Written by Jeff Owen | May 2, 2015 4:00:00 AM
Palo Alto – April 27, 2015 – Litigation partners Heidi Keefe, Michael Rhodes, Steve Strauss and Dr. Nan Wu were recognized by the Daily Journal in its 2015 special report: "The Leading Intellectual Property Attorneys in California." The Daily Journal highlighted Palo Alto-based partner Keefe's numerous successful patent cases on behalf of client Facebook. Last summer, Keefe led a Cooley trial team to obtain a complete defense victory for Facebook in a case that took 14 months. A jury ultimately invalidated two patents asserted by Rembrandt Social Media LP and also found Facebook did not infringe either patent. Keefe also secured victories this year for Facebook in two separate cases by convincing federal judges to invalidate patents at early stages of litigation. San Francisco-based partner Rhodes's active relationship with Cooley client Facebook was also highlighted in the Daily Journal's report. Rhodes has handled more than 70 patent cases over his career and has served as lead trial counsel to Facebook on more than 25 infringement cases, including partnering with Keefe in the assertion brought by Rembrandt Social Media. Rhodes attributes his courtroom success, and that of his Cooley team's, to presenting complex concepts in layman's terms. "Our success is based on the ability to distill complex details about technology into simple, digestible terms for the jury," Rhodes said. "The infringement claims made by Rembrandt Social Media didn't pass muster because they had been ‘rendered obvious' by other previous inventions." San Diego-based Steve Strauss was commended for his recent case dismissal on behalf of client Qualcomm Inc., in which plaintiff Gabriel Technologies Corp. was seeking more than $1 billion in damages. Strauss then successfully defended that victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in March 2014. Qualcomm was also awarded $12.4 million in attorney fees. "He methodically dismantled Gabriel's case," writes the Daily Journal. "First, he got a number of claims dismissed at the pleadings stage, then won on summary judgment." The Daily Journal also noted Strauss's versatility as a litigator, with significant wins in commercial and real estate litigation as well. For example, in November, Strauss won a reversal before the Second District Court of Appeal of a $100 million judgment against his client Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline Inc. Wu, the patent counselor of the group, advises life sciences and technology companies and venture capital firms on their patent portfolios and IP issues. Last year, she helped take public companies such as Ultragenyx, Auris and Biocept and has since guided them through additional fund raisings. The Daily Journal also cited Wu's work for Abaxis, Inc., a company for which she has developed and implemented a global patent protection strategy. "She established a patent portfolio that covers products made by Abaxis but also covers alternative uses for those products, a strategy that helps the company gain exclusivity in the marketplace," noted the Daily Journal. Her work has "yielded millions of dollars in revenue for the company."