Speakers

Speakers list in alphabetical order. More speakers are added every day, check back often!
  • Ali-Emil-200 Ali, Emil

    McCabe & Ali, LLP | Partner

    Emil J. Ali provides legal representation of professionals across many regulated industries to limit, defend, and deflect liability in regulatory and professional conduct investigations, enforcement actions, arbitrations, and court cases.
  • Anoff, Ali

    Procter & Gamble | Director & Assistant General Counsel - Patents

    Ali Anoff is Director and Assistant General Counsel at Procter & Gamble. She is the primary patent attorney for renowned brands such as Olay® skin care, as well as Old Spice®, Secret®, and Native® antiperspirant and deodorants. Ali provides strategic legal counsel to the business to create and protect global intellectual property assets. Her practice focuses on IP strategy development, preparation and prosecution of global patent applications, conducting freedom-to-practice assessments and enforcement.
  • Aquilina Photo Aquilina, James

    Quarles & Brady, LLP | Partner

    James Aquilina is an Intellectual Property partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Quarles & Brady. He advises his clients on IP procurement, strategic portfolio development and management, offensive and defensive dispute matters, licensing, and anti-counterfeiting efforts.
  • Berezutskaya, E. Kate

    Greer Burns & Crain, Ltd. | Partner

    Kate Berezutskaya is a licensed U.S. patent attorney with over 15 years of experience in representing clients in connection with numerous patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including patent drafting and prosecution, appeals, and re-exam proceedings. She develops, procures, manages and defends global patent portfolios, and counsels clients regarding patent exclusivity, patent due diligence, license agreements, freedom-to-operate opinions and inventorship/ownership.
  • Brauneis, Robert

    George Washington University Law School | Professor of Law and Co-Director

    Robert Brauneis is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Intellectual Property Program and the Center for Law and Technology at the George Washington University Law School. After earning his J.D. magna cum laude at Harvard Law School, he served as a law clerk to Judge Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (later Justice Breyer), and to Justice David H. Souter.
  • Burke, Julie

    IP Quality Pro, LLC | Founder

    Julie Burke PhD, is a former quality assurance specialist at the US Patent and Trademark Office. She has a BA in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of London College of Science, Technology and Medicine. After being a constant thorn in management's side for nearly 20 years’ at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Dr. Burke worked 5 years as a Patent Scientist for Knobbe Martens and then founded her own consulting company, IP Quality Pro LLC.
  • Crumbley, Kit

    Bracewell | IP Litigation Partner

    Kit Crumbley is an intellectual property litigation partner with Bracewell’s Austin office. He draws on his two decades of experience serving within the US Patent & Trademark Office and the Department of Justice to provide comprehensive intellectual property advice and counsel to businesses across all technology fields, with a particular focus on post-grant validity challenges and the appeals of those proceedings.
  • Curtis, Tony200 Curtis, Anthony

    Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner | Attorney

    Tony Curtis is a registered patent attorney at Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner. His practice includes patent procurement, portfolio management and strategic counseling in a wide range of electrical, software, and mechanical technologies.
  • DeFranco, Denise

    Johnson & Johnson | Global Head of IP Litigation

    Denise DeFranco is the Global Head of IP Litigation at Johnson & Johnson. In that capacity, she manages the team of lawyers who are responsible for Johnson & Johnson’s patent litigation around the globe. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Denise was a Partner at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP. She clerked for The Honorable Paul R. Michel at the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and served as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Denise received her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center in Washington, D.C. and her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA.
  • Durkin, Tracy-Gene 200 Durkin, Tracy-Gene G.

    Sterne Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC | Director

    Tracy-Gene G. Durkin is the practice leader of Sterne Kessler’s Mechanical & Design Practice Group and a member of the Trademark & Brand Protection Practice. Tracy has a well-earned reputation for excellence in design patent law. Tracy was named one of the "Top Ten Legal Innovators in North America” by Financial Times in 2018, and she has been ranked by Chambers & Partners' as a "recognized practitioners" in the "IP Patent Prosecution, District of Columbia category," since 2017.
  • Ergmann200 Ergmann, Jessica

    Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard's Office of Strategic Alliances | Associate Director

    Jess Ergmann is an experienced patent and transactional attorney who is passionate about supporting the development of life saving medical technologies. She has spent the last 12 years developing business focused IP strategies for early stage and large, global companies and VCs in the life sciences field. Jess is currently the Associate Director of Legal at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a research organization dedicated to understanding the root cause of disease, where she focuses on negotiating strategic collaboration and license agreements, developing IP strategies, and managing legal operations. She is also passionate about mentoring and currently serves as the Chair of the Mentoring Committee of AIPLA. Jess is also the past Chair of AIPLA's Corporate Practice Committee.
  • Freeman, Will

