KUNZLER BEAN & ADAMSON - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Legal Counsel
- of Counsel
Adam Revelli is an attorney in the corporate and venture capital group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson. Adam works as outside legal counsel to a variety of companies, helping clients with entity formation, commercial agreements, strategic structuring plans, risk management, governance, business and asset sales and acquisitions, employment issues, and real estate matters. Adam also helps clients with compliance issues related to data privacy laws, such as the GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, etc.
Adam also helps individuals and families create effective and comprehensive estate plans, utilizing various kinds of trusts, wills, and other necessary documents. Adam merges his corporate and estate planning experience to help clients build effective business and asset protection plans to provide security of assets during one's life and a smooth transition of ownership and control of those assets after one's death.
Adam also has years of experience navigating the civil litigation process, including directing rigorous discovery, conducting and defending depositions throughout the United States and internationally, and obtaining positive results through motion practice with the court. Adam has conducted several bench and jury trials as both a second and first-chair attorney. Despite his experience in court, Adam focuses on resolving disputes through pre-litigation negotiations and through alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, saving his clients a lot of time and money. Adam's litigation experience has focused on fiduciary matters, including probate and trust litigation.
Adam enjoys traveling, playing golf, skiing, and following way too many sports.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel, Registered Patent Attorney
Alexis Nelson is a registered patent attorney with extensive experience representing clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of industries. Over her 20-year career, Alexis has drafted and prosecuted hundreds of domestic and foreign patent and trademark applications, as well as drafting and negotiating licensing agreements and IP-related contracts. Representative companies include Becton Dickinson, Wal-Mart Labs, Ford Motor Company, City Creek Mortgage Corporation, Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and FamilySearch International.
Alexis received her J.D. from S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah in 2002. Prior to joining Kunzler Bean & Adamson, Alexis was employed as an associate attorney with Kirton McConkie and as a partner with Nelson & Nelson. Alexis recently authored "When NFTs and Intellectual Property Collide," to be published in the Nov/Dec 2022 edition of the Utah Bar Journal.
In her spare time, Alexis enjoys traveling, playing the violin with her string quartet, and spending time with her seven children.
Ben is an associate in the firm's corporate and venture capital group where he assists clients with a wide range of corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing, formation, crowdfunding and securities compliance.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Partner
- Founder of Kunzler, PC
Brian C. Kunzler is the founder of Kunzler, PC, now Kunzler Bean & Adamson. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science from Utah State University. He received his law degree with honors from Brigham Young University, and has practiced law since 1994. Brian has extensive expertise acquiring, licensing, and enforcing patents in the fields of electrical devices and electronics, computers and computer software, medical arts, hydrocarbon engines, and mechanical devices.
Brian has prepared patent applications for numerous Fortune 500 companies, emerging software and Internet companies, as well as individuals and start-up ventures. He also has extensive experience in and regularly counsels clients in the areas of trademarks, copyrights, computer law, licensing, trade secrets, and intellectual property litigation and litigation avoidance.
Brian has been admitted to practice before the state and federal courts in Utah, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Utah State Bar Intellectual Property Section. He is conversant in Mandarin Chinese. He is active in community affairs and frequently lectures on intellectual property law topics to practitioners and business groups.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- of Counsel
Brock Jensen is an attorney in the corporate and venture capital group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson. He represents venture capital and private equity funds making investments in private companies. He also advises emerging growth companies and venture-backed startup companies on a wide range of matters, including financing transactions, structuring, executive employment, joint ventures and mergers & acquisitions.
Prior to joining KB&A, Brock was an associate attorney at Fabian VanCott in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brock earned his law degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Finance at the University of Utah.
In his spare time, Brock enjoys traveling, playing tennis and skiing.
Job Titles:
- Designer of the Power System for the International Space Station
- Partner With Kunzler Bean
- Partner, Registered Patent Attorney
- Spectrum Engineers As a Project Engineer
Bruce R. Needham is a partner with Kunzler Bean & Adamson and is a registered patent attorney with a strong technical background with more than 15 years of engineering experience prior to law school. His clients range from Fortune 500s to entrepreneurs. His practice focuses on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing.
