Drawing on her education in biology, chemistry and chemical engineering, and her decade of industrial experience as an engineer in the polymer and pharmaceutical formulation fields, Judy provides a unique technical background that allows her to quickly assess patent portfolios and provide strategic advice. This is a key advantage in the implementation of patent strategies for pharmaceutical companies, as she is able to understand and communicate the technology to the patent examiners. Judy has worked with companies to develop patent portfolios in the pharmaceutical, drug delivery, diagnostics and water clean-up fields.

Judy has experience counseling emerging and mature life science companies in a broad range of matters, including patentability assessments, freedom to operate analyses, infringement/non-infringement evaluations, and IP due diligence in licensing transactions, financings, mergers and acquisitions. Judy frequently advises her pharmaceutical clients on topics related to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orange Book listings and the Hatch-Waxman Act. She also works with the IP litigators and assists clients in patent litigation matters.

Judy earned her doctoral degree in chemical engineering, with a focus in polymer properties and small molecule transport through polymer films, and her bachelor’s degree in biology.

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• Managing Intellectual Property, Patent Star and Top 250 Women in IP, 2024
• Daily Journal, Top Intellectual Property Lawyers, 2022
• Acritas Stars, listed among independently rated lawyers, 2020
• LMG Life Sciences Star, 2012 to present
• Daily Journal, Top 25 California Portfolio Managers and Prosecutors, 2015
• Euromoney’s Americas Women in Business Law, Shortlisted for Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year, 2021

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Julie formerly was the Philanthropic Advisor for Stanford University, where she collaborated with the Office of General Counsel and Stanford Management Company regarding endowment and charitable trust investment, complex gifts and bequests, and contested matters. Previously, she also was a national director with Bernstein Global Wealth Management, where she developed quantitative research regarding the effect of investment volatility on wealth transfer, and was the fiduciary counsel and Legacy Planner for the Midwest Region for Bessemer Trust Company. Julie is a former member of the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the largest in the country.

Julie co-authors the tax treatise, Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (by Harrington, Plaine, Zaritsky & Kwon, for Warren Gorham & Lamont), and the Tax Management Portfolio titled Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (by Harrington & Kwon, for Bureau of National Affairs). Julie speaks frequently before and writes regularly for professional publications and organizations, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Dow Jones, Journal of Taxation, Trusts & Estates, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the Internal Revenue Service, the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute and numerous regional organizations.

While in law school, Julie was executive editor of the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities.

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• California Daily Journal, Top Women Lawyers of 2013
• Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2012 Women of Influence

*Since 2016 Chambers have introduced a dedicated High Net Worth Guide where the Wealth Management rankings have been published.

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• AIDS Legal Council, board member 2006–2008
• Chicago Community Trust, professional advisory council member 2006–2008
• Chicago Estate Planning Council, board member 2004–2005

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Laurelle has extensive experience in the design and implementation of sophisticated intergenerational wealth-transfer planning strategies. She advises domestic and multinational high-net-worth clients and families to develop and orchestrate innovative solutions around wealth transfer, philanthropic giving and multifaceted estate planning needs. She has advised trustees and executors with complex probate and trust administrations, including successfully representing clients in estate tax and gift tax audits.

While in law school, Laurelle served on the University of San Francisco Law Review. She frequently writes and speaks on sophisticated estate planning and fiduciary income tax issues for professional organizations, including the American Law Institute, the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the State Bar of California and CalCPA.

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• Structuring intrafamily gifts, sales and loans, including through the use of grantor trusts
• Creating, administering and terminating complex split interest trusts, including residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts
• Navigating fiduciaries through complex California fiduciary income tax issues

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• San Francisco Estate Planning Council

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Katy currently serves as the Hiring Partner for the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Offices, and participates in McDermott’s Diversity & Inclusion and Pro Bono & Community Service committees. In addition, she currently serves on the California Lawyers Association’s Trusts and Estates Executive Committee.

Katy has lectured to regional and national audiences on a broad variety of topics in estate planning, tax reporting, the effect of spousal rights for property law and tax purposes and the impact of state legislation specific to same sex couples for federal and state transfer and income tax purposes. Katy was a recipient of the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Award in 2010.

While in law school, Katy was an editor of The Elder Law Journal and a Harno Scholar.

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Jodi is a zealous trial attorney who brings unwavering diligence and dedication to every matter she works on, whether she is drafting pleadings, investigating the facts, managing document collection and production, drafting requests and responses to fact discovery, drafting strategic contentions, preparing for and taking depositions, working with experts, drafting dispositive motions or preparing for trial. She uses her exceptional communication and organizational skills to keep cases moving in the right direction.

Jodi is actively involved in pro bono work, including serving as lead counsel in a successful defensive asylum proceeding in immigration court, securing beneficial settlements in multiple unlawful eviction cases and helping artists protect their intellectual property. She currently serves as a member of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

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• Cherokee Gray Eagle IP, LLC et al. v. Rockin’ Jump, LLC et al. (S.D. Fla.) Represented Rockin’ Jump and CircusTrix in a patent infringement action involving trampoline arenas. The case settled favorably.
• Thelonious Monk, Jr. v. North Coast Brewing Co. (N.D. Cal.). Represented North Coast Brewing Co. in a trademark infringement and rights of publicity action concerning the image and likeness of Thelonious Monk Sr. The case settled favorably during discovery.
• Wang v. Golf Tailor, LLC (N.D. Cal.) Represented Wang, a golf club designer, in a trade secret misappropriation and intellectual property infringement action. Obtained a motion to dismiss the trade secret claim.
• Network-1 v. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (E.D. Tex.). Achieved a complete defense verdict for Hewlett Packard Enterprises. The jury rejected the infringement claims for a patent alleged to be standard-essential and licensed throughout the networking industry for more than a hundred million dollars. The jury found the asserted claims not infringed and invalid.
• Dave Brock v. Nicolas Turner (TTAB) Prevailed in a trademark opposition oral argument before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent Office, securing exclusive rights to the use of a musical group’s name for the founder of the band over former members of the group.

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