Spring Seminar 2025
May 2-4, 2025
Laguna Beach, CA
LAIPLA is proud to welcome back its flagship Spring Seminar Retreat — a nationally-renowned intellectual property conference — at the Surf and Sand Resort, in Laguna Beach, CA from May 2-4, 2025! Earn up to 10 MCLE credits! Panels of distinguished IP leaders will review the key developments in copyright, trademark, trade secret, and patent law and provide insights moving forward.
2025 Program topics include:
- IP Mediation: Balancing Tension and Civility in Dispute Resolution
- Effective Mediation of Sophisticated Cases in the 21st Century
- License Agreement Apportionment in the Era of EcoFactor
- European Patent Litigation: Highlights From the UPC and National Caselaw
- Nice to Meet You, Your Honor: Approaching IP Cases when Appearing Before a New (or New to You) Judge
- Dispatches From The Federal Judiciary: Trending Topics In Patent Litigation
Additional programs and details for all the panels will continue to be added over the next several weeks.
LAIPLA’s Spring Seminar combines high-quality and in-depth legal content with an abundance of networking opportunities and social activities. We hope to see you there! Continue to watch for schedule panel and speaker updates.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available!
PRICING
LAIPLA Members: $1395
In-house counsel: $850
Judiciary: $850
Non-Members: $1595
Basic Registration Fees: Registration fee is $1395 for LAIPLA Members; $1595 for Non-Members; $850 for In-house counsel and Judiciary. Registration Fee includes admission for registrant to the following:
- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday MCLE credit for up to 10 hours
- Friday reception, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast
Spouse/Guest Add-On ($250) includes admission for a guest to the following:
- Saturday Cocktail Reception and Dinner
Hotel Reservations: Limited availabiity. Questions, please email office@laipla.net.
LAIPLA has negotiated special discounts, available only to registered LAIPLA attendees and their guests. This includes:
- Waived Resort Fee
- Complimentary Overnight Valet Parking
- 10% discount, weekday spa treatments
For more information on the Surf & Sand Resort, please visit www.surfandsandresort.com
Additional Activities may be added and not included in the basic registration rate.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellation Policy – By registering for this event you are guaranteeing your reservation. There are no cancellation refunds for this event. Registrations may only be transferred to someone at the Registrant’s Firm or Company. All transfers must be made through the LAIPLA office at office@laipla.net.
SCHEDULE
General LAIPLA Spring Seminar Schedule
Friday, May 2, 2025 – Preliminary
Noon – Registration & Sponsor Showcase
1:00 pm – General Session
5:00 pm – Welcome Reception
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Breakfast 8:00 am – 9:00 am
General Session & MCLE Credit 9:00 am – Lunch
Free time 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Reception 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Dinner 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Casino Night 9:00 pm – midnight
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Breakfast 8:00 am – 9:00 am
MCLE Sessions 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Additional Hotel Information:
Check-in time is 4:00 p.m.
Check-out time is 11:00 a.m.
Cancellation Policy – By registering for this event you are guaranteeing your reservation. There are no cancellation refunds for this event. Registrations may only be transferred to someone at the Registrant’s Firm or Company. All transfers must be made through the LAIPLA office at office@laipla.net.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, May 2 – Sunday, May 4, 2025
LOCATION
Surf and Sand Resort
1555 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
QUESTIONS?
Contact the LAIPLA office at office@laipla.net or call 323-285-1654.
IP Mediation: Balancing Tension and Civility in Dispute Resolution
This engaging and interactive panel explores the delicate balance between managing tension and maintaining professional civility when mediating high-stakes Intellectual Property disputes. Drawing from real-world experiences, seasoned mediators will delve into key strategies for navigating conflict points that arise between clients, counsel, and stakeholders. The discussion will address critical elements such as timing, pre-session preparation, damages calculations, and forward-thinking settlement terms—all while emphasizing techniques for de-escalating friction and promoting respectful discourse.