He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bruce graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law, at the University of Utah, in 2005. He joined KB&A in the spring of 2003.
Bruce joined Rockwell International in 1988 as a designer of the power system for the International Space Station focusing on power electronics, system design, and analytical modeling. During his time at Rockwell, he developed working models of the overall Space Station power system, developed a method for determining power system stability, and published several papers on the topic.
Bruce joined Spectrum Engineers as a project engineer in 1995 and was made a principal in the firm in 1998. His duties included electrical, electronic and lighting design and project management for construction projects. Bruce is a licensed professional engineer.
Outside of the office, Bruce is active in cross-fit, fly fishing, golfing, skiing, and cycling.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Attorney in Kunzler Bean
Bryan (Bud) Todd is an associate attorney in Kunzler Bean & Adamson's litigation group. Bud's practice focuses on all aspects of civil litigation with an emphasis on intellectual property, including patent and trademark infringement. Prior to joining KB&A, Bud was an associate at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, where he practiced civil litigation and was involved with the intellectual property group.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Kunzler Bean
Bryan J. Massey is a partner at Kunzler Bean & Adamson with particular experience in helping clients obtain patent and trademark protection. He also has experience in other areas of intellectual property law, including litigation, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing. Bryan represents or has represented large clients, including Boeing, TaylorMade Golf, Freightliner, IBM Corporation, Western Digital, Lifetime Products, Microsoft, and Cummins, in intellectual property matters.
Bryan earned his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, in 2004. Bryan was a member of the law review and an editor of the Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law, in which his article concerning pre-grant publication rights is published. Upon graduating from law school, Bryan was one of two students receiving the Intellectual Property Certificate recognizing successful curriculum concentration in the field of intellectual property law. During law school, Bryan was employed by Intel, Corp. as a strategic business development and licensing specialist where he analyzed issued patents for revenue generating opportunities and preventing potential infringement. Throughout his final two years of law school, Bryan clerked at Klarquist Sparkman, LLP, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the Northwest. After graduating from law school, Bryan worked as an associate from 2004-2008 with Klarquist Sparkman where he gained valuable experience as a patent prosecutor and part-time litigator.
Prior to law school, Bryan attended Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, ultimately receiving a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah. He received several scholarships and awards, was a member of several honor societies, and graduated cum laude. During school, Bryan gained engineering experience as an intern at Easton Aluminum and Parametric Technology Corporation. He participated in the Formula SAE competition, including designing and building a small Formula-style race car, and racing the car against other schools in Detroit, Michigan.
Bryan is active in the legal community. He has served on the council of the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar and is admitted to practice law in the state of Oregon and Utah. Additionally, Bryan has been recognized as one of Utah's Legal Elite by Utah Business Magazine in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Bryan frequents golf courses and volleyball courts across the state of Utah, and also enjoys running, biking, and spending time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner With Kunzler Bean
Bryan W. Pitt is a partner with Kunzler Bean & Adamson with experience in patent searches, patent drafting, patent prosecution, patent infringement opinions, and patent enforcement opinions. Bryan has also helped clients to obtain trademarks.
Before joining KB&A, Bryan was a patent examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) specializing in the fields of radio communication networks and devices, such as cellular telephone networks, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices, as well as electronic displays, such as LED, LCD, and touchscreen displays.
Bryan attended law school at the George Washington University and graduated with a J.D. in 2012. During law school and while at the USPTO, Bryan was an assistant editor for the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society. Prior to law school, Bryan earned his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, specializing in digital communications, signal processing, and wireless communications circuits.
In his spare time, Bryan enjoys adventuring outdoors and making cookies with his kids. He may also be found tinkering in the garage or reading a good book.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Partner
- Member of KB & a
Expertise: Commercial Litigation, Antitrust and Trade Regulations, Intellectual Property Litigation
Mr. Pehrson is a member of KB&A's litigation group specializing in intellectual property and corporate governance disputes. He directs various types of complex commercial litigation, with a focus on intellectual property, including patent and trademark infringement, as well as securities and antitrust litigation. Mr. Pehrson is a registered patent attorney with litigation experience in venues across the country, including federal courts in Delaware, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Georgia, California, New York, Virginia, Washington, and Utah. In patent disputes, he finds his language training (M.A., rhetoric) to be as useful as his scientific training (M.S., chemistry) in distilling complex scientific material into organized information sets for non-specialist judges and juries. Mr. Pehrson also enjoys handling administrative actions in front of the SEC, Utah Division of Securities of other government agencies.
