William F. Abrams
Partner, Intellectual Property Group Co-Chair, Silicon Valley Office Managing Partner
Bingham McCutchen LLP

Bill Abrams is the co-chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group and the managing partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office. Bill has extensive experience in trials, arbitrations, mediations and appeals involving intellectual property, business torts, constitutional law, employment, contracts and complex litigation throughout the United States and abroad. Specific areas of recent experience include patent infringement; trade secrets and misappropriation; unfair competition and antitrust; technology transfer and licensing; trademarks and advertising; copyright; Internet and media; start-up company formation and governance; non-compete and non-disclosure disputes; and First Amendment and defamation. Many matters involve international and trans-border disputes, and international tribunals.

Bill is one of the few bona fide trial lawyers in the IP space, with more than 25 years of experience handling a variety of intellectual property matters, both nationally and internationally. In Chambers USA 2007: America’s Leading Business Lawyers, Bill was noted as “a wizard of the patent bar” by his clients and a “courageous litigator who understands both the broader picture and the social context surrounding issues.”

Bill has represented both public and private companies in a wide range of industries, including software and hardware companies; internet and media; universities and research institutions; life sciences; pharmaceuticals; medical devices; financial institutions; and wineries and alcoholic beverage companies. Additionally, he has defended companies against fraud, misappropriation and racketeering claims, and in wrongful termination, “whistle-blowing,” harassment, discrimination and other employment matters.

Bill has handled a number of high-profile pro bono matters through the U.S. and California Supreme Courts, particularly involving the death penalty, education, rights of children and youth, and children’s welfare. He is a recipient of the State Bar of California Wiley Manual Award for pro bono legal representation and a Daily Journal Pro Bono Achievement Honoree. Bill was counsel for the city and county of San Francisco in the successful litigation that prevented the San Francisco Giants from moving to Tampa, Fla. in 1992. He is active in the American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project, and is counsel for defendants in capital cases in Alabama. Bill is the co-chair of the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services.

Recent pro bono cases in addition to the death penalty work in Alabama include counsel for group foster care homes in an action against the state of California to require compliance with Child Welfare Act by the state in payment of costs for care of foster children; counsel for applicants to the State Bar of California in an action to protect against public disclosure of their private data submitted to the Bar; representation of students in a class action against the Berkeley Unified School District for unconstitutional expulsions of students (with the Stanford Youth and Education Law Clinic and Legal Services for Children); counsel for a disabled deaf child denied admission to the California School for the Deaf because of her autism and other disabilities (with the Stanford Youth and Education Law Clinic); counsel with the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society for a documentary film maker to enforce fair use rights and rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; counsel for a minister challenging the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s order barring him from ministering to juveniles in the Los Angeles County Jail (with the Youth Law Center); counsel for plaintiffs challenging the state of California’s regulations regarding adoption of foster care children (with the Youth Law Center); and counsel for minors in guardianship and asylum proceedings. Other notable pro bono cases include In re Michael H., 10 Cal. 4th 1043 (1995); DeBoer v. DeBoer, 114 S. Ct. 1 and 114 S. Ct. 11 (1993); Sinclair Paint Co. v. State Board of Equalization, 15 Cal. 4th 866 (1997); Reno v. Flores, 113 S. Ct. 1439 (1993) (counsel for amicus curiae); and U.S. v. Lopez, 115 S. Ct. 1624 (1995) (counsel for amicus curiae).

Bill is a consulting professor at Stanford University, where he teaches courses on intellectual property, children’s legal issues and the death penalty. Bill received the 2004 Human Biology Excellence in Advising Award. Bill founded the Abrams Fellowship at the Haas Center for Public Interest, a program that awards fellowships for undergraduates to work in public interest law. He is also an advisor to the Stanford Students with Disabilities. Bill is a frequent commentator on IP and legal issues in the media, including on CNBC, TechTV, KPIX, KGO-TV, the San Francisco Business Times and the Recorder.

 

Graham Allan
Vice President Law & Deputy General Counsel - Licensing & Technology
Cisco Systems, Inc.

