Materials
Speakers
Pamela D. Morgan, Esq.
Empowered Law PLLC, Chicago, IL
Pamela Morgan is an educator, entrepreneur, author, and attorney who has been working exclusively with bitcoin & open blockchains since early 2014. Morgan is a widely respected authority on multi-signature governance and legal innovation in digital currencies. She spends much of her time traveling the world training lawyers about these technologies through her company, Empowered Law. Her new book, Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning: A Simple Guide for Owners, will be available in the spring 2018.
Emil J. Ali
Carr Butterfield LLC, Lake Oswego, OR
Emil J. Ali provides legal representation of professionals across many regulated industries to limit, defend, and deflect liability in regulatory and professional conduct investigations, enforcement actions, arbitrations, and court cases. Mr. Ali formerly investigated and assisted in the prosecution of attorney misconduct at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Enrollment and Discipline. While at the OED, Mr. Ali led a team of attorneys to promulgate the USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct, which are based upon the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. His unique experience affords him an understanding of the regulation of the legal profession. As an expert in legal ethics, Mr. Ali has routinely presented best practices for professionals to avoid regulator complaints. Mr. Ali is an adjunct professor of law at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, OR.
David V. Croft
Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis, Cleveland, OH
As a former General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, David Croft offers a unique perspective on applying business law and understanding the needs of his clients. David’s practice includes counseling businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Northeast Ohio to launch new businesses and purchase or sell existing businesses, reviewing investment opportunities (both from an investor’s perspective as well as a business seeking investments), establishing internal governance mechanisms, developing agreements with customers and other businesses, preparing and negotiating business deals and contracts, and handling dissolution and liquidation matters. David also helps his clients determine and distinguish their market leverage and competitive advantages and then safeguards and defends the underlying intellectual property.
Barry F. Irwin
Irwin IP, Chicago, IL
Barry Irwin is the founder of Irwin IP. Barry has been litigating intellectual property and technology matters for twenty-five years. Barry began his legal career at a prestigious intellectual property boutique law firm. Three years later, Barry joined one of the largest, most successful general practice firms in the world where he practiced intellectual property litigation for 18 years, the last fourteen as a partner, and the last ten as an equity partner. In addition to his active litigation practice, Barry is an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame Law School where he teaches both Patent Litigation and Advanced Copyright/Entertainment Law. Barry is also the Vice President of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. Barry is a two-time graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a J.D. (magna cum laude) and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering.
Jennifer Orr Mitchell
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Cincinnati, OH
Jen is a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP in the Health Care Practice Group, focusing her practice on complex health care litigation, investigations, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity. She has significant experience leading the defense of health care entities in False Claims Act (FCA) and other litigation involving claims of health care program fraud and abuse. She leads the firm’s health care privacy and cybersecurity practice and initiatives. In her cybersecurity practice, she works with clients in all industries to minimize the risk of privacy and data security breaches and assists with all aspects of privacy and security compliance, governance, audits/investigations, enforcement actions, breach analyses, training and strategic planning. She has a thorough understanding of federal and state privacy and data security laws, has served as a health care privacy expert witness, and is a frequent presenter on cybersecurity and privacy topics.
William S. Morriss
Frost Brown Todd LLC, Cincinnati, OH
William is a member of Frost Brown Todd LLC practicing in the Firm’s Cincinnati office. His practice focuses particularly on the law and computer software. Since joining the Firm, William has represented inventors seeking to obtain protection for software implemented inventions before the United States Patent and Trademark Office; has represented businesses and individuals in patent infringement litigation, both in defending against allegations of infringement, and in enforcing patents against accused infringers, and has assisted clients in business transactions which include software, both in negotiating and drafting contracts, and in performing due diligence review of agreements in the context of potential acquisitions, including the review for a $335 million acquisition.
Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, IN
Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen is the Gerald L. Bepko Chair and Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Innovation at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Prof. Nguyen is an internationally known legal scholar renowned for her expertise in the intersections of Intellectual Property, Secured Transactions, Bankruptcy, Licensing, and Taxation. She recently co-authored the book, The Intellectual Property Holding Company: Tax Use and Abuse from Victoria's Secret to Apple, published last year by Cambridge University Press. Prof. Nguyen's law review articles have been cited by the Federal Circuit, the Third Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, federal district courts and state tax courts. She is a consultant for the World Bank/IFC on Secured Transactions in China, Vietnam, and the Mekong Region, has gained valuable insights through her practice years at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and Pryor, Cashman, Sherman & Flynn, in NYC, and is also registered to practice with the USPTO. Prof. Nguyen is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, J.D., and Oberlin College, BA with triple majors in Biology, Sociology, and Women’s Studies.
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Geoffrey L. Oberhaus
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Cincinnati, OH
Geof is a Partner at Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP in Cincinnati. Geof facilitates and protects innovation from the origination of the idea, registration/protection of the innovation, licensing of the innovation, and enforcement of the innovation. Much of his work focuses on due diligence related to potential acquisitions and development of new products. In addition, Geof serves as Director of Dinsmore’s Privacy and Data Security Practice Group which provides advice and creative solutions to help clients accomplish their business goals while minimizing the risk of privacy and data security related issues. Geof graduated, cum laude, from Rutgers University School of Law in 1998, is a registered Patent Attorney and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1998.
Matthew R. Schantz
Frost Brown Todd LLC, Indianapolis, IN
Matt applies his decades of passion, education, and government experience in technology to help large and small companies protect and leverage their intellectual property and technology, and to find opportunities to incorporate the IP of others. While his sweet spot is in computer security and cryptography, he helps clients negotiate electronics and computer-related service and software agreements, develop and license software and patent rights, manage patent portfolios, and choose and protect brands, all in industries from blockchain to automotive to medicine.