Presently, Mr. Pehrson is the volunteer coach of his local elementary school's chess club team, and a volunteer board member of a non-profit youth ski team. He believes that learning happens best when kids are having fun.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Partner
- Partner at Kunzler Bean
Dan Gutierrez is a partner at Kunzler Bean & Adamson, where his practice focuses representing venture capital and private equity firms as well as mezzanine debt lenders. Dan also assists private companies with general corporate matters, fundraising, executive employment and acquisitions. Dan's clients span a variety of industries, including the software/SAAS, wireless hardware, cleantech, fintech, life science, healthcare and medical device industries.
Dan has been involved with a number of start-up focused organizations in San Diego, including Startup Leadership Program, Evonexus, and the Founder's Institute.
Dan attended undergrad at the University of California, San Diego where he double majored in Cognitive Science (specialization in Human Computer Interaction) and Economics (specialization in Management Science). Dan attended law school at the University of Chicago. Prior to KB&A, Dan was formerly a senior attorney at Cooley LLP.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Attorney
- of Counsel
David Heywood is an attorney with expertise in guiding emerging growth companies and venture-backed startup companies through a wide range of matters, including formation, venture capital financings, licensing, debt transactions, service agreements, providing equity to key employees, and mergers and acquisitions.
David joined KB&A as a law clerk while attending the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where he graduated magna cum laude. David also earned an MBA from the Marriott School of Management, finishing in the top 10% of his class. While in law school, David served as a Lead Note and Comment Editor of the BYU Law Review. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, graduating cum laude with University Honors.
Prior to his career in law, David worked as an analyst in the transaction advisory services team at Ernst & Young, where he obtained a designation as a certified public accountant.
In his spare time, David enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his family.
Eric is a partner in the corporate and business law group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson, focusing his practice on advising high-growth startup companies at all stages, from formation to exit. He also represents angel and venture capital investors in their investments in startup companies. Eric often serves in an "outside general counsel" role for his startup clients, building a long-term relationship and providing legal and strategic advice on a wide range of commercial, corporate and securities matters, including negotiating venture capital and debt financings, drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, and managing employee equity plans. He seeks to understand his clients' business priorities in order to help them navigate the legal environment and achieve their objectives.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- of Counsel
- Associate Attorney in Kunzler Bean
Heather Rodriguez is an associate attorney in Kunzler Bean & Adamson's intellectual property group. Heather focuses on patent prosecution and has experience in other areas of intellectual property law, including trademarks and licensing.
Heather graduated from the J. Ruben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University. During law school, Heather was employed by TraskBritt where she worked on both national and foreign patent prosecution, for companies including Micron, Hughes Christensen, Sorenson Communications, and Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Prior to joining KBA Heather established herself as an independent intellectual property consultant working with inventors, entrepreneurs and early-stage startups on their IP strategies and initial filings allowing her to gain the versatility to work across various scientific disciplines and commercial fields. Prior to law school, Heather attended Utah State University where she received a bachelor degree in Biological Engineering. She also worked for Spendlove Research as a lab tech where she helped develop a cytokine assay test and various R&D projects.
In her spare time, Heather enjoys running, road biking and spending time outdoors with her husband and their three children.
James Platt is part of the corporate and venture capital group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson focusing on emerging growth companies. He serves as an outside legal advisor to many technology and services companies, assisting to strategize, coordinate and manage a broad spectrum of legal needs, including equity and debt financing, capitalization, governance, compliance, licensing, commercial contracting, strategic M&A and other transactional matters.
James earned his law degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College Of Law. During law school he served as an associate at the University Growth Fund, one of the largest student-run venture capital firms in the nation investing across a variety of deal stages and industries. Prior to law school, James earned his B.S. degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Business Management from Brigham Young University. Also, during his undergraduate studies, James was a member of the Dixie State and BYU collegiate baseball teams and he pitched Dixie to its first National Championship as the winning pitcher of the final game of the 2004 Junior College World Series.