Graham Allan is a Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Cisco and manages the legal team supporting Cisco’s engineering, marketing and manufacturing/supply chain globally.   Graham’s team is responsible for legal, regulatory and contractual issues concerning the creation and launch of Cisco’s products.  Graham reports to Cisco's General Counsel.

Prior to his current role, Graham led a team with members in over 20 countries, supporting Cisco’s sales and services organizations.  He joined Cisco in March 1999, as Managing Attorney for EMEA, and re-located to Cisco's San Jose Head Quarters in October 2000.   Before Cisco, he was a partner at international law firm Baker & McKenzie, specializing in technology, communications and IP law.  He worked in Baker & McKenzie’s Silicon Valley office for 2 years between1994-96.     Graham obtained his law degree from Manchester University, in the United Kingdom, and undertook his law finals at the College of Law, Chester, UK, qualifying as an English solicitor in 1991.  He has a Diploma in IP law from the University of Bristol.

 

Richard Baer
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer
Qwest Communications

Rich Baer serves as General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer at Qwest Communications in Denver, Colorado. Along with leading the company’s law department, Mr. Baer oversees risk management and compliance efforts, public policy, government relations, human resources, labor relations, corporate communications, the Qwest Foundation and corporate social responsibility.

Mr. Baer, who joined Qwest in 2001, previously was chairman of the litigation department at the Denver law firm of Sherman & Howard.

In 2008, the Qwest Law Department, under Mr. Baer's leadership, was named the Law Department of the Year by Corporate Counsel magazine. In 2009, he was recognized as a Top General Counsel by the Ethisphere Institute. Mr. Baer has been named a Colorado Super Lawyer since 2007. At the request of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Mr. Baer has served as co-chair of the Governor’s Information Technology transition team and chair of the Colorado Workforce Development Council. Mr. Baer serves on the boards of the National Jewish Health, the Colorado Legal Aid Foundation and the Colorado Campaign for Inclusive Excellence.

Mr. Baer holds a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in 1979 and a juris doctorate degree from Duke University in 1983.

Mr. Baer, his wife, Anne, and his two daughters, Jane and Carson, reside in Littleton, Colorado.

 

Bill Becker
Senior Director of Intellectual Property
Align Technology, Inc

Bill Becker is currently the Senior Director of Intellectual Property for Align Technology, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA with responsibility for intellectual property development, strategy, litigation, licensing and other IP transactional matters, primarily with respect to of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property. Align is a medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign® aligners, the world's leading invisible orthodontic product and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mass customized products.

Bill formerly was Deputy General Counsel - Intellectual Property for 3Com Corporation in Santa Clara, CA with primary responsibility for all the intellectual property strategy, programs and transactions of 3Com and its subsidiaries worldwide.

Prior to this, he was the Associate General Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel of VLSI Technology, Inc. in San Jose, CA with primary worldwide responsibility for all of its intellectual property, employment, environmental and commercial legal matters.

Bill also has been the Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of Bourns, Inc. in Riverside CA and a patent attorney for General Electric.

He is currently a boardmember of the San Francisco Area chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Bill is a graduate of George Washington University Law School and Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court, California and the District of Columbia. He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and has received formal training in mediation. Bill is a frequent speaker on a wide variety of IP topics.

 

Lisa J. Berry-Tayman, ESQ., CIPP
Founder & Principal of Information Consulting
E-Discovery Consultant to iDiscover Global Inc.

Lisa J. Berry-Tayman, Esq. is a trusted advisor and consultant, and provides assistance to companies in the areas of information management, information protection, and e-discovery.  She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), a globally recognized certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).  Because of her understanding of information management and protection, she has been described by records managers and other information professionals as “the lawyer who gets records and information management.”

Lisa has had an eclectic career with one common thread – information.   After a stint at a civil litigation firm, Lisa spent most of her career at a national litigation support group where she traveled across the nation collecting confidential life history records on plaintiffs in toxic tort and product liability cases. She refers to this time in her career as being on the information management offensive  as she pushed to get access to records and challenged those managing (or not managing) information.  Lisa returned to the practice of law as an appellate criminal prosecutor at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and then transitioned to a civil law practice with an emphasis on discovery, e-discovery, information management, and information protection before forming Information Consulting (www.InformationConsulting.biz.)  Lisa serves as an E-Discovery Consultant to iDiscover Global Inc., an emerging leader in global e-discovery software and services (www.iDiscoverGlobal.com.).

