The LCS Team
Mel Bostwick
Partner
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Mel Bostwick is an experienced first-chair appellate advocate whose practice focuses on the Federal Circuit, where she started her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Timothy Dyk. Mel is recognized for her representation of leading tech and life sciences companies in their high-stakes patent appeals and also has a robust mandamus practice before the Court, having secured this “extraordinary writ” in 9 out of the 13 petitions she has pursued. Mel dedicates a significant portion of her practice to pro bono representation of veterans and veterans’ organizations in high-profile cases before the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court, where she argued in the OT2021 term. In addition to her work with LCS, Mel serves on the Advisory Council of the Federal Circuit and on the Board of Trustees of Legal Aid DC.
Juanita Brooks
Principal
Fish & Richardson
Juanita R. Brooks is a nationally recognized trial and appellate attorney who focuses on complex intellectual property, products liability, and mass tort litigation. In her 45+ years of practice, she has handled more than 150 trials, protected billions of dollars in value for her clients, and helped shape patent and IP law. Juanita has received numerous honors for her courtroom successes, mentorship, advocacy, and devotion to the practice of law. She has been named “Hatch-Waxman Litigator of the Year” by LMG Life Sciences, received The American Lawyer’s “Lifetime Achievement” award, and been honored with Corporate Counsel’s “National Women in Law Lifetime Achievement” award. In 2023, she was inducted into the prestigious ChIPs Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to law, technology, and policy, as well as her commitment to the advancement of women in the profession. 
Renee DuBord Brown
Director, Intellectual Property
Renee DuBord Brown currently serves as Director, Intellectual Property for LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. Renee has extensive in-house counsel experience at leading technology companies, including positions at Knowles Electronics, Motorola Mobility, and Tessera Intellectual Property Corp. Prior to going in-house, Renee was an IP litigation partner in private practice at Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder LLP and Howrey, LLP. Renee also served as a clerk for the Honorable Raymond C. Clevenger, III on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. She has a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.S./M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from M.I.T. 
Laurie Charrington
Director of Patent Litigation
Netflix
Laurie Charrington is Director of Patent Litigation at Netflix. In this role, Laurie is responsible for setting and driving the patent dispute strategy and leads the small but mighty patent litigation team that manages Netflix’s global patent dispute portfolio. Laurie currently manages cases and teams in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and Brazil. Immediately prior to joining Netflix, Laurie was Associate General Counsel and Patent Litigation Team Lead in Intel’s Intellectual Property Legal Group for seven years. Outside of Netflix, Laurie is a founding board member for the Silicon Valley chapter of ChIPs—an organization which promotes the advancement of women in IP law and policy. She is also a frequent speaker on diversity and inclusion in IP, tech and the law. Laurie holds a BA in Computer Science from City University of New York at College and a JD from Rutgers Newark School of Law (awarded with honors, Order of the Coif). Born and raised in New York, Laurie spent nearly 17 years practicing law in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, three daughters (ages 18, 16, and 11), and son (24).
Nicole Clouse
Vice President, Head of Intellectual Property
Generate:Biomedicines
K. Nicole Clouse, Ph.D., is currently Head of Intellectual Property at Generate Biomedicines, a Flagship Pioneering company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate novel protein therapeutics with desired functional properties. She was previously IP Counsel at Biogen, supporting commercial and clinical stage programs with an emphasis on antibody therapeutics and gene therapy. In nearly 15 years of private practice, Nicole was a partner in the IP Litigation group at McDermott Will & Emery and a Patent Agent at Choate Hall & Stewart. She has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.
Danielle Coleman
Senior Director & Associate General Counsel, Global Litigation
VMware
Danielle Coleman is Senior Director & Associate General Counsel at VMware, where she leads a global litigation team of attorneys, paralegals, and eDiscovery project managers. She previously was an attorney at Morrison & Foerster. She clerked for the Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California. Danielle earned an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Before law school, she worked at pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc. and Pharmacia Corp. performing biochemical research, and she is an inventor on four U.S. patents.
Daralyn Durie
Partner
Morrison Foerster
Daralyn Durie is one of the nation’s preeminent trial lawyers with significant experience litigating high stakes disputes on behalf of the leading innovators in the technology and life sciences sectors, drawing on decades of experience serving as lead counsel in complex and high-profile matters. Daralyn is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a board member of the National Women’s Law Center, and has held leadership positions with the ABTL and the Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Ching-Lee Fukuda
Head of NY Intellectual Property Litigation, Partner
Sidley Austin LLP
Ching-Lee Fukuda is a reputable trial lawyer in patent and trade secret litigation. She was named "Patent Lawyer of the Year" by Women in Business Law, twice shortlisted by Managing IP for “Litigator of the Year–New York” and by LMG Life Sciences for “General Patent Litigator of the Year—New York,” and twice awarded “Post-Grant Proceedings Attorney of the Year” for her work on behalf of medtech, medical devices, software, and biotech companies. With 26 years of experience, her successes include jury and bench trial wins, as well as wins at the ITC, PTAB, and Federal Circuit. Four of her cases have been awarded “Impact Case of the Year” by LMG Life Sciences.