James enjoys fishing, table tennis, longboarding and following collegiate sports.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- of Counsel, Registered Patent Attorney
Jason Graff specializes in the preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign patent applications in the computer and electrical arts. Specifically, Jason is experienced in cloud computing, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), virtual services, semiconductors, data storage, computer networking, software and programming, computer hardware and systems, biomedical devices and systems, mechanical devices and systems, nanotechnology, and aerospace technologies.
EDUCATION
BA, East Asian Studies (Japan Concentration), The University of California Los Angeles
JD, The University of Iowa College of Law
BS, Electrical Engineering, The University of Iowa College of Engineering
LANGUAGES
Having lived in Japan for two years and studied advanced Japanese at UCLA and The University of Iowa, Jason is fluent in spoken Japanese.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Founding Partner of Kunzler Bean
Jeremy Adamson is the founding partner of Kunzler Bean & Adamson's litigation group and works from the firm's Salt Lake City and La Jolla offices. Jeremy represents clients in a wide variety of disputes, beginning in the earliest stages and proceeding through trial. He has significant experience in protecting his clients' interests in commercial disputes, which often include claims of breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, shareholder rights claims, and breach of contract.
Jeremy also devotes a significant portion of his practice to helping his clients navigate employment related disputes, intellectual property and trade secret disputes and in government regulatory actions.
Jeremy's experience with employment related disputes includes defending employers against class action, PAGA, and individual claims including claims of wage and hour law violations, discrimination, wrongful termination, and breaches of employment agreements. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to advising clients on how to avoid litigation by complying with both federal and state employment laws.
Jeremy regulatory experience includes defending individuals and entities against claims of violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and he has successfully negotiated resolutions of those claims on behalf of his clients. He also has experience defending clients against Securities and Exchange Commission claims of violations of the Securities Act.
Prior to joining KB&A, Jeremy worked as in-house counsel for a large mortgage servicing company where he managed hundreds of litigations nationwide. His experience as in-house counsel has given him a clear understanding of the challenges his clients address when faced with litigation and the steps that can be taken to reduce those difficulties. Given his experience managing litigation for a mortgage servicer, Jeremy has successfully handled a number of real estate and consumer finance related litigations including title disputes and judicial foreclosure actions.
Jeremy has been recognized multiple issues of Utah Business magazine as one of Utah's Legal Elite in the area of civil litigation. He has also been consistently recognized as a Mountain States Super Lawyer since 2013.
Kurt D. Reber is a partner in the corporate and venture capital group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson. He focuses on a wide range of corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, formation, and succession. Kurt's expertise includes estate planning, probate, and trust administration. He advises clients in all phases of their business and financial lives.
Prior to joining KB&A, Kurt was an associate attorney at the Fadel Law Firm, a boutique business and estate planning firm. Kurt earned his law degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University majoring in German with a minor in Business Management.
When he is not busy helping his clients, Kurt enjoys traveling with his family, playing basketball, reading, and following the Bundesliga (particularly his beloved Borussia Dortmund).
Expertise: Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks, Commercial, White Collar Criminal Defense, Telecom, Technology
Marcia Fuller Durkin specializes in complex commercial litigation. She has substantial experience in complex scientific tort claims, including successfully defending a large real estate corporation in an action involving claims of personal injury arising from alleged exposure to asbestos. Marcia also has high profile experience defending white-collar criminal cases, including a case where she was entrusted with top secret security clearance in order to represent lobbyists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in an espionage case. Marcia also defended individual clients in the pharmaceutical industry who were involved in a federal government criminal investigation, resulting in no charges being filed against her clients in the investigation.
Additionally, Marcia has advised clients on intricate telecommunication regulations, including representing Local Area Exchange Carriers and large end users of telecommunications services in both federal court and at the Federal Communications Commission. She also has substantial experience litigating trademark disputes in proceedings both before the TTAB and in federal court and has advised clients on professional liability disputes involving Big Four accounting firms. Throughout her career, Marcia has successfully represented clients involved in complex contract disputes.
Marcia handles both plaintiff and defense work, including litigating cases and counseling clients in state and federal courts, as well as in administrative tribunals. Marcia's clients range from both large corporations to small business owners involved in various types of business disputes.
