's Trademark practice group. Her intellectual property practice focuses on trademark, unfair competition, false advertising and copyright. Jane counsels clients on acquiring and maintaining U.S. and foreign rights and on potential and pending infringement problems. She also provides counsel in regard to titles, names, logos and configuration and prosecutes trademark applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She litigates before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the federal courts.
Since 2013, WTR 1000 - The World's Leading Trademark Professionals has ranked the "formidable" and "rock star" Jane among the best trademark attorneys in California for "enforcement and litigation" and "prosecution and strategy." The guide describes her brand protection practice as "a potent cocktail of trademark, false advertising and unfair competition." It also recognizes Jane for her "dexterous handling of a diverse range of trademark assignments, including complex licensing arrangements" and for being "a wonderful lawyer -just incredibly smart and thoughtful."
Together with David Nimmer, Jane was counsel on the briefs for Dastar Corp., the prevailing party, in the U.S. Supreme Court Lanham Act Case Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 (2003).
Jane's featured commentary and coverage include:
"Distill A TM Owner's Goodwill At Your Bourbon Co.'s Own Peril," Law360 (December 22, 2021)
Hartman, Jan C., The Lawyer Says - Quotes, Quips and Words of Wisdom. Princeton Architectural Press (2020) (Jane was quoted in this book)
"These 10 Decisions Remade the Trademark Landscape," Law360 (July 17, 2020)
"Lady Antebellum Sues Blues Singer Lady A Over Who Owns Trademark," HuffPost (July 8, 2020)
"COVID-19: Gender Equality Advocate?" Law.com/The American Lawyer (May 29, 2020)
"Trump's EU Trademark Revocations Provide Another Lesson on Evidence of Use," World Trademark Review (March 10, 2020)
"‘Old Spice' Jingle Creator Sues Procter & Gamble," Daily Journal (August 7, 2019)
"Default Judgment Issued Against No-Show Desilu Studios Inc.," Daily Journal (May 8, 2019)
Job Titles:
- Lisa Glasser Named Am Law Litigators of the Week
- Partner / Los Angeles
Described in Chambers USA as having "a remarkable ability to come up with creative solutions," Jason Sheasby focuses on complex litigation, patents, trade secrets, antitrust, regulatory compliance and internal investigations. His experience spans a wide range of industries, including bio/pharmaceuticals, medical devices, semiconductors, telecommunications, electronics, higher education and healthcare.
As an example of the wide diversity of his practice, in a single year, Jason was hired by a client post-trial to successfully reverse the largest patent verdict in history ($2.5 billion in a medicinal chemistry matter) and also obtained a $400 million jury verdict against the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world.
In another 12-month period, Jason obtained findings of infringement, validity and willfulness in each of three separate jury trials, with verdicts totaling more than $800 million. In the most recent one, he secured a $500 million verdict against Apple for damages over a period of 19 months in the first patent jury trial of the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury also found that Apple was willful and must pay an ongoing royalty. During this same period, Jason obtained a dismissal with prejudice of a multi-count antitrust and unfair competition complaint that accused his client and others of participating in a cartel and group boycott.
As another example in a single 10-month period, Jason obtained three plaintiffs verdicts in total excess of $600 million, as well as a permanent injunction, and prevailed as a defendant in three cases alleging breach of contract and fraud, two tried to the bench and one resolved on summary judgment.
While at Harvard Law School, Jason was a research assistant for Professor Arthur Miller and helped to revise Federal Practice & Procedure, the leading treatise on civil procedure.
Jason is repeatedly named in industry awards including the Daily Journal's "Top 100 Lawyers" and "Top IP Lawyers," The National Law Journal's "Winning Litigators" list, and Law360's "Trials MVPs."
Experience
Representative Matters
Job Titles:
- Associate / Newport Beach
- Litigation Associate
Jie Gao is a litigation associate. She has handled matters before the district court, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and International Trade Commission.
Jie earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as articles editor of the Columbia Science & Technology Law Review. During law school, she externed for the Hon. Jimmie Reyna of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Jie earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences and minor in Statistics from the University of Florida, and her B.S. in Environmental Chemistry from Nanjing University in Nanjing, China.
She previously worked as an associate at a major international law firm, where she handled patent and other litigation matters. She also previously worked as a patent agent and intellectual asset analyst for a Fortune 500 company.
Jie is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Job Titles:
- Communications Against Samsung
Represented Angelo Mozilo, former CEO of Countrywide Financial Corporation, in a lawsuit filed by the SEC alleging securities fraud and insider trading. A highly publicized settlement was reached with the SEC in the fall of 2010, shortly before the scheduled commencement of trial.