Attendees will gain practical tools to optimize outcomes in IP mediation while fostering civility, even in contentious situations. This program qualifies for California civility credit MCLE and equips participants with skills to resolve disputes without sacrificing professionalism.
Panelists: Hon. Philip S. Gutierrez (Ret.), Hon. S. James Otero (Ret.), Hon. Michael R. Wilner (Ret.)
Effective Mediation of Sophisticated Cases in the 21st Century
In the mediation context, cases can be deemed “sophisticated” for a variety of reasons. They may involve highly technical products or intellectual property. They may present novel liability or damages theories, or the challenge of unsettled law impacting the core of the dispute, or disputes with potentially far – reaching public policy implications. The cases can also involve an unusually large number of parties, or alleged damages credibly claimed in the many millions, if not billions, of dollars.
This presentation will explore how to effectively mediate such sophisticated disputes. Topics to be discussed will include how best to educate the mediator on complex technical matters, the potential role of technical and other experts in the mediation, how and when to address non-monetary components of a potential settlement, and the realistic length of the mediation.
Panelists: Hon. Monica Bachner (Ret.), Dan Grunfeld
License Agreement Apportionment in the Era of EcoFactor
EcoFactor outcome has brought the idea of apportionment within the market approach to the forefront. We discuss ideas for apportionment within a market approach from a damages perspective, including from a portfolio to a subset of asserted patents and more. We further discuss general case strategy to enable such apportionment analysis and long-term client strategy if patent litigation is expected in the future.
Moderator: Richard Brady, PhD, Managing Director, Secretariat
Panelists: Matt Farber, PhD, Managing Director, Secretariat; Mark Kachner, Partner, Knobbe Martens; Alexis Adian Smith (Lexi), Partner, Jones Day
European Patent Litigation: Highlights From the UPC and National Caselaw
Since its inception in 2023, the Unified Patent Court has been the hot topic in European patent litigation. In this panel, a pair of top European patent litigators will provide attendees with all the tools they need to prepare for success in the UPC, including venue selection, approaches to preliminary and permanent injunctions, and much more.
As an added bonus, attendees will learn about the UPC approach to fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory licensing (FRAND) as well as recent developments in FRAND from the UK and Germany.
Panelists: Chris de Mauny, Partner, Bird & Bird; Dr. Katharina Pehle, Partner, Bird & Bird
Nice to Meet You, Your Honor: Approaching IP Cases when Appearing Before a New (or New to You) Judge
Do you have an IP case recently assigned to a new (or new to you) judge? Attend this panel to for practical advice and behind-the-bench insight from judges and practitioners about appearing in all types of IP cases before new district and magistrate judges. This panel will consider best practices in patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret cases, with a focus on the likelihood you will be assigned to a new judge based on recent court changes (e.g., many new members of the bench, end of the patent program, adoption of magistrate judge opt-out process).
Panelists: The Honorable David O. Carter, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; The Honorable Fred W. Slaughter, United States District Court for the Central District of California; The Honorable Patricia Donahue, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; Michael Friedland, Partner, Friedland Cianfrani; Nancy Olson, Partner, Olson Stein LLP; additional judges to be announced.
Dispatches From The Federal Judiciary: Trending Topics In Patent Litigation
Panel description: Join members of the judiciary and in house counsel as they discuss recent key decisions in patent litigation, best practices, and their predictions for the next four years.
Panelists: Hon. John W. Holcomb, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; Taylor King, Assistant General Counsel, Western Digital; Michelle E. Armond, Partner, Armond Wilson LLP; Monica M. Arnold, Senior Associate, Armond Wilson LLP (Moderator)
Jeffrey Berg, CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Michelle Armond, Founding Partner, Armond Wilson LLP
Michelle Armond is an award-winning intellectual property trial attorney litigating patents, trademarks, and trade secret disputes. IAM 1000 lauded her as “brilliant” and an “outstanding lawyer who ranks among the best PTAB specialists nationwide.” Her “winning formula fuses her Caltech electrical engineering education with her natural talent for writing” (Daily Journal).
Michelle represents Fortune 500 companies, international market leaders, universities, and innovators as lead counsel in legally and technically challenging cases. Her work encompasses inter partes review (IPR) and reexamination at the U.S. Patent Office, litigation in federal court, and appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court. She’s educated lawyers and judges on trending issues in patent law and testified before the Senate on patent reform. Michelle started her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Linn of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C.
Monica Arnold, Senior Associate, Armond Wilson LLP
Monica Arnold is an IP litigator at Armond Wilson LLP. Her practice includes representing clients in federal court and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Her work is technologically diverse, handling matters related to genetically engineered cell therapies, pharmaceuticals, genetic testing, electronics, consumer goods, and oil field equipment. Before joining Armond Wilson, Monica was a litigation associate at Milbank. She also clerked at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Monica received her J.D. from UC Irvine. Before that, she earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from UCLA, her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from UC Irvine, and was a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Washington’s Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences department.
Hon. Monica Bachner, Ret., Judicate West
Judge Bachner has garnered an outstanding reputation over the course of her impressive four-decade legal career. As a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for over 20 years, she sat in criminal and civil departments, during which she presided over a civil unlimited independent calendar and trial court for the last seven years.
Prior to her appointment, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she served in a variety of managerial positions, including as chief prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Orange County office.
Richard Brady, PhD, Managing Director, Secretariat
Dr. Brady has expertise in microeconomics and financial analysis. His experience includes high-stakes litigation matters involving life sciences, biotechnology, consumer technology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, semiconductor, software-as-a-service (SaaS), music, tobacco, and tech industries, among others.
The Honorable David O. Carter, United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Judge David O. Carter is a distinguished United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. A UCLA alumnus, he received his bachelor’s degree in 1967 and went on to serve as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. His courageous service earned him a Bronze Star for Valor and a Purple Heart. Following his military service, Judge Carter began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Orange County. He quickly rose to become the senior deputy district attorney, overseeing homicide investigations. In 1981, he joined the California state court bench, where he served for 17 years. In 1998, President Bill Clinton nominated him to the United States federal court, and he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. An esteemed lecturer and advisor on international law, Judge Carter has taught International Law of Narcotics Trafficking and Terrorism at the University of California, Irvine, for twenty years. He has contributed extensively to global rule-of-law initiatives, working with judicial officers worldwide through the United Nations and the U.S. State Department.
Chris de Mauny, Partner, Bird & Bird
Chris is a patent litigation specialist qualified in England. He is currently the co-head of Bird & Bird’s office in San Francisco in which role he helps US clients with their legal needs in the UK and Europe. He has experience working on cases in the UK courts up to Supreme Court level, the EPO and the UPC, typically coordinating with other jurisdictions in Europe and the US. Drawing on his first degree from Cambridge in the natural sciences, Chris has worked for clients across a wide range of subject matter including med-tech and medical devices, traditional pharma and biopharma, communications (SEPs and NSEPs), electronics, chemistry and chemical engineering, materials science and mechanical products.
The Honorable Patricia Donahue, Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court of the Central District of California
The Honorable Patricia Donahue is a United States Magistrate Judge who presides over cases in Los Angeles. Before her appointment as a Magistrate Judge in 2020, Judge Donahue served with distinction as an Assistant United States Attorney since 1991. As an Assistant United States Attorney, she served in a number of significant roles, including Deputy Chief in the Major Crimes Section, Chief of the General Crimes Section, Chief of the Organized Crime and Terrorism Section and its successor the Violent and Organized Crime Section, Senior Litigation Counsel, Chief of the National Security Division, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney for Violent Crime, Senior Litigation Counsel in the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and the Chief of Trials, Integrity and Professionalism. As a result of Judge Donahue’s deep commitment to justice, she received a number of awards, including The Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. Judge Donahue received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Matt Farber, PhD, Managing Director, Secretariat
Matt Farber, PhD, is a Managing Director at Secretariat. He specializes in microeconomic theory and data analysis techniques. He applies this knowledge to matters relating to antitrust, intellectual property, breach of contract, and false advertising, among others.
Michael Friedland, Partner, Friedland Cianfrani
Michael Friedland is a co-founding partner of Friedland Cianfrani in Irvine. Before founding Friedland Cianfrani, Mike was a senior partner at Knobbe Martens and served as co-chair of the firm’s litigation practice group. Mike has represented clients in more than 300 patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright cases in California and around the country.
Hon. Philip S. Gutierrez (Ret.), JAMS
Hon. Philip S. Gutierrez (Ret.) brings to JAMS over 35 years of legal experience as a trial lawyer and state and federal court judge. He served as a United States district judge for the Central District of California from 2007 to 2024. He served as chief United States district judge of the Central District of California from June 2020 through March 2024. He was a founding member of the United States District Court’s Patent Pilot Program, developed to enhance expertise and efficiency in handling patent cases by assigning them to judges with specialized knowledge and interest in patent law. During his tenure, he presided over and settled a wide range of complex civil cases.
Daniel Grunfeld, Esq., Judicate West
Prior to joining Judicate West, Dan Grunfeld had a long, multi-faceted and acclaimed legal career. He has served as lead counsel representing both plaintiffs and defendants in nationally noted verdicts, led office and state-wide Litigation Departments for two national law firms, served as an office loss-prevention partner, and led the nation’s largest public interest law firm. Yet, he considers his role as a Judicate West neutral and Director of Commercial Arbitration as the capstone of his career.
The Honorable John W. Holcomb, U.S. District Judge, Central District of California
John W. Holcomb is a U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, Southern Division, in Santa Ana, California. Judge Holcomb was nominated for that position by President Donald J. Trump in November 2019 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September 2020.
Judge Holcomb earned his S.B. in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. For the next five years, Judge Holcomb served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, including assignments aboard the battleship U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-62) and to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. In 1993, Judge Holcomb received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Judge Holcomb then served as a law clerk for Judge Ronald Barliant of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Thereafter, Judge Holcomb joined Irell & Manella LLP as an associate, practicing bankruptcy law and general civil litigation. In 1997, Judge Holcomb joined the intellectual property law firm of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, and he was elevated to partner in 2002. As a partner at Knobbe Martens, Judge Holcomb tried major, complex litigation matters involving patents, copyrights, and trade secrets in the Central and Southern Districts of California, San Diego County Superior Court, and the Delaware Chancery Court. He also argued appeals before the Federal Circuit and the Delaware Supreme Court. Judge Holcomb retired from Knobbe Martens in 2018, and he briefly practiced as a bankruptcy and litigation sole-practitioner before joining the firm Greenberg Gross LLP as a partner in 2019. At Greenberg Gross, Judge Holcomb litigated intellectual property cases for both plaintiffs and defendants, conducted mediations, and served as a Special Master.
Mark Kachner, Partner, Knobbe Martens
Mark Kachner is a partner at Knobbe Martens. His practice focuses on litigation, client counseling, and licensing intellectual property assets. Mr. Kachner has litigated cases involving a wide range of technologies and products including medical devices, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and chemical compounds, among others.
Prior to joining Knobbe Martens in 2009, Mr. Kachner served as a law clerk to the Court for the Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals from 2004-2006, and practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP.
Taylor King, Assistant General Counsel, Western Digital
Taylor King is currently an Assistant General Counsel at Western Digital, where he assists in overseeing and managing strategy for worldwide litigation matters covering nearly all subjects, including IP litigation matters. During his time at Western Digital, Taylor has overseen patent litigation matters as the patentee and as the defendant. Prior to joining Western Digital, Taylor worked at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, where he spent significant time working on patent and other IP litigation matters for plaintiffs and defendants. Taylor also clerked for the Honorable Kathleen M. O’Malley at the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Nancy Olson, Partner, Olson Stein LLP
Nancy Olson is a founding partner of Olson Stein LLP, a boutique federal litigation firm focusing on IP matters. Before founding Olson Stein, Nancy served for over a decade in various federal public service roles, including as a law clerk to the now-defunct Patent Program and an AUSA; she also worked in private practice, and as a financial analyst in the music industry before law school.
Hon. S. James Otero (Ret.), JAMS
Hon. S. James Otero (Ret.) comes to JAMS after serving for 30 years as a federal and state court judge in Los Angeles. Judge Otero has sat by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and is one of only two Central District Court judges to have been invited to sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. During his 16 years on the district court bench, Judge Otero presided over hundreds of trials and settlement conferences, including patent, trademark, copyright, defective product, catastrophic injury, securities, employment, class action and MDL antitrust lawsuits. As a senior district court Judge, Judge Otero was regularly sought by colleagues to settle complex disputes where prior settlement conferences proved unsuccessful.
Dr. Katharina Pehle, Partner, Bird & Bird
Katharina is a patent litigation specialist based in Munich with in-depth experience of international patent disputes. She is a qualified German lawyer and a UPC representative. Her experience covers a range of technologies in tech and life sciences. Recently she has been active in defending automotive OEMs in SEP/FRAND litigation brought by NPEs based on 4G and 5G technology and enforcing the patent rights of a world-leading medical device manufacturer. Previous experience includes patent litigation over other standardised technologies (inc. Ethernet and video coding), and mechanical products in the automotive sector.
The Honorable Fred W. Slaughter, United States District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Fred W. Slaughter joined the federal bench in April 2022, after serving on the Orange County Superior Court for eight years. Judge Slaughter has presided over civil, criminal, juvenile, and other matters, including presiding over bench and jury trials. As a Superior Court Judge, he spent two years presiding over Juvenile Recovery Court, which provides individualized and comprehensive solutions to juveniles facing addiction and mental health issues. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Slaughter served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 2002 to 2014 in the District of Arizona (2002–2004), the Central District of California (2004–2008, 2010–2014), and the District of Oregon (2008–2010). As an Assistant United States Attorney, Judge Slaughter investigated, charged, and prosecuted a broad range of federal offenses, including drug trafficking, firearm, child exploitation, violent crime (including bank robberies and violent offenses committed on Native American lands), organized crime committed by street and prison gang members, human trafficking, identity theft, and fraud. Before serving as an AUSA, Judge Slaughter served as a Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles. Judge Slaughter is a double Bruin, earning both his Bachelor Arts and J.D. from UCLA.
Alexis Adian Smith (Lexi), Partner, Jones Day
Lexi Smith assists clients in complex intellectual property disputes. She has litigated cases involving patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, licensing disputes, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, breach of contract, and other business-related torts. Prior to entering the legal profession, Lexi spent four years as a practicing chemical engineer.
Hon. Michael R. Wilner (Ret.), JAMS
Hon. Michael R. Wilner (Ret.) served as a United States Magistrate Judge for over 13 years in the Central District of California. During his 30-year career in federal public service, Judge Wilner also worked as a trial attorney, appellate lawyer and investigator. In these roles, he developed a deep understanding of all aspects of federal litigation practice.
While on the bench, Judge Wilner was an in-demand resource for lawyers, litigants and other federal judges. Parties regularly sought him out; he conducted the most jury and bench trials by consent in the Central District for several years. He was also a go-to settlement judge for complex business, tort and intellectual property cases in federal district court in Los Angeles. He brings a high level of imagination, energy, creativity, compassion and preparation to all of his cases.
Dan Gibson
Aaron HernandezPREVIOUSLY AT SPRING SEMINAR
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ABOUT LAIPLA
The Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association (LAIPLA) is one of the nation’s premier intellectual property law associations. Since 1934, LAIPLA has been educating and connecting members of the local intellectual property legal community.
As a non-profit organization with more than 1,000 members, and 30+ Member Firms and Companies, LAIPLA represents a mix of in-house, large and small firm, and government attorneys; solo practitioners; and law students and professors who specialize in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and entertainment and technology law.