Brenna Legaard moderated and spoke at a TechAmerica program entitled “Protecting Your Markets from Unlawful Foreign Competitors” held at the Oregon Zoo’s Conference Center on February 10, 2010. The panel of speakers featured intellectual property attorneys from firms and large corporations, including Columbia Sportswear and Mentor Graphics.
Susan Pitchford was one of the facilitators of a continuing legal education program sponsored by the Federal Bar Association entitled “Lie to Me: Detecting Deception and Influencing Others” held at the federal courthouse on February 25, 2010. The program centered on “communication analysis” and featured a speaker from the Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center.
Susan Pitchford was a panelist at the Oregon State Bar’s Family Law 2010 seminar in Portland on February 26, 2010. Her topic was “Collecting and Using Electronic Evidence.”
Peter Staples and Jay Smith-Hill conducted a lunch hour program entitled “Intellectual Property: Every Lawyer’s Guide to IP” at the offices of Buckley LeChevallier in Lake Oswego on February 26, 2010.
We are pleased to announce that six members of our firm were among those named as Oregon intellectual property “Super Lawyers” for 2009. The list of Super Lawyers is determined through a rigorous, multiphase process that includes an analysis of professional achievement as well as peer selection. In addition, two of our younger partners were named as “Rising Stars” in the “Super Lawyers” listings.
Our firm garnered more “Super Lawyers” selections than any other intellectual property firm in Oregon. We are proud to have the following individuals on this prestigious list: Bill Geny; Chuck McClung; Nancy Moriarty; Peter Staples; Dennis Stenzel; and Jake Vilhauer. In addition, Bill Geny, Peter Staples, and Nancy Moriarty were named as “Super Lawyers” for Intellectual Property Litigation. Brenna Legaard and Susan Pitchford were honored as being among Oregon’s “Rising Star” attorneys in both Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Litigation.
We are pleased to welcome John Smith-Hill as Of Counsel to our firm. John is a native of Wellington, England. He received a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Newcastle in 1967 and a J.D. degree (cum laude) from Fordham University School of Law in New York City in 1979. He is a registered patent attorney.
Prior to joining Chernoff, Vilhauer, John practiced as a senior patent attorney with Tektronix, Inc. in Beaverton, Oregon, and with Smith-Hill and Bedell, P.C. in Portland. John’s areas of specialization include electronics, optics, electrochemistry and electromechanics, semiconductor and integrated circuit technology, mechanical technologies and mineral processing.
Jay Smith-Hill has joined our firm as an associate. Jay received a Bachelor of Science in electrical and electronics engineering from Oregon State University in 2001 and a J.D. degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland in 2009, where he focused on intellectual property. He is a registered patent attorney.
Prior to joining Chernoff, Vilhauer, Jay worked as an engineer at Intel Corporation and as a patent agent for Smith-Hill and Bedell, P.C. in Portland. Jay’s areas of practice include all areas of intellectual property and litigation.