Knobbe Martens is pleased to announce that partners Christy Lea, Salima Merani, Ph.D., Joseph Re, and John Sganga have been selected by the Daily Journal for inclusion in its annual ranking of the “Top IP Lawyers in California.” Only 75 IP attorneys statewide were selected for this prestigious honor.
Christy Lea resolves high-stakes patent and trade secret disputes at both the trial and appellate levels. She has represented clients in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries for nearly two decades. Christy is also an accomplished PTAB trial litigator having served as lead counsel in numerous IPRs. Notably, Christy co-led the firm’s trial team that won a $70 million jury verdict with $21 million in enhanced damages for CardiAQ in a trade secrets misappropriation case against its former vendor, Neovasc Inc.
Salima Merani, Ph.D. has nearly two decades of experience building strategic global patent portfolios for life sciences companies, including several prominent medtech and biotech companies. She also has extensive experience in conducting patent due diligence for investors, such as venture capital and investment firms. Salima has been recognized in prestigious international publications as “transactional cognoscenti” who is “truly at the top of her game.” She has also been touted as “a great strategic advisor with a proven track record of success and innovation.” Salima has been lead IP counsel in deals valued at nearly two billion dollars in just the last few years, and is consistently sought after for her ability to successfully lead high-stakes financings, mergers and acquisitions.
Joseph Re is a nationally recognized trial and appellate attorney, having handled high-stakes technology cases before federal court juries throughout the country for over thirty years. Mr. Re has garnered numerous successful jury verdicts, including two totaling over $600 million for longstanding firm client Masimo Corp. Joe is also an experienced appellate advocate, having argued dozens of appeals primarily before the United States Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit.
John Sganga is a highly regarded and accomplished trial lawyer who has spent over three decades successfully and exclusively litigating IP and technology disputes. He represents clients from a wide variety of industries in all types of IP disputes, and has diverse experience litigating cases through bench and jury trials, appeals, arbitrations, ITC and PTAB proceedings. John has secured courtroom victories of over $100 million for both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes technology disputes.
The Daily Journal selects attorneys for the lists based on a number of criteria including hundreds of nominations and staff selections, along with consideration of each nominee’s major intellectual property successes over the last year.
About Knobbe Martens
Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms in the nation and worldwide, Knobbe Martens has close to 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide and dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property and technology law, including litigation. Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. The firm is headquartered in Orange County, California, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and enjoys an international reputation for excellence. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