Rebecca Grant
Assistant General Counsel
Genentech
Jessica Hannah
Partner
DLA Piper
Jessica Hannah is an experienced patent litigator and strategist who focuses on trying patent cases in the district courts and the ITC, as well as litigating patent appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Most recently, she served as Principal and Senior Managing Counsel in the IP Litigation group at Apple, where she spent eight years managing an active docket of patent litigation that spanned the globe. Within that role, Jessica oversaw patent litigation, as well as related inter partes review proceedings, ex parte reexams and arbitrations. She also contributed to management of Apple's active docket at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as Apple's IP-related amicus filings.
Katherine Helm
Partner
Dechert LLP
Katherine A. ("Kassie") Helm, Ph.D., is a first-chair counsel who represents leading innovator pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in patent litigation and patent-adjacent litigation matters. She leverages her neuroscience doctorate alongside her legal acumen to develop and execute winning positions for her life sciences clients in all phases of district court litigation, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and in Federal Circuit and other circuit court appeals. She also regularly plays a leading role in coordinated global proceedings in the European national courts as well as in European Patent Office oppositions. Kassie began her career at the IP boutique Fish & Neave and then served as a law clerk to the former Chief Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the Northern District of California as well as to Judge Alvin A. Schall on the Federal Circuit. She is passionate about the ascent of women in IP litigation.
Kieran Kieckhefer
Partner
Gibson Dunn
Kieran Kieckhefer is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice focuses on patent, software copyright, and technical trade secret litigation in federal district courts. Kieran has experience across a broad spectrum of technologies and has handled cases in fields such as semiconductors, software, consumer electronics, networking, and cybersecurity.
Rachael Lamkin
Partner
Baker Botts
Rachael litigates across all IP categories, and from both sides of the v, but her deepest experience is in patent litigation defense. Passionate about strategy and leverage in litigation, Rachael shifts the asymmetries that traditionally hamper the defense side, e.g., asymmetries in information, cost, financing, and damages. In so doing, Rachael has been able to obtain multiple attorney's fees awards and game-changing settlements, e.g., forcing a highly litigious patent monetization entity to take a public injunction agreeing to permanently cease litigation against all California entities.
Christine Morgan
Partner
Reed Smith
Chris is a partner at Reed Smith LLP and an intellectual property trial lawyer with a track record of success as first chair. She has tried patent cases in the country’s most active patent litigation venues, including the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of California, the Eastern District of Virginia, the International Trade Commission, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Chris also specializes in the Section 101 patent defense and has invalidated numerous patents as abstract and patent ineligible. She recently taught what is believed to be the first U.S. law school class focused on Litigating Section 101 Eligibility at Santa Clara University School of Law. Chris has been recognized in the 2023 IAM Patent 1000, as a Top IP Lawyer in 2023 and 2022 by the Daily Journal, as a Top Woman Lawyer in 2021 by the Daily Journal, and as a 2020 Recorder California Trailblazer. A longtime advocate for the advancement of women, Chris chairs Reed Smith’s Women’s Initiative in San Francisco and is a founding Board member of Alpha Girls Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization founded by NYT best-selling author Julian Guthrie, dedicated to advancing and supporting women and girls of all ages to transcend barriers and succeed in male-dominated industries.
Bita Rahebi
Co-Chair of Global Intellectual Property Litigation Group
Morrison Foerster
Bita Rahebi is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s global IP Litigation Group and a respected trial lawyer who acts as the go-to choice of counsel for some the world’s largest and most innovative companies. Bita has served on the firm’s Women’s Strategy Committee and co-founded the LAIPLA’s Women in IP initiative.
Jennifer Seraphine
Partner
Turner Boyd LLP
Jennifer Seraphine is a partner at IP litigation boutique, Turner Boyd LLP. Formerly a partner at Jones Day, she has practiced IP litigation for over 25 years, including patent, trademark, and copyright cases, as well as complex commercial cases involving technical subject matter. Jennifer represents her clients in all aspects of litigation, in high-stakes settlement negotiations, and if settlement is not possible, at trial.
Saina Shamilov
Partner
Fenwick & West
Saina Shamilov is a partner and practice area lead of the patent litigation group at Fenwick & West LLP. She is a top-ranked trial lawyer with more than two decades of experience guiding some of the world’s leading technology companies through high-stakes patent litigation disputes. As a former software engineer, she is accomplished at handling matters involving highly complex technologies—from AI and cloud computing to machine learning and natural language processing—which, coupled with a strong command of the law and strategic vision, has helped her earn the trust of leading innovators and clients, from Fortune 5 companies to cutting edge startups. She has been recognized as the top 10 best performing patent litigators in the country and as one of top women lawyers.
Sarita Venkat
VP & Deputy General Counsel, Global Litigation & Competition
Cisco
Sarita Venkat is an influential and recognized legal executive working at the intersection of law and technology on behalf of some of the world’s most premiere technology companies. She currently serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Global Litigation and Competition at Cisco and was previously the head of IP transactions at Apple. Sarita is also a co-founder/co-host of the “Heels of Justice” podcast that highlights women in the legal profession. She is a Board Director of ChIPs, an international non-profit organization advancing women in law, technology and policy.