Silicon Valley
Judy Mohr, PhD, helps companies maximize product protection and intellectual property (IP) value by focusing on the business goals of the company and designing a patent portfolio to meet those objectives. Her practice encompasses US and non-US patent procurement, post-grant proceedings (including reexamination and inter partes review), IP due diligence on the investor side and the company side, negotiation of agreements, and development of IP strategies. She assists companies in the pharmaceutical, medical diagnostics, medical device, and gas and liquid separations industries.
- Led IP diligences for a diagnostic testing company in several acquisitions of complementary businesses.
- Manages the patent portfolio for Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), a medical manufacturing and diagnostic testing company, as well as assisting in diligence for corporate transactions
- Provides strategic patent advice and handles patent matters for Corium (NASDAQ: CORI), a leader in design and manufacture of polymer film products for drug delivery
- Serves as IP Counsel to Heron Therapeutics, Inc. to manage its patent portfolio and advise on patent-related regulatory matters
- Serves as IP Counsel to advise on patent strategy and handle patent application preparation and worldwide filings for many start-up companies, including KAI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by AMGEN), Hallux Inc., and Delpor
- LMG Life Sciences, Leading Life Sciences Lawyer, 2021-2022
- Best Lawyers in America, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice (2023-2024 and 2026), Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2025-2026
- Legal 500 US, 2021 and 2023-2025
- Chambers USA
- IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, 2014-2025
- Former Advisory Board Member and Lecturer, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University
- Program Lecturer, SPARK, Stanford University
- Santa Clara University School of Law, JD, Order of the Coif
- The University of Texas at Austin, PhD, Chemical Engineering
- Pepperdine University, BS, Biology, summa cum laude
- California
- US Patent and Trademark Office
- Englisch
Elaine Kao
Dallas
Silicon Valley
Elaine Kao advises clients on corporate matters, with a particular focus on cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies, venture capital investments, joint ventures, and restructurings. She also provides general corporate counseling on corporate governance and post-acquisition integration matters. Throughout her practice, Elaine has represented clients and investors across various industries, including healthcare, biotech, accounting and audit firms, and service firms.
- Led a deal team in several acquisitions and divestitures of accounting firms and service firms (wealth management, cybersecurity, etc.) for a large multinational accounting and advisory firm
- Led a deal team in several acquisitions of accounting firms and consulting service providers for a national public accounting and consulting firm
- Represented one of the largest urology-focused business support services platforms in the United States in multiple acquisitions of urology practices throughout the East Coast and Midwest
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, 2026
- University of California, Berkeley School of Law, JD, summa cum laude
- University of California, Los Angeles, BA
- California
- Texas
- Englisch
- Chinese (Cantonese)
- Chinese (Mandarin)
Nicolas Lafont
Paris
Nicolas Lafont focuses his practice on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint-venture transactions, corporate reorganizations and general corporate and commercial representation. He has led transactions in a wide range of sectors, including energy, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, semiconductor equipment, software, technology, the automotive industry, chemicals and manufacturing.
Nicolas is admitted to practice in Paris, New York and Madrid. His transactional experience extends to various countries in America, Asia and Europe.
- Represented a French leading audit firm in the structuring and implementation of its alliance with five audit firms in North America.
- Represented a European car part manufacturer in its joint venture with a major French car manufacturer for the production of electrical transmissions.
- Represented a leading Italian pharmaceutical company in its EUR90 million acquisition of a French company active in the self-medication market.
- Best Lawyers in France, Insolvency & Reorganization Law, 2024
- The Legal 500 EMEA, Recommended, 2022
- IFLR1000, M&A, 2022-2023
- Le Magazine des Affaires, rising star of the French M&A legal market, 2013
- International Bar Association, M&A and Latin America sections
- University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, LLM, International Trade Law
- Université Lille II, Master’s Degree, European Business Law
- Paris
- New York
- Madrid
- Englisch
- Französisch
- Spanish
Kevin Spencer
Washington, DC
Kevin Spencer focuses his practice on tax controversy issues. Kevin represents businesses and high-net worth individuals in complicated tax disputes in federal court (US Tax Court, District Court, Court of Federal Claims, and US Circuit Courts of Appeals) and before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the IRS Appeals and Examination divisions.