    Omni Bridgeway | Investment Manager and Legal Counsel

    Will Freeman is an Investment Manager and Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway where he manages intellectual property investments and leads Omni Bridgeway’s European intellectual property investment initiatives. Before joining Omni Bridgeway he was a Principal at Fish & Richardson where he litigated high-stakes patent disputes in U.S. District Courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and arbitration.
  • Herman Photo Herman, Michele

    JusTech Law, PLLC | Founder

    Michele’s practice at JusTech Law focuses exclusively on legal and business issues affecting technology development and commercialization such as technology standards, open source software, and intellectual property transactions.
  • Irving, Thomas L.

    The Marbury Law Group, PLLC | Senior Partner

    Tom Irving is Senior Partner at the Marbury Law Group, after a 47-year career at the world-famous Finnegan firm. Tom practices U.S. patent law, including but not limited to patent law experting in district court litigations, due diligence, counseling, strategy, rendering opinions on inventorship and ownership, patentability, validity and freedom to operate, patent preparation and prosecution in the Chemical and Life Science arts and listing approved drug products and methods of treatment in FDA’s Orange Book.. Tom obtained his undergraduate B.A, degree in chemistry at the University of Utah in 1974. Tom received his law degree from The Duke University School of Law in 1977. Tom is entering his 50th year in the U.S. patent law business and in the very early years was mentored by P.J. Federico, who co-wrote the 1952 Patent Act with Judge Rich.
  • Johnson, Matt

    Jones Day | Partner

    Matt Johnson is one of the Jones Day’s primary contacts on practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), where patentability of issued patents can be challenged. Currently chairing the Firm's PTAB area and involved in proceedings at the Board, including trials for inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR), since the first day of their availability in September 2012, Matt regularly represents clients as both petitioners and patent owners at the Board. He further works as an advocate for clients in appeals from Board proceedings at the Federal Circuit. Matt is the administrator of Jones Day's PTAB Litigation Blog.
  • Jones, Forrest

    Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP | Partner

    Forrest Jones focuses on patent litigation, including inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), as well as district court matters, investigations at the International Trade Commission (ITC), and appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has technical and legal experience in various areas of electrical and computer engineering, including GaN Transistors, solar cells and panels, LEDs, coupled inductors, computer software, signal processing, wireless networking, power electronics, power generation, and consumer electronics such as televisions, laptop computers, smartphones, and gaming systems. He works with clients across the globe, including in the United States, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Germany.
  • Kepler, Tracy L

    CNA | Rick Control Consulting Director, Lawyers' Professional Liability Program

    Tracy L. Kepler is the Risk Control Consulting Director for CNA’s Lawyers Insurance Program. In this role, she designs and develops content and distribution of risk control initiatives relevant to the practice of law. She collaborates with the underwriting and claims teams to develop and execute strategies for the profitable growth of the program. Tracy lectures frequently at CNA-sponsored events and at state and local bar associations and national seminars hosted by industry-leading organizations. She also writes articles focusing on law firm risk control and professional responsibility issues.
  • Kujak, Angela

    The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard | Senior Director, OSAP Legal Practice

    Angela Kujak is the Senior Director and Head of the OSAP Legal Practice at the Broad Institute and a registered patent attorney. She oversees Broad's intellectual property portfolio, guiding the strategic management of its patents and IP assets. Angela leads a team of over 15 legal professionals, structuring, drafting, and negotiating agreements related to Broad’s strategic transactions, partnerships, and new company formations. Before joining Broad, she held senior roles at UCLA’s Technology Development Group and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
  • Lee, Wan Chieh (Jenny)

    Haug Partners | Partner

    Wan Chieh (Jenny) Lee is a partner in the New York office of Haug Partners. Her practice focuses on strategic counseling, procurement of worldwide patent rights, due diligence, freedom to operate, and intellectual property transactions. She routinely advises clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries regarding patentability, validity, freedom-to-operate, and regulatory exclusivity. Jenny develops and executes patent procurement strategies that are aligned with clients’ immediate and long-term business goals. She leverages her strong ability to digest complex technical information with her experience in both patent procurement and litigation to provide clients with valuable transactional insights.
  • Lotfi, Seema
    Sima has experience in both patent prosecution and litigation, and has focused her practice on prosecuting patents in the areas of biotechnology and machine learning, as well as post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
  • mak, toby200 Mak, Toby

    Tee & Howe | Senior Counsel / Patent Attorney

    Dr. Toby Mak is a registered Chinese Patent Attorney and has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Dr. Toby Mak was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He worked at one of the largest law firms in Hong Kong for 8 years before joining Tee & Howe.
  • Mertzel, Nancy J.

    Mertzel Law PLLC | Principal and Founder

    Nancy J. Mertzel is the Founder of Mertzel Law PLLC, a boutique intellectual property firm with offices in New York and New Jersey. Nancy handles copyright, trademark, technology, and entertainment disputes and counseling. Her litigation practice concentrates on copyright and trademark infringement. On the transactional side, she handles trademark clearance, prosecution and portfolio management and drafts and negotiates IP agreements. She also advises clients on copyright issues including fair use and artificial intelligence.
  • Ney, Joshua E.

    Barnes & Thornburg, LLP | Partner

    Josh Ney counsels life science companies in patent procurement, freedom-to-operate, due diligence and litigation matters. With a Ph.D. in chemistry, Josh practices in a range of technology areas, including small molecule drugs, lipid nanoparticles, mRNA therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, flow cytometry technology, and polymer chemistry. Josh helps life science clients protect their assets throughout the product life-cycle, including patent drafting and prosecution, counseling regarding patent and regulatory exclusivity, and patent enforcement.
  • Sebor Headshot_square200 Sebor, Angela

    Tolmar | Director Intellectual Property

    Angie Sebor is the Director Intellectual Property at Tolmar, Inc., a Colorado-based, fully integrated pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative, specialty pharmaceutical products in the areas of urology, oncology, pediatric endocrinology and men’s health. Angie is a registered U.S. patent agent with a Ph.D. in Immunology and more than 27 years’ experience in patent law, both as an in-house practitioner and in private practice, primarily in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
  • Smythe, Alexandra

    IDE Group | Director of Regulatory Affairs

    Alexandra Low Smythe is Director of Regulatory Affairs for IDE Group, a global medical device commercialization firm building meaningful medtech ventures. She has nearly a decade of experience deeply involved in all phases of the medical device product lifecycle, managing both global regulatory and the intellectual property strategy for multiple employers and clients, including a major innovator in the radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging industry. With a unique background combining engineering and law, Alexandra carefully balances maintaining regulatory compliance and respecting and protecting intellectual property rights with achieving strategic business objectives.
  • Stadheim Photo Stadheim, Theresa

    Marshall Gerstein & Borun LLP | Special Counsel

    Theresa focuses her practice on drafting and prosecuting patent applications within the areas of wireless technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and memory devices. Theresa first became interested in patent law when she was an engineer within electrical and software development. In her roles she interacted with in-house patent attorneys and was drawn to better understanding how to protect innovation.
  • tottis, kevin square200 Tottis, Kevin

    TottisLaw | Managing Partner

    For the better part of the past four decades, Kevin’s litigated commercial and intellectual property cases around the country. He currently heads up TottisLaw, a Chicago litigation boutique he started after several years as a partner in a national law firm. Last month, TottisLaw was one of only a dozen firms recognized for its intellectual property practice by Chambers in its inaugural Chicago “Regional Spotlight Guide” of small and midsized law firms.
  • Uson, Adriana

    Singapore International Arbitration Centre | Director & Head (Americas)

    Adriana Uson is the Director & Head (Americas) of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) where she leads and oversees SIAC’s activities in North and Latin America. In 2020, Adriana led the establishment of SIAC’s first office outside of Asia in New York. Adriana has over a decade of experience in dispute resolution and has served as counsel on international arbitrations, arbitrator, and institutional representative. Adriana first joined SIAC as Counsel, during which time she administered hundreds of cases across a range of seats and governing laws. She was involved in the drafting of the SIAC Rules 2016, SIAC Investment Arbitration Rules 2017, SIAC Rules 2025, and the SIAC Practice Note on third-party funding. She was also a member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators working group that published the SIArb Guidelines on Party-Representative Ethics.
  • Zimmerman, Sommer

    Ballard Spahr LLP

    Sommer S. Zimmerman is a member of the Ballard Spahr Patent Group’s Life Sciences team. Her practice focuses on various aspects of patent prosecution, due diligence, and freedom to operate analysis, working primarily with clients in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food and beverage industries.