Stephanie M. Mansfield, Ph.D. is a registered patent agent with a focus on the biomedical and mechanical arts. Stephanie Mansfield is a registered patent agent with over 25 years of experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the biomedical and mechanical arts, with particular emphasis in the areas of medical, orthopedic, and biomechanical devices, surgical instruments, tissue engineering, audio equipment, and consumer products. For example, Stephanie has drafted patents many directed to joint prostheses, engineered tissues, drug-delivery devices, and consumer products which have been enforced or licensed, some for multi-million dollar sums. Stephanie’s multi-disciplinary doctoral research combined the areas of muscle physiology, biomechanics, plastic surgery, and cell biology. She has found that her scientific background and prior research experience create an instant rapport with many inventors, especially medical doctors and scientists. In addition to patent preparation and prosecution for her clients, Stephanie’s practice includes patentability searches and evaluations, competitor patent and technology monitoring, technical design and product development consulting, technical support for freedom to operate opinions, and all aspects of domestic and foreign portfolio management. Stephanie works with clients of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 corporations, to hospitals, universities and research institutions, to smaller start-ups and individual physicians. She has developed client relationships where she is involved in the early stages of a client's product development cycle, where this access allows her to assist clients with decisions regarding new product directions based on her investigation and understanding of current patents and competitors in a particular field. Stephanie finds that responsiveness to a client's intellectual property needs, whatever those may be, is a key factor in maintaining a solid client relationship, as well as being able to anticipate a client's future requirements and proactively provide solutions.

Christopher Francis is an experienced intellectual property attorney specializing in patent and trademark portfolio management, patent prosecution, and strategic IP counseling for clients across diverse industries. Christopher Francis is a skilled intellectual property attorney with extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications. He provides comprehensive counsel to clients on all aspects