In addition to consulting, Lisa speaks on information management, information protection, and e-discovery at numerous corporate, legal, governmental, and university events.  She has published articles on e-discovery and the importance of proper information management.  She is a frequent guest lecturer at the Computer, Information and Leadership Technology Department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).  She also serves as a subject matter expert at the School of Informatics at IUPUI for the newly formed Electronic Discovery class.

Lisa is an active member of ARMA International and serves as the President of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter of ARMA.  In 2008, she was named “Chapter Member of the Year.”

 

Charles S. Birenbaum
Labor and Employment Relations Partner & San Francisco Managing Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP

Charles Birenbaum is a labor and employment relations partner and managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s San Francisco office. He has experience in administrative, judicial, and arbitration litigation, collective bargaining, and NLRB practice, and advises employers on labor matters related to mergers, acquisitions, sales, reorganizations, consolidations, outsourcing, temporary employment, subcontracting, and project development.

Mr. Birenbaum represents management clients in federal and state litigation and administrative practice. His experience includes cutting-edge representation of power generators in employment law matters nationally; appellate and trial court precedents for employers in temporary, technical, and staffing services; and appellate, trial court, and legislative testimony for key precedents in the mining industry.

Mr. Birenbaum’s trial experience includes race harassment cases in U.S. district court, noncompetition matters in California Superior Court under Cal. B&P Code 17200 et seq., and unfair labor practice matters.

He has extensive NLRB experience throughout the United States, including representative cases for various bargaining units. He also has considerable experience in union “greenmail” activities before federal, state, and local government entities such as the California Energy Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as county and municipal councils, boards, and departments. In addition, Mr. Birenbaum has extensive experience handling labor disputes of all kinds, including strikes, jurisdictional disputes, and picketing.

Mr. Birenbaum has counseled and represented national construction and engineering firms and energy industry employers in collective bargaining and arbitration matters. For example, he recently negotiated contracts with the Machinists Union for two steel plant bargaining units; negotiated four project agreements for $1.2 billion in power plant construction; and negotiated a greenfield contract for a health care chair with San Francisco Union Local 399. He defeated the Teamsters in an NLRB election at a fiberglass manufacturing facility, and obtained victories in arbitration and unfair labor practice cases involving unlawful picketing, employee discharges from employment, and other issues.

Mr. Birenbaum’s industry-wide representation has included trade association litigation and appellate work, legislative testimony, and administrative record-making and advocacy for the following industries: energy, mining, temporary/technical/staff services, construction, and health care. He also is active in corporate planning and strategy for development, particularly for energy and health care employers.

Mr. Birenbaum received a B.A. in Government, with honors, from Oberlin College in 1979 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1982.

 

Jennifer W. Chaloemtiarana
Global Finance and Governance Counsel
Levi Strauss & Co.

Jennifer Chaloemtiarana is the Global Finance and Governance Counsel at Levi Strauss & Co. and also the company's Acting Co-General Counsel.   She joined LS&Co. in 2007, and currently manages legal affairs activities related to LS&Co.'s securities compliance and financing matters, corporate governance, shareholder relations and corporate secretary functions.

Prior to joining LS&Co., Ms. Chaloemtiarana was Associate General Counsel for Netflix, Inc., where she managed a full range of securities, governance, commercial and compliance matters.  Previously, she was in the Corporate department of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, and served as a clerk for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Ms. Chaloemtiarana is a graduate from Cornell University and the University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of the Michigan Law Review.

 

Frederick Felman
Chief Marketing Officer
MarkMonitor

Fred is Chief Marketing Officer for MarkMonitor. At MarkMonitor, he is responsible for defining and promoting the company’s brand protection product offerings. Fred also spearheads the Brandjacking Index®, the industry’s most authoritative research covering online brand abuse. In addition, he has taken leadership positions on a range of industry issues including being an advocate for brand holder rights.