Before working for Kunzler Bean & Adamson, Marcia practiced in Washington, D.C. and New York City at a well-known, national law firm.
Job Titles:
- Lead Litigation Counsel for Representative
Lead Litigation counsel for Representative Mia Love in action against Salt Lake County Clerk's Office challenging voter verification procedures, verification monitoring rights, and voter affidavit requirements regarding election for Utah's Fourth Congressional District;
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Kunzler Bean
- Partner, Registered Patent Attorney
Michael L. Bartholomew is a partner at Kunzler Bean & Adamson with experience in patent data mining, patent searches, patent drafting, patent prosecution, patent infringement opinions, patent invalidity opinions, patent licensing, trademark protection, and copyright protection. Michael helps clients of all sizes acquire protection for their intellectual property and helps them enforce that intellectual property.
Michael earned his law degree from University of Iowa Law School in 2010, where he was a managing editor of the legal journal, Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems. Michael was also an officer in the Intellectual Property Law Society.
After graduating from law school, Michael worked as an associate from 2010-2014 with Fletcher Yoder where he gained valuable experience as a patent prosecutor. Additionally, Michael gained a licensing perspective while working in-house as a Patent Attorney for Core Wireless Licensing from 2014-2015. Michael joined KB&A in January of 2015. Michael is licensed in the state of Texas and before the USPTO.
Prior to law school, Michael worked as a rocket scientist at Orbital Sciences Corporation for six years after receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from DeVry University in 2001, where he graduated as the valedictorian. Michael also obtained an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management in 2004.
Michael enjoys spending time with his family, reading, jogging, sports, camping, puzzles, computer programming, and genealogy.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Kunzler Bean
Michael Penley is a partner at Kunzler Bean & Adamson, where his practice focuses representing private companies, private equity firms and investors in connection with mergers and acquisitions, licensing and strategic collaborations, fundraising, executive employment and general corporate matters. Michael's clients span a variety of industries, including the life sciences and biotechnology, software, cleantech, fintech, healthcare and medical device industries.
Michael brings unique experience having both represented companies and served as a senior member of corporate management teams. Prior to joining KB&A, Michael most recently served as General Counsel of GreatCall, Inc. (acquired by Best Buy Health in 2018), as Chief Executive Officer of Runbuggy, Inc. (acquired by Oremar Automotive Group) and as Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of Annai Systems Inc., a genomic data analysis technology startup. Prior to working in house, Michael was a senior attorney at Cooley LLP in San Diego, California and started his legal practice with Kilpatrick & Townsend LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Michael attended law school at the University of Tennessee where he graduated summa cum laude.
Job Titles:
- Paralegal
- Senior Corporate Paralegal at Kunzler Bean
Michele L. Danton is a senior corporate paralegal at Kunzler Bean & Adamson who works closely with the attorneys in the corporate group representing companies and investors in the emerging growth and technology space with business and financing transactions and general corporate matters. Her experience includes debt and equity financings, formations, mergers and acquisitions, and securities filings.
Michele began her career as a legal secretary with The Times Mirror Company and then transitioned to corporate paralegal for Trust Company of the West. She moved to Colorado in 2008, where was recruited by Curtis Oscarson and Wade Bean to join KB&A as a founding member of the corporate team.
Michele received her paralegal certificate from the ABA approved UCLA Extension Program and her BFA from the University of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- Agent
- Registered Patent Agent
Expertise: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury, Political Law and Elections
Sarah is an associate in the firm's corporate group, where she assists clients in matters relating to corporate formation, venture capital financings, and mergers and acquisitions.
Scott D. Thorpe holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Utah State University, a MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, and a JD from the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. He teaches attorneys the nuances of software patents and intellectual property law through national continuing education programs. His practice emphasizes software patents, particularly data science and machine learning innovations, graphical user interfaces, and commercial processes, and semiconductor patents.
Scott has an extensive technical background and engineering expertise in software, semiconductors, medical devices, and electronics. He is experienced in both creating and defeating intellectual property protection. He has organized intellectual property consortia, created agreements for the sharing and development of intellectual property, directed the creation of industry standards, and promoted and marketed cooperative intellectual property.