In addition to his tax controversy practice, Kevin has experience advising clients on various tax issues, including tax accounting, civil and criminal tax penalties, IRS procedures, reportable transactions, and tax shelters. After earning his Master of Tax degree, Kevin had the privilege to clerk for the Honorable Robert P. Ruwe on the US Tax Court.
- Prem and Venkamma Reddy v. Commissioner (Tax Court Docket No. 26415-22)
- Henry and Susan Samueli v. Commissioner (Tax Court Docket No. 25811-22)
- Valerie Lindsey v. Commissioner (Tax Court Docket No. 23432-22)
- Estate of Stanley F. Fulton v. Commissioner (Tax Court Docket No. 7200-22)
- Growmark, Inc. v. Commissioner (Tax Court Docket No. 9076-17)
- JD Supra, Readers’ Choice Awards, Top Author – Tax, 2024
- District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
- Lexology Legal Influencers Q2, 2021
- Georgetown University Law Center, LLM, with distinction
- University of Miami School of Law, JD, cum laude
- University of Mary Washington, BS, cum laude
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Englisch
- Spanish
Shirin Deyhim
Paris
Shirin Deyhim focuses her practice on structured finance transactions; in particular leveraged buy-outs (LBO) transactions, acquisitions financing (build-ups), funds financing (equity bridge financing) and debt restructuring.
Shirin acts for both financing providers (senior or subordinated) and borrowers.
- Chambers France, Banking & Finance, 2025
- The Best Lawyers in France, 2024-2026
- The Legal 500 EMEA, Recommended, 2020, 2023-2025
- Chambers Europe, France: Banking & Finance, 2024
- King''s College London, LLM, International Financial Law
- University of Toulouse, Master 2, Financial Law (Banking
- Financial and Insurance Law)
- Paris
- Englisch
- Französisch
- Farsi
Dale C. Van Demark
New York — One Vanderbilt Avenue
With his robust experience in health system affiliations, joint venture transactions, cross-industry collaborations and the development of new healthcare delivery models, Dale C. Van Demark works at the forefront of strategic transactions and digital health matters in the health, life sciences and technology industries. As a sought-after legal, strategic and policy advisor, he’s well-informed on integrating information technology into healthcare and has worked with clients in the realms of delivery of care, life sciences research and development, and artificial intelligence. Dale C. Van Demark is a founding partner of McDermott Will & Schulte’s Digital Health Practice.
- Lead transaction counsel for a top health system in a collaboration arrangement with a prominent life sciences firm that enabled sharing health data for research and development in order to improve health system laboratory functions.
- Lead transaction counsel for a health system in the acquisition of a financially distressed municipal hospital.
- Children’s Health Fund, advisory council
- Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, JD, cum laude
- Purchase College, BA, cum laude
- District of Columbia
- New York
Chelsea M. Rutherford
Washington, DC
Chelsea Rutherford advises a wide range of clients across the healthcare industry on complex regulatory and transactional matters, primarily focusing on healthcare fraud and abuse, billing and reimbursement, and other general compliance analyses. She has devoted much of her practice to physician group practice, transaction structuring and compensation compliance matters, particularly in connection with the federal Stark Law requirements. She also regularly works with physician practice management platforms and practices to tailor physician compensation and compliance plans both in and out of the transaction context.