 

Brian L. Flack
Senior Manager, Legal Services Outsourcing
CPA Global

Brian Flack is a Senior Manager in the Legal Services Outsourcing Division of CPA Global. He works with corporate clients to manage the risks and costs associated with discovery and document management in complex criminal and civil litigation and business transactions. In addition, Brian works with clients in managing and finding creative solutions to pre-trial activity.

Prior to joining CPA Global, Brian was a Partner at Venable LLP in Washington, DC where he worked extensively in all aspects of white collar criminal defense and enforcement-related litigation, including representing corporations and individuals in grand jury investigations, managing parallel criminal and civil proceedings, going to trial, and advising on voluntary disclosure and compliance issues.

Brian has responded to search warrants and grand jury subpoenas and has also performed numerous internal investigations for public and private companies and counseled those companies regarding disclosure, reporting, compliance, corporate governance, and document-retention issues.

Prior to Venable, Brian was an attorney in New York City focusing on civil environmental litigation.

Brian has extensive experience managing and supervising large, complex litigation and regulatory documents reviews across multiple industries. He is able to leverage his prior law firm experience by advising corporate clients on cost-effective solutions for litigation matters and day-to-day legal support needs.

Education

• Pace University School Of Law, White Plains, NY, J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate (May 1998)

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, Bachelors of Science, Business Administration (May 1994)

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association Section of Natural Resources, Environment and Energy Law and Criminal Law

• The New York State Bar Association Section of Environmental Law

• The District of Columbia Bar Association

Admissions

• New York (admitted 1999)

• Washington, D.C. (admitted 2001)

Publications

• “Justice Department Clarifies its Antitrust Leniency Policy,” Washington Legal Foundation, Counsel’s Advisory, Vol. 18, March 27, 2009

• “A New Intersection: Environmental Crimes and Victims’ Rights,” ABA Natural Resources & Environment Journal, Winter 2008

• “The Criminalization of Negligence Under the Clean Water Act,” ABA Criminal Justice Journal, Winter 2008

• “To Voluntarily Disclose or Not: That is Still the Question for Regulated Businesses,” Washington Legal Foundation, Legal Backgrounder, Vol. 23, No. 16, May 2, 2008

• “The Coast Guard’s Environmental Crimes Voluntary Disclosure Policy – What it Does and What it Doesn’t Do,” Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 1, First Quarter 2008

• “Special Joint Defense Instruction in Conspiracy Cases,” ABA White Collar Crime Newsletter, February 2008

• “United States v. Fort: The Ninth Circuit Clarifies the Relationship between Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 16(A)(1)(E) and 16(A)(2),” Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 3, June 2007; ABA White Collar Crime Newsletter, May 2007

• “Access to Government Prosecutor Notes,” Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee Newsletter, Vol. 6, No.3, May 2005

• “The New Rules in Environmental Criminal Enforcement,” The Environmental Counselor, Issue No. 192, August 15, 2004

• “The New Rules in Environmental Criminal Enforcement,” ABA, White Collar Crime Conference 2003

• “DOJ Must Address White Collar Prosecutors’ Disregard for Privileged Communications,” Washington Legal Foundation, February 2001

• “The Government’s Insistence on a Waiver of Privileges,” ABA, White Collar Crime Conference 2001

• “The Proof is in the Permit,” a handbook published by EPA, June 19, 2000

 

Peter Florian
Product Marketing
IntraLinks

Peter Florian drives product strategy and programs for corporate legal and law firms at IntraLInks, the world’s leading SaaS provider of critical information exchanges and business process collaboration. Peter has a successful 20-year track record of driving growth in this sector at both consumer and business-to-business companies.

Prior to joining IntraLinks Peter was SVP for Inference Data, a next generation litigation review platform based on Autonomy conceptual analytics. Peter was also Vice President of Product Management and Strategic Planning for the Corporate Legal Services division of Wolters Kluwer, which included CT Corporation governance and compliance services, CT Summation litigation management software, CT TyMetrix e-billing and CT Corsearch trademark research services.

