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Novak Druce + Quigg LLP Expands Litigation Practice

Houston, TX: National intellectual property law firm Novak Druce + Quigg LLP has expanded its litigation practice with the addition of eight experienced patent litigation attorneys and a Ph.D. technical advisor in its San Francisco and Washington, D.C. offices. The arrival of the attorneys, Robert Kramer, Thomas Dunham, Eric Shih, Jay Guiliano, Gregory Hillyer, Michael Woods, Stephanie Wood, Javier Sobrado and technical advisor, Gideon Myles, Ph.D., substantially enhances the Firm’s patent litigation group with deep bench strength in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. This expansion complements the Firm’s long-established Houston-based group of IP litigators as well as those in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Novak Druce + Quigg is a national intellectual property law firm with more than 80 attorneys and professionals working from offices in Houston, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and West Palm Beach, Florida. Ninety percent of the Firm’s attorneys and professionals hold technical degrees and have experience in a wide range of technologies, including biochemical, biotech, electrical and mechanical engineering, networking, consumer electronics, light emitting diodes, petrochemicals, agriculture, construction, geology, pharmaceuticals and wireless technologies. The Firm’s patent prosecution and reexamination practices have been recognized as among the finest national Intellectual Property boutiques representing clients ranging from Fortune 500 to mid-size and start-up companies.

The Firm’s patent litigation practice group is significantly enhanced by the recent addition of a robust cross-office team of experienced patent litigators in San Francisco and Washington D.C. “These professionals are highly regarded in the legal community by judges, general counsel and opposing counsel, having litigated and gone to trial in complex patent infringement cases successfully in the district courts and the ITC for many years,” explained Managing Partner/CEO Gregory V. Novak. “We envision leveraging our greatly expanded litigation capabilities together with our national reexamination practice to deliver exceptional value and results to both new and existing clients in both recognized technology hubs, e.g., Silicon Valley, as well as up-and-coming regions such as Florida and West Texas, which are not currently served by national IP law firms. Tightly knit coordination of the practice groups will enable us to deliver a more cohesive and, in turn, cost-effective work product to Novak Druce’s clients. We are delighted to welcome them to the Firm.”

With the expansion of the litigation practice in San Francisco and Washington D.C., the Firm now has more than 30 attorneys in its litigation practice group, including many with first and second chair trial experience. The litigation group is anchored by former “big firm” successful litigation partners and associates who practiced at large, international law firms, such as Skadden Arps, Howrey and Morrison & Foerster, and were attracted to the model of a powerhouse national IP boutique focused on delivering creative, efficient, winning results. The Firm’s litigation team includes engineers, programmers and scientists, many of whom have previously worked in industry, as well as former in-house counsel who have developed and managed large IP portfolios and supervised litigation from the inside. They are acutely sensitive to client needs and priorities.

“The expansion of Novak Druce’s national litigation practice group comes on the heels of a tremendous victory in an ITC patent infringement case for client Avago Technologies earlier this year,” explained veteran patent litigator Rob Kramer, who has joined the Firm as Co-Chair of the Litigation Practice. “Novak Druce won at trial against the law firms of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP. The Firm’s win in the ITC was especially noteworthy, given the high caliber legal teams they faced throughout the litigation and at trial.”

Abbreviated biographies are listed below. For full biographical information, please visit the 'People' section of the website.

Robert Kramer (Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Practice, Partner, San Francisco): Rob Kramer is an experienced patent litigation and trial attorney. He has represented clients in district courts throughout the country for the past twenty years and in the ITC. He represents clients in patent cases in a broad range of industries and technologies, including electronics, semiconductors, life sciences, medical devices, biometric authentication, networking, wireless telecommunications and light emitting diodes (LED). Mr. Kramer previously practiced in New York as well as in Tokyo, where he was a registered gaikokuho-jimubengoshi and a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association while a partner in a major global law firm's Tokyo office. Mr. Kramer is a member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL) and has served as an ICC arbitrator. He is experienced representing clients in ITC § 337 proceedings in the U.S. International Trade Commission. He is recognized as a premier patent and intellectual property litigator and has repeatedly been named as a “Northern California Super Lawyer” by San Francisco Magazine in its annual ranking of Northern California lawyers. He received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and did his undergraduate work at New York University and Brandeis University. Mr. Kramer was a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP and Howrey LLP before joining Novak Druce + Quigg.

Thomas Dunham (Partner, Washington, D.C./San Francisco): Tom Dunham is a registered patent attorney whose responsibilities include district court litigation, patent licensing, appellate work and client counseling. He has worked for a wide array of technology clients and has substantial experience in the areas of wireless and wireline telecommunications, computer hardware and software, networking technology, aviation systems, imaging, fiber optics, medical devices and systems and optical disk technology. Before practicing law, Mr. Dunham was a staff engineer in General Electric Corporation's Aerospace Control Systems Division. At GE-ACSD, he developed advanced airborne control system hardware and software, used primarily in military and civil applications. Mr. Dunham was formerly a partner at Howrey LLP.

Eric Shih (Partner, San Francisco): Eric Shih’s practice focuses on patent and high technology litigation and transactions. Mr. Shih has extensive in-house and private practice experience advising executive management and investors in high-tech, media and scientific industries on litigation, licensing and technology transactions. He has been a first chair litigator and gone to trial numerous times in California, Texas and Virginia, working for clients in a wide-ranging spectrum of technologies including mobile communications, networking, semiconductors, medical devices and life sciences. Before returning to private practice, Mr. Shih worked in the IP monetization industry and also served as the Chief IP Counsel for a public company. He has also served as outside general counsel for various high tech companies in Silicon Valley. Mr. Shih studied at Northwestern University School of Law and received his engineering degree from Lehigh University. He was a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP prior to working in-house and in private equity.

Jay Guiliano (Partner, Washington, D.C.): Jay Guiliano specializes in patent litigation. Mr. Guiliano’s expertise involves a diverse variety of technologies including cellular telephones, playing tracking devices for gaming systems, interactive voice response systems, electronic payment systems, aeronautical oxygen systems, fuel injection control systems, parking brake systems and tire pressure monitoring systems. He earned a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University. Mr. Guiliano was formerly a partner at Howrey LLP.

Gregory Hillyer (Partner, Washington, DC): Gregory Hillyer has litigated and tried a wide variety of federal and state cases throughout the country involving patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, trade secrets and false advertising. Mr. Hillyer’s experience in the field of patent law is extensive and includes litigation, procurement, counseling, due diligence, freedom to operate, patentability studies, opinion work and serving as a patent expert. Mr. Hillyer has experience with a variety of technologies including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, organic and inorganic chemistry, and alternative energies. Mr. Hillyer was recently listed in Best Lawyers in America®, 2010 for Intellectual Property Law in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Mr. Hillyer is also Board Certified in Intellectual Property. Mr. Hillyer is a former Philadelphia public defender and adjunct Professor of Law at Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law. He has worked as a scientific advisor and patent agent for the DuPont Pharmaceutical Company and a synthetic organic chemist for DuPont Merck Research Laboratories in both the medicinal and process divisions, where he authored several papers. Mr. Hillyer also served as an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Wingate University. Mr. Hillyer was formerly a partner at Feldman Gale LLP.

Stephanie Wood (Senior Associate, San Francisco): Stephanie Wood specializes in patent litigation covering various electrical, mechanical, and chemical technologies. She has practiced extensively in the district courts in the Northern District of California and the Eastern District of Texas. She also has experience in the ITC. Ms. Wood received her J.D. from Santa Clara University and her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas. Ms. Wood was formerly an associate at Howrey LLP.

Michael Woods (Senior Associate, Washington, DC/San Francisco): Michael Woods is an experienced patent litigator who has represented clients in courts across the country. Mr. Woods’ experience has involved a wide range of technologies, including computer software and hardware, appliances and medical devices. Before joining the Firm, Mr. Woods served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer and as a Pentagon staff officer. He completed lengthy tours on two nuclear submarines and as the officer-in-charge of a land-based nuclear reactor facility, where he was responsible for the testing and development of new equipment and the installation of a new reactor core. At the Pentagon, Mr. Woods served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he was responsible for reviewing acquisition and technology programs for compliance with international arms control agreements. He has extensive experience with submarine technology, aircraft systems, missile booster technology, telemetry data systems and power generation technology. Mr. Woods has also represented the Department of Defense in international arms control negotiations. Mr. Woods was formerly a senior associate at Howrey LLP.

Javier Sobrado (Associate, Washington, DC): Javier Sobrado is a patent litigator and he also assists clients with counseling and due diligence. Mr. Sobrado’s technical background in computer science and electrical engineering includes experience in a broad variety of fields, including VLSI design, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, operating systems and computer vision and speech. His practice spans a diverse range of technical disciples, including electronics, telecommunications, computer related inventions, industrial processes, mechanical devices, business methods, automotive accessories, conventional power generation and alternative energies. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Sobrado earned an MBA and worked as a computer programmer and as a web design engineer. Mr. Sobrado was formerly an associate at Feldman Gale LLP.

Gideon Myles (Technical Advisor, San Francisco): Gideon Myles, Ph.D. has worked at Apple, Inc and the IBM Almaden Research Center where he applied his technical knowledge in the field of computer science. Dr. Myles has been named as an inventor on more than a dozen patent applications, authored 19 scientific publications, given numerous conference and invited talks and is a regular reviewer for various computer science conferences and journals. Dr. Myles earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Arizona. His research and dissertation focused on technical means of detecting and preventing software piracy, which included techniques such as software watermarking, software birthmarking, code obfuscation and tamper proofing. He is currently pursuing a J.D. at Santa Clara University.