- Assisted health systems, hospitals, physician practices and other suppliers as they manage internal and external audits, investigations, self-disclosures and voluntary refunds
- Successfully appealed Medicare payment suspensions and other adverse actions for DMEPOS suppliers, clinical laboratory entities, behavioral health providers, emergent care facilities, home health and hospice providers, hospitals and physician group practices
- American Health Lawyers Association, 2014 Pro Bono Champion
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Healthcare Law, Washington, DC, 2024-2025
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Food and Drug Law Institute
- American Society of Bioethics and Humanities
- Boston University School of Law, JD, cum laude
- Columbia University, MS, with distinction
- University of Virginia, BA
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
Alexander P. Ott
Washington, DC
Alexander (Alex) P. Ott focuses his practice on litigating complex patent disputes and representing clients in a variety of high technology industries, including the semiconductor, consumer electronics, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and software industries. He is a registered patent attorney with significant experience in patent prosecution matters. Alex has represented clients in federal district courts, in Section 337 investigations before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), in inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) proceedings at the US Patent and Trademark Office, and before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
- Representing Analog Devices in the District of Massachusetts in a patent case regarding semiconductor manufacturing technologies
- Represented Analog Devices in the District of Massachusetts in a trade secrets and breach of contract case regarding thermoelectric cooler controllers
- Represented Feit Electric Co. in a Section 337 investigation at the ITC related to filament light-emitting diodes
- Legal 500 US, 2021
- Super Lawyers, Washington, DC, “Rising Star” in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2014 to 2020
- Tulane University Law School, JD, Electrical Engineering, cum laude
- Georgia Institute of Technology, BS
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- US District Court for the District of Columbia
- US District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Western District of Texas
- US Patent and Trademark Office
Caitlin M. Orr
Washington, DC
Caitlin M. Orr focuses her practice on private client matters for ultra-high net worth individuals and their families. She advises clients on all aspects of estate and wealth transfer planning, and on a broad range of tax issues, including income, gift and estate tax planning for individuals, businesses and charitable organizations. Caitlin has broad experience analyzing estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) taxation issues, counseling individuals and their families concerning their wealth management and estate planning needs, preparing primary estate plans (including wills, revocable and irrevocable trust agreements, powers of attorney and advance directives), probating complex estates, and advising fiduciaries in connection with administration of trusts and estates.
Caitlin has significant experience implementing sophisticated wealth transfer transactions for clients (including installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts and grantor retained annuity trusts) and advising clients regarding liquidity planning for potential estate tax consequences. She prepares and reviews federal gift, estate and GST tax returns and advises clients on making relevant elections and optimal allocations of GST tax exemption. She assists clients in requesting and obtaining favorable rulings from the Internal Revenue Service, including requests for relief to address errors in prior allocations of GST exemption. She also assists clients in requesting and obtaining favorable rulings from state tax authorities on estate and fiduciary income tax issues. Caitlin advises clients on techniques for repairing “broken” trusts and estate plans through nonjudicial settlements, decantings, and judicial modifications and reformations, and helps clients navigate related tax and state law issues. She also advises private clients on charitable planning, including establishment of private foundations and charitable lead and remainder trusts.
- Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates, 2026
- Chambers High Net Worth, District of Columbia: Private Wealth Law, 2024-2025
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow
- Emory University School of Law, JD
- University of Georgia, MAcc 2007
- University of Georgia, BBA
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Julie H. McConnell
Washington, DC
Julie H. McConnell focuses her practice on representing clients in complex litigation before federal, state and local agencies, courts and courts of appeals.
Julie defends companies in individual, multi-plaintiff and class action litigation in disputes involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state employment and accessibility statutes and tort claims. Julie also represents employers in litigation involving disclosure of trade secrets, violation of noncompetition agreements and whistleblower disputes. Additionally, Julie advocates for employers before the National Labor Relations Board in union organizing campaigns and unfair labor practice cases.
- Prevailed at bench trial and on appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of one of the world’s leading mass media and entertainment conglomerates in landmark case involving claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Fortune 100 company on dozens of individual common-law tort and disability discrimination claims brought under Title III of the ADA and California state law
- Represented government contractor and obtained dismissal without leave to amend of whistleblower protection claim under Virginia law
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2026
- Legal 500 US 2023
- American University Washington College of Law, JD, cum laude
- Vanderbilt University, BA, magna cum laude
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
- US District Court for the District of Columbia
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia