LAIPLA Officers & Board of Directors 2024-2025
Our Board of Directors manages the affairs and directs the conduct of the business of the Association, subject to the By-Laws and the Articles of incorporation. Meet our team!
Xinlin Morrow, President
Xinlin Morrow is a Partner at Morrow Ni in Irvine. Xinlin is a strategic business and IP lawyer with a decade of experience litigating and advising clients on complex business disputes involving patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and contracts. Before founding the Morrow Firm, Xinlin practiced law at national litigation powerhouses Irell & Manella and Hueston Hennigan with a focus on business and IP litigation.
Xinlin received her B.A. in Economics from Middlebury College in 2007, and her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2010.
Xinlin has chaired LAIPLA’s Judges’ Night and Law School Roadshow committees.
Favorite LAIPLA event: Spring seminar 2018 at the beautiful Ojai Valley Inn.
Favorite LAIPLA memory: Judges’ Night 2020, where a wonderful panel of federal judges discussed wide-ranging topics including artificial intelligence and diversity in IP law.
Sarah Cork, Vice President
Dr. Sarah M. Cork is an associate in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses on patent litigation in the life sciences sector, with an emphasis on pharmaceutical, medical device, Hatch-Waxman, and BPCIA matters, and she has represented both patentees and patent challengers in district courts and at the Federal Circuit. Leveraging her extensive scientific training, Sarah understands her clients’ technology at a deep level, and she is skilled at translating complex technical concepts for a lay audience.
Sarah earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review. Before law school, she received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Emory University, where her dissertation research focused on characterizing novel therapeutics for brain tumors. She earned B.S. degrees in Biological Anthropology/Anatomy and Biology from Duke University.
Favorite LAIPLA Event: The 2020 Fall Patent Program (co-chair).
Favorite LAIPLA Memory: Being called up on stage to participate in a magic trick during the 2019 holiday party at the Magic Castle.
Jordan Nafekh, Treasurer
Jordan Nafekh is an attorney at Irell & Manella in Los Angeles. Jordan’s practice includes a broad range of intellectual property disputes with a focus on high-stakes patent infringement litigation. Jordan has comprehensive experience through all stages of litigation, from pre-filing investigation to trials and appeals. He has experience drafting and arguing both discovery and dispositive motions, including claim construction motions, working with fact and expert witnesses, taking and defending depositions, and examining witnesses at trial.
Jordan earned his J.D. at UCLA School of Law where he was elected to Order of the Coif. Among other honors, he earned Masin Family Academic Excellence Awards for top grades in multiple classes, including Evidence and Copyright Law. Jordan also held leadership positions on the board of the Journal of Law and Technology and the Intellectual Property Law Association. Prior to law school, Jordan earned a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Jordan previously chaired the LAIPLA Young Laywers Committee, and has served on the Patents and Trade Secrets Committee
Nicholas Fung, Secretary
Nick Fung is a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Nick advises clients on a broad range of intellectual property issues, with a focus on high-stakes patent litigation and trade secrets disputes. With a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Nick has litigated matters spanning a broad range of technology, including semiconductors, medical devices, and computer hardware and software. Nick has counseled companies at all stages of their life cycles/growth, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and has represented clients in federal and state courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Nick received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was a semi-finalist in the Marden Moot Court Competition, a Robert McKay Scholar, and an Articles Editor for the Annual Survey of American Law. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Nick is the Co-Chair of the Diversity Outreach Committee and is also a member of the Spring Seminar Committee.
Erica Van Loon, Past President
Erica J. Van Loon is a Partner at Nixon Peabody in Los Angeles, California. She is an experienced IP trial lawyer and has a winning track record litigating copyright, trademark, patent, rights of publicity, trade secrets, invasion of privacy, defamation, business interference, and other media and entertainment claims. Erica was named the 2019 Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. She has successfully represented a wide range of clients in IP litigation matters including Bally Gaming, VIZIO, British Broadcasting Corporation, Target Corporation, Walmart, Conan O’Brien, Morgan Creek Productions, Lionsgate Films, Topson Downs of California, Red Bull, ASCAP, Abbott.
Stephen Kelly, Director since 2022
Ever since his older brother took credit for naming their first Dalmatian, Spot, Stephen has understood the value of protecting and defending a good idea. He has done some impressive things like defend the design of Volkswagen cars and seen the joy of nine different juries judge his capabilities in a courtroom. Clients enjoy Stephen for being authentic, confident, and able to engage in profoundly entertaining discussions on how a tall man lives in a world not designed for him.
Stephen focuses his practice on counseling web3 developers and IP creators of all kinds. He gives the added benefit of being able to respond and enforce those protections through litigation and trial, if necessary.
Judge Kewalramani, Director since 2023
Judge Shashi H. Kewalramani was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge in 2017. Prior to his appointment, Judge Kewalramani maintained a private practice handling intellectual property and commercial litigation on the defense and plaintiff side for his clients, federal criminal defense, and state and federal investigation matters. He is a registered patent attorney, previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central and Northern Districts of California, and was a law clerk to the Honorable Richard A. Schell, the then-Chief Judge in the Eastern District of Texas.
Judge Kewalramani received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of several engineering honor societies, and his J.D. from Baylor Law School, graduating cum laude, where he was also an editor of the Law Review.
Adam Kwon, Director since 2023
Adam Kwon is an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson. Adam’s practice involves handling complex IP and commercial litigation matters at any stage of a case, including prelitigation strategy, discovery, motions practice, oral advocacy, trial, and appellate work. Adam also maintains an active pro bono practice assisting with appeals before the Federal Circuit. Prior to joining MTO, Adam clerked for Judge Otis D. Wright II in the Central District of California, and for Judge Jimmie V. Reyna at the Federal Circuit.
Adam received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in signal processing and wireless communications. Adam received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School, magna cum laude, where he obtained the highest grade in Trademark Law and served as the IP team captain and brief writer for the Notre Dame Moot Court Board, and as an Articles Editor for the Notre Dame Journal of International and Comparative Law.
Before joining the Board, Adam served as chair of the Judges’ Night Committee and co-chair of the Tech Transactions Committee.
Robert Taylor, Director since 2023
Robert Taylor is Deputy General Counsel at Ziff Davis (Nasdaq: ZD), a mid-cap digital media and cloud services company. Robert leads domestic and international teams responsible for commercial transactions, financing, intellectual property, litigation, privacy, securities and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Ziff Davis, Robert was an intellectual property litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and represented clients in complex patent cases pertaining to processor architecture, memory buses and networking standards. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Josephine Staton in the Central District of California.
Robert earned his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he received the Daniel G. Collins prize and was a Robert McKay Scholar and Lederman-Milbank fellow. He holds a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Robert has co-chaired the Ambassador/In-House Outreach Committee and serves on the Diversity and TechTainment Committees.
Alexander Zeng, Director since 2023
Alexander Zeng is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Knobbe Martens and has experience litigating and counseling clients on a wide array of intellectual property matters. Mr. Zeng has represented clients in numerous forums, prosecuted numerous patents and trademarks, and directs global brand protection and enforcement. His clients and cases cover a broad range of industries such as medical devices, health insurance, palliative care, food and beverage, consumer goods, fitness, fashion, entertainment, consumer electronics, and mobile device applications.
Mr. Zeng received his J.D. from the University of California, Irvine and served as an editor with the Law Review. Mr. Zeng also holds B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and a M.S. in Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering from the University of Southern California.
Before joining the Board, Alex served as a co-chair for the 2023 Spring Seminar.
Josh Pollack, Director since 2024
Joshua J. Pollack is Counsel in the Los Angeles office of Nixon Peabody and a member of the firm’s Litigation department and Intellectual Property practice group. A trial attorney with more than 28 years of experience, Josh has successfully represented clients in high-stakes litigation in federal and state courts across the country. Josh’s practice involves intellectual property and complex commercial litigation matters, including claims for copyright, trademark, and patent infringement, false advertising, breach of contract, fraud, negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, unfair competition, and business interference. He has successfully represented a wide range of clients in IP litigation matters, including Reuben Klamer, Vanessa Hudgens, DECA International Corp., and most of the major motion picture studios and television networks.
Josh earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was elected to Order of the Coif and served as Special Projects Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Prior to law school, Josh earned a B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, from Yeshiva University.
Josh previously co-chaired the LAIPLA Copyright and Trademark Committee and Courthouse Lunch Program and has served on the Judges’ Night Committee.
Nina Boyajian, Director since 2024
Nina D. Boyajian is a shareholder in the litigation and intellectual property practice groups of GreenbergTraurig’s Los Angeles office. Her areas of concentration include trademark, copyright (including DMCA), privacy (e.g., right of publicity and TCPA class action defense), and First Amendment counseling and litigation. Nina has been involved in all stages of litigation from pre-litigation diligence and enforcement through preliminary injunction proceedings, discovery, summary judgment, trial, and appeal. Nina has represented clients across a variety of industries, both in enforcing their intellectual property rights and defending against claims of infringement. As a corollary to her trademark litigation practice, Nina also provides strategic trademark portfolio management counseling.
In addition to her intellectual property and privacy litigation practice, Nina also has broad experience litigating general business disputes, particularly in the media and entertainment space. Her litigation and trial experience extends to both state and federal courts nationwide.
Nina received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School, and she has a B.A. cum laude from UCLA and a diploma in French Language and Civilization from the University of Paris, Sorbonne.
Nancy Olson, Director since 2024
Nancy Olson is a partner at Olson Stein LLP. Nancy’s practice focuses on all areas of IP and related complex litigation in federal court. She has litigated matters involving patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets. Before founding Olson Stein LLP, Nancy gained a variety of experience, including as a law clerk to the Patent Program for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; a federal prosecutor; a biglaw litigation attorney; and an elbow law clerk to U.S. district court and Ninth Circuit judges. Stemming from her extensive experience in patent litigation and working for the federal courts, Nancy also serves as a court-appointed special master in patent cases. Nancy has co-chaired LAIPLA’s Judges Night and Courthouse Lunch committees for the past several years.
Patrick Maloney, Director since 2024
Patrick Maloney is an IP litigator at Armond Wilson LLP. Patrick is nationally recognized for his experience representing clients before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Patrick has an impressive track record of successfully navigating patents through the PTAB, arguing hearings, and obtaining favorable decisions either by denying institution outright or confirming patentability after a full trial. To date, Patrick has handled over 150 post-grant proceedings, including inter partes reviews (IPRs) and covered business method reviews (CBMs), spanning a wide variety of technologies including telecommunications, networking, electronics, antennas, streaming media, and medical devices.
Daniel Latimer, Director since 2024
Daniel Latimer is an accomplished attorney with extensive expertise in intellectual property matters, including trademark, copyright, and publicity rights. As a key member of the legal team at American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Daniel represents the company in various areas, such as trademark clearance and prosecution, copyright clearance, advertising material review, and technology/sponsorship/IP licensing agreements.
Daniel holds a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he also served as an editor on the Dispute Resolution Law Journal. Prior to joining Honda, Daniel clerked for the Los Angeles Superior Court, gaining valuable insights into the legal system.
With a background in Civil Engineering (B.S.) from Loyola Marymount University, Daniel brings a unique perspective to his legal practice. Additionally, Daniel has been an active co-chair of the LAIPLA Diversity Committee for the past two years.