Prior to CLS, Mr. Florian was Chief Marketing Officer for Thomson Financial, a $1.5 division of Thomson Corporation (now Thomson/Reuters), where he led the global integration of the marketing and created programs that established Thomson Financial as a leading firm in the global financial information market.

Peter also ran his own marketing firm with clients including Bloomberg, McGraw-Hill, Credit Suisse and theStreet.com. He started his career at Pepsi USA, where he managed the breakthrough Pepsi Challenge program and key soft drink brands.

Peter is a graduate of Vassar College and received an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.

 

Kimberly Griffin
Vice President & Corporate Counsel
24 Hour Fitness

Kimberly (Kim) Griffin is Vice President and Corporate Counsel for 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc., the largest privately-owned fitness chain in the US.  She joined the company as Corporate Counsel in 2000.  Her areas of focus today include Consumer Litigation (including class actions), Intellectual Property, Marketing/Entertainment, and Insurance. Prior to joining 24 Hour Fitness, she was a Foreign Legal Consultant in Shanghai, China with a local law firm.  She began her legal career at Barger & Wolen with a focus on insurance coverage. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of San Francisco law school.

 

John W. Kuo
Corporate Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

John W. Kuo was named Corporate Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Varian Medical Systems in 2005. He joined the company as Associate General Counsel in 2003, focusing in the areas of securities, corporate governance and M&A. Today, his management responsibilities include the company's Legal, Trade Compliance, Environmental Affairs and Government Affairs functions. Kuo is also the secretary to the company's Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Varian, Kuo held senior legal positions at several companies including Broadvision, 3Com Corporation and Acer America. He was also previously with the law firms of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now, DLA Piper) and Fulbright & Jaworski. Kuo graduated from Cornell University in 1985 and earned his law degree from Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley in 1988. He has been admitted to the State Bars of California and Texas.

He also serves on the Law Cabinet of the United Way, Silicon Valley, and on the Board of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association.

 

Wendy M. Lazerson
Partner, Labor & Employment Group Co-Chair
Bingham McCutchen LLP

Wendy Lazerson is the co-chair of the Labor and Employment Group. For over thirty years, Wendy has been advising corporate clients and handling their employment disputes in the courts and through arbitration and mediation. Wendy’s strategic approach to litigation has afforded her clients successes that are available only through a thoughtful and proactive approach to dispute resolution.

For the last several years, and before wage and hour class actions became the norm, Wendy has been actively involved in the wage and hour arena, where she has attained successes for clients in both federal collective actions and state class actions. She has avoided business disruption to her clients by avoiding notice to any class members, and has defeated certification consistently.

Wendy is strategic in her approach and works with her clients to ensure that litigation strategy complies with business goals. She is intimately familiar with class action procedure and law, and her knowledge of wage and hour class law has led to excellent results for clients in a variety of industries. She works with her clients to gain knowledge of their businesses, using the facts at hand to win convincing victories. Wendy has defended these cases in the state and federal courts of northern and southern California and in the arbitration forum.

In addition to her wage and hour work, Wendy handles a wide variety of employment disputes including individual discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, as well as trade secret and unfair competition cases. She is also very involved in assisting clients with the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence advice, drafting of agreements, and strategically addressing both employee retention and reduction. Wendy also provides day-to-day advice to California employers on workplace issues.

Wendy has lectured and written on issues related to the workplace and is frequently quoted in the legal and business press. 

 

Kevin J. Lesinski
Partner
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Areas of Practice

Commercial Litigation, Commercial Class Action Defense, Securities & Financial Litigation, Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Wage & Hour Litigation

Experience

Mr. Lesinski is a partner in the San Francisco office and is a founding member of the firm’s Securities and Financial Litigation Practice Group.  He represents public and private corporations, accounting firms, insurance companies, financial services firms, private equity firms, lawyers, audit committees, special board committees and corporate officers and directors in complex litigation, class actions, bankruptcy adversary proceedings and internal corporate investigations.

Mr. Lesinski has successfully defended clients in investigations and enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, state accountancy boards, state commissioners of revenue and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

He has extensive jury trial and appellate experience in cases involving claims of securities fraud, auditor liability, consumer fraud, mergers and acquisitions fraud, wage & hour law violations, tax liability, trade secret misappropriation, patent infringement, antitrust violations, bad-faith insurance practices, ERISA liability, attorney malpractice, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract.

Mr. Lesinski is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.  He is a frequent speaker on legal trends affecting American and international business, including directors’ and officers’ liability, securities fraud, attorney and accountant liability and the protection of intellectual property.  He has been an active member of the California bar for 25 years, and has successfully handled many high profile cases in Northern and Southern California.

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School (1983)

B.A., University of Arizona, with Honors and Highest Distinction(1980)

Admissions

Massachusetts, Michigan, California

Courts

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Sixth, Ninth and Federal Circuits

U.S. District Court for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

Affiliations

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (Board of Directors)

American Bar Association (Litigation Section)

Boston Bar Association (Litigation Section)

State Bar of California (Litigation Section)

State Bar of Michigan (Litigation Section)

Harvard Law School Association

 

Thomas M. McCoy
Executive Vice President Legal and Public Affairs
AMD

Tom McCoy is executive vice president, legal, corporate and public affairs of AMD. McCoy joined AMD in January 1995, and was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary until 2003 at which time he became Executive Vice President, Legal Affairs & Chief Administrative Officer. Prior to AMD, McCoy spent 17 years at O'Melveny & Myers, one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the U.S., where he specialized in business litigation. McCoy holds an undergraduate degree in history from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Southern California. He clerked for the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, served on the board of directors of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, and co-founded the California General Counsel’s Association.

 

Karole Morgan-Prager
Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary 
The McClatchy Company

Karole Morgan-Prager is the vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of The McClatchy Company, headquartered in Sacramento, California. The McClatchy Company is the third largest newspaper publishing company in the United States, with 30 daily newspapers, approximately 50 non-dailies, and direct marketing and direct mail operations. McClatchy also operates leading local websites in each of its markets which extend its audience reach. McClatchy-owned newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The News & Observer (Raleigh).

Karole joined The McClatchy Company as general counsel in 1995 and was named vice president in 1998. Ms. Morgan-Prager heads the corporate legal department, and, in that capacity, oversees the work of other attorneys and the administrative functions of the department. As general counsel, she advises the Company and its management on the legal issues facing the Company and its various newspapers and other media-related businesses. Prior to joining McClatchy, Karole was associate general counsel at The Times Mirror Company from 1993 to 1995. While at Times Mirror she represented the company on a variety of corporate transactions and advised The Times on its advertising policies. From 1987 to 1993 she was an associate at the Morrison & Foerster law firm in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Morgan-Prager is a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Center for Courts and Media and a member of the Board of Directors of the Media Law Resource Center. Karole attended law school at UCLA, graduating in 1987. She attended The University of Nevada, Reno and received her B.A. degree, with high honor, in journalism and political science in 1984.

 

Michael Pontrelli
Director, Western Region
Applied Discovery

Michael Pontrelli is director of electronic discovery for the western region of Applied Discovery, a division of LexisNexis. In this role, Mr. Pontrelli consults with corporate legal departments and their outside law firms to navigate the entire electronic discovery process. He also works with clients to develop processes and cost-saving strategies in matters involving the collection, processing and review of large amounts of email and other electronic data. His clients include many Fortune 500 corporations. 

Before joining Applied Discovery, Mr. Pontrelli practiced in the San Francisco office of The Goldman Law Firm, where his work focused on medical malpractice defense and business litigation. Mr. Pontrelli then joined iEnvision Technology, Inc., a systems and solutions integration company in the Bay Area. At iEnvision, Mr. Pontrelli consulted with law firms and corporate legal departments to design technology solutions based upon the needs of the firm or legal department. 

Mr. Pontrelli is a frequent speaker on the topic of electronic discovery and document review. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and his J.D. from California Western in San Diego. He is a member of the State Bar of California.

 

David J. Richter
Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs & General Counsel
DivX, Inc.

As Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs & General Counsel, David oversees the following groups: Legal, Business and Corporate Development, and Consumer Software and Services. Before joining DivX in 2004, David was a Principal at Maveron, a venture capital firm co-founded by Howard Schultz of Starbucks that is focused on consumer-oriented startups. Prior to that, he directed business development at drugstore.com and was in private law practice in Los Angeles. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Judge Goodwin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and was a Luce Scholar in China where he taught intellectual property law at China University of Politics and Law and consulted for CITIC, the Chinese government's investment bank. David has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a law degree from Yale Law School.

 

George Rose
Chief Public Policy Officer
Activision Blizzard

George Rose became Chief Legal Officer of Activision Blizzard in July 2008 in connection with the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games and previously was Chief Legal Officer of Activision Publishing from September 2007 until the consummation of the merger. In October 2009 Mr. Rose was promoted to a newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer of Activision Blizzard. Throughout 2008-2009, Mr. Rose supervised the legal aspects of an unique and successful integration between Activision and Vivendi Games, establishing Activision Blizzard, the largest and most profitable independent video game publisher in the world. Mr. Rose joined Activision in July 1995 and held various positions of increasing responsibility within the Business and Legal Affairs Department since that time, including serving as Senior Vice President and General Counsel from April 2000 until September 2007. Prior to joining Activision, Mr. Rose was in private practice in Los Angeles from 1986 to 1995. Mr. Rose holds a B.B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

 

Phillip Rudolph
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Jack in the Box

Phillip Rudolph has been with Jack in the Box since November 2007, as its Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. Mr. Rudolph joined Jack in the Box from Ethical Leadership Group, a Chicago-based ethics consultancy where, from January 2006 through October 2007, he was Vice President & General Counsel, in addition to maintaining a full complement of consulting clients.

From August 2003 through December 2005, he was a partner in the DC office of Foley, Hoag, a Boston-based law firm, where he specialized in advising clients in the area of Corporate Responsibility. Prior to that, Mr. Rudolph was a Vice President in the legal department at McDonald’s Corporation between March 1998 and February 2003, where, among other roles, he was Deputy General Counsel, U.S. General Counsel and International General Counsel. He also developed and oversaw the company’s global ethical sourcing program.

Mr. Rudolph began his career in the LA office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in September 1983. He moved to the DC office of the firm in 1985, was elected to the partnership in 1990, and remained with the firm as an antitrust and litigation partner until he joined McDonald’s in 1998.

Mr. Rudolph graduated magna cum laude from the University of California at Irvine in 1980, with a BA in political science. He received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1983. He is a member of the Bars of the States of California and Illinois, and of the District of Columbia, and is also licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and several United States Courts of Appeals and District Courts.

 

Amar L. Thakur
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP

Amar L. Thakur is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice is devoted to IP litigation and technology transactions matters.

Mr. Thakur's litigation experience includes representation of large technology companies in telecommunications / VOIP, medical devices, software and semiconductors in patent, trademark and commercial disputes. He has appeared before the federal courts throughout California, Arizona, New York, Texas, Virginia and the International Trade Commission.

With substantial experience in technology transactional and licensing matters, including acquisition and protection of intellectual property, Mr. Thakur's practice focuses on the development and enforcement of patent portfolios, as well as creating partnerships between IP clients and large private equity firms and other investors who can help to grow promising IP portfolios. He is considered a pioneer in the development of new alternative fee strategies for patent litigation.

Mr. Thakur has particular experience with wireless and software related technology. He has litigated IP matters against Microsoft and Research in Motion and has represented Mformation Technologies, Samsung, Quantum, and other high-tech companies in litigation.

Representative clients of Mr. Thakur's have included BAE Systems, Broadcom, Conexant Systems, Entropic Communications, Gen-Probe, International Rectifier, Kratos Defense, Medtronic, Mformation Technologies, Nextec Corporation, Overland Storage, Quantum Corporation, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sony Online Entertainment, State Compensation Insurance Fund, and XIFIN.