Scott has studied Chinese intellectual property law and commercial law at Ren Min University in Beijing, and has made a personal study of Chinese intellectual property law practice. He speaks and reads Chinese.
Scott is the author of How to Think Like Einstein, Revolutionary Strategies of the Founding Fathers, The Retirement Crisis, and is a frequent media commentator on Albert Einstein and the American Revolution. He also speaks and leads seminars on fostering creativity, innovation, and problem solving skills. Scott is an avid skier, mountain biker, triathlete, and obstacle racer.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Kunzler Bean
- Partner, Registered Patent Attorney
Scott Hilton is a partner at Kunzler Bean & Adamson. Scott helps clients of all sizes acquire patent, trademark, and copyright protection for their intellectual property and helps them enforce that intellectual property. Scott is a go-to for corporate counsel at large software and hardware companies that need help with patent prosecution, and also enjoys helping new startups build valuable patent portfolios.
Scott joined the firm in February of 2006 after studying electrical and computer engineering at Brigham Young University. He attended law school at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. During law school, local patent attorneys selected Scott as the "Best Oralist" in the Giles Sutherland Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court competition between local law schools. Scott's paper entitled, "Free and Open Source Software: How Free are the Nonliteral Elements?" was selected as a local winner in the Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition on copyright law. Scott finished his final year of law school at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where he researched the subject of Internet regulation and worked to introduce a CyberSafety Constituency within ICANN, the Internet governing body.
Prior to joining KB&A, Scott spent two years performing patent research and analysis on the 3GPP wireless standard for Coltera Intellectual Property. While at Coltera, Scott worked with and trained attorneys and engineers from many of the largest wireless companies in the world on intellectual property and technical matters. He later worked in-house for Fujifilm Microdisks, where he drafted core patent applications and screened patents in the disk drive industry in preparation for a new product release.
When not drafting patent applications, Scott enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife Laura and their five children, in Scott's native Utah or in Laura's native Alaska. Scott's also coached each of his three sons' Jr. Jazz basketball teams, and spent five years leading weekly singing time activities for children in the local church congregation.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Attorney in Kunzler Bean
Shelby Jaye Hughes is an associate attorney in Kunzler Bean & Adamson's litigation group. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation, real estate law, and employment matters. She also has experience in criminal law and regulatory land use issues. Prior to joining KB&A, Shelby practiced at a boutique firm which specialized in business, construction, and real estate transactions and litigation in Summit and Wasatch Counties. Shelby provides her clients with tactical advice that drive legal solutions.
In her free time, Shelby enjoys running, skiing, watching football (Boomer Sooner & Go Birds), and spending time with her husband and their two rescue dogs, Duke and Sofie.
Stephen Richards is of counsel with KBA's litigation group. He specializes in complex commercial litigation matters of any variety, including intellectual property litigation, breach of contract matters, securities litigation, and employment disputes. He has represented some of the largest companies in America, as well as small businesses trying to protect their ability to grow and prosper. Clients prize Stephen's writing, creativity, responsiveness, and exceptional efficiency.
Prior to joining KB&A, Stephen was in-house counsel for Snap Finance LLC. He believes his in-house experience helps him understand his clients better and focus on what matters to them. Stephen has also practiced with Cooley LLP, a large global law firm, as well as with Hueston Hennigan LLP, an elite litigation boutique where Stephen argued (and prevailed) before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a fourth-year attorney.
Stephen clerked for the Hon. Cormac J. Carney, United States District Judge for the Central District of California. In law school, Stephen was a member of the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, where he was part of three-student teams that drafted a merits brief and a petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court. He thinks every American should go watch a Supreme Court argument at least once.
Stephen and his wife are the parents of four children. Away from work, Stephen enjoys blitz Scrabble, college football, playing the piano, and (usually) beating his kids at Mario Kart.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Attorney in Kunzler Bean
Taylor Hadfield is an associate attorney in Kunzler Bean & Adamson's litigation group. Taylor's practice focuses on all aspects of civil litigation. Taylor has experience in employment litigation, complex business litigation, breach of contract cases, business torts and other matters. He guides clients to successful outcomes in and out of the courtroom. Prior to joining KB&A, Taylor was an associate at Kirton McConkie, where he practiced civil litigation and client risk management.
Taylor graduated cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He was actively involved in several co-curriculars and was a member of the Trial Advocacy Board and the Moot Court Board of Advocates.
Taylor loves to spend time outdoors, and when he is not working to help clients, you will probably find him fly fishing, hunting, playing sports, or spending time with his wife and two kids.
Job Titles:
- Partner, Registered Patent Attorney
Tom Briscoe is a registered patent attorney with experience in IP strategy, searches, patent drafting/prosecution, infringement/validity opinions, post grant proceedings, and licensing. Tom helps clients both protect and project the value of their innovations by treating patents and other IP as assets for business growth.
Prior to joining Kunzler Bean & Adamson in 2016, Tom worked from 2005 as an IP strategy director for Dako, a Danish cancer diagnostics company, until it was acquired in 2012 by Agilent Technologies where he joined the IP legal team as a patent portfolio manager for global portfolios of hundreds of patents in life science and physical science instrumentation. At Dako, Tom led IP strategy for diagnostic instruments and helped draft IP contract provisions for joint development projects with some of the world's largest medical instrument companies. He also made substantive contributions to successful patent appeals and post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board.
When working with inventors and companies, Tom draws upon more than two decades of high-tech R&D and strategy experience in a wide range of product areas including medical/scientific instrumentation, industrial data loggers, embedded memories, system-on-a-chip, graphics workstations, and operating systems.
In addition to his passionate interest in innovation and "IP for growth," Tom loves traveling and conversing in various languages including Danish, Spanish, and Portuguese. He has presented on various intellectual property and technology topics in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Russia, Germany, Brazil, and the US. Tom also enjoys road cycling and going on outdoor adventures with his family.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel, Registered Patent Attorney
Victoria W. Romney is a biotechnology patent attorney practicing in areas including cloning, protein expression, DNA sequencing, bio-manufacturing, RNA reactions and editing, research tools, diagnostics, medical devices, small molecule drug design, cell signaling therapeutics, and immunology.
Victoria received her J.D. degree from the University of Utah, from which she had previously graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology. She earned her Master of Science degree from the University of Utah researching prostaglandin synthesis in bovine adrenal cortex. She performed her M.S. thesis research at the Princeton University computer graphics laboratory on computer assisted empirical predictions of alpha helical secondary structure in proteins. In 2005-2006 she completed Ph.D. coursework in biochemistry at Brigham Young University, where she researched site directed mutagenesis of G protein-coupled protein folding chaperonins.
Following graduation from law school Victoria served for two years as Judicial Clerk to the Hon. Justice Richard C. Howe of the Utah Supreme Court. She served for an additional year at special invitation following Justice Howe's appointment as Chief Justice.
Victoria has practiced patent prosecution and patent, trademark, general, and appellate litigation. She was founding general counsel for an information technology corporation, with responsibility for patent, trademark, technology licensing, confidentiality, and intellectual property portfolio management matters. In 2004 she opened a Provo, Utah office of Kunzler Bean & Adamson.
More recently Victoria provided lead biotechnology and patent support in a high stakes pharmaceutical litigation at a prominent Arizona law firm. Issues of focus included cooperative research agreements, trade secrets, inventorship, obviousness, and duty of candor relative to gene sequencing, genetic cloning, protein expression, enzyme inhibition, rational drug development, and cellular versus recombinant DNA drug assays. Victoria has also lived and worked in Germany, where she addressed EU, UK, and other national Information Privacy Directives and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Wade O. Bean is one of the founding partners of the corporate and venture capital group at Kunzler Bean & Adamson who represents companies and investors in the emerging growth and technology space. He frequently advises on preferred stock and convertible debt financing transactions, customer and licensing agreements, entity structuring, senior debt facilities, mergers & acquisitions and general corporate matters. Wade leads a team of attorneys that supports KB&A's clients through the life-cycle of their business, from formation through growth milestones and ultimately exits. Wade is also proud to work directly with many of the leading early stage venture capital funds in Utah.
When he is not busy helping his clients, Wade enjoys skiing, playing basketball, discovering new music and spending time with his family.