Mr. Thakur was selected for inclusion in the 2009 San Diego Super Lawyers® list and was included in the list of 2006 Top Intellectual Property Attorneys in the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Prior to joining Foley, Mr. Thakur was co-chair of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP's Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Mr. Thakur earned his law degree, cum laude, from Arizona State University (J.D., 1995) and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington (B.S., 1992).

Mr. Thakur is admitted to practice in Arizona, California, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the San Diego Intellectual Property Association and serves on the board of directors of the Arthritis Foundation.

 

Daniel J. Tyukody
Partner, Securities Litigation
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Daniel Tyukody, a partner in the Los Angeles office, is a member of the Securities Litigation Group.  Mr. Tyukody's practice focuses on defending underwriters, issuers and individual officers and directors in securities class actions, derivative cases, "M&A" cases and SEC proceedings.  Mr. Tyukody has also represented the audit committees or special committees of Fortune 500 companies conducting special investigations.  

Mr. Tyukody has been named as one of the "Top 500 Lawyers In America"  by Lawdragonmagazine (2007) and one of the "Top 500 Litigators In America" (2006).  Mr. Tyukody was also named as one of the "Top Securities Litigators in California" by the Daily Journal.  He was lead trial counsel and obtained a complete defense verdict in June 2005 in Miller v. Thane, one of only seven securities class action lawsuits tried to verdict since 1995.  This case was named one of the "Top Ten Defense Verdicts" in California by the Daily Journal.   Mr. Tyukody has successfully argued several matters of first impression under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Mr. Tyukody also provides securities counseling and advice to numerous companies and companies considering or intending to go public.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Tyukody was a partner at Clifford Chance and a partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.

 

Kent Walker
Vice President & General Counsel
Google Inc.

As General Counsel, Kent is responsible for managing Google's global legal team and advising the company's board and management on legal issues and corporate governance matters.

Before joining Google, Kent held senior legal positions at a number of leading technology companies. Most recently he was Deputy General Counsel of eBay Inc., where he managed corporate legal affairs, litigation, and legal operations. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of Liberate Technologies, a leading provider of interactive services software founded by Oracle and Netscape Communications. He also served as Associate General Counsel for Netscape and America Online and Senior Counsel for AirTouch Communications, which was later acquired by Vodaphone.

Earlier in his career, Kent was an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, where he specialized in the prosecution of technology crimes and advised the Attorney General on management and technology issues.

Kent has served on the boards of a number of technology industry trade associations and is on the steering committee of the annual Computers, Freedom & Privacy conference. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College and graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School.

 

Samuel D. Walker
Chief Legal Officer
Molson Coors Brewing Company

Sam Walker heads the legal, public affairs, and compliance functions of Molson Coors Brewing Company. He also serves as corporate secretary, and sits on the Company’s seven-member management committee. He has served as chief legal officer since 2005. He also is managing director of MillerCoors LLC, the Company’s U.S. business owned jointly with SABMiller.

From 2002 to 2005, Sam was Chief Legal Officer, U.S. & Worldwide and Group Vice President at Coors Brewing Company. Before joining the Company in 2002, he was a partner for 10 years at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding, LLP, handling trial and non-trial matters.

Sam has held several government posts. From 1990 through 1992, he was an appointee in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. He ran the largest agency in the U.S. Department of Labor, the Employment Standards Administration, among other positions. He also served as an assistant clearance counsel during the 2000 transition of President George W. Bush.

Sam is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School.

 

Brian Way
Director of Intellectual Property Law
Altera Corporation

Brian is the Director of Intellectual Property Law at Altera Corporation, a Silicon Valley chip company, where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of acquiring and protecting the company's intellectual property.  Most recently, he spent five years as Senior Patent Counsel for Apple, Inc, where he managed outside counsel in patent litigation matters and worked on licensing, intellectual property valuation and patent prosecution.  Brian joined Apple in 2002 from the law firm of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, where he was a litigator.  Previously, he did patent litigation and prosecution for a firm in New York and clerked for a federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York.  He is involved with the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Litigation and Damages Committees, through which he recently chaired a conference in Washington, D.C. on Intellectual Property Damages.  Brian received his BS from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Columbia Law School.  He is a member of the state bars of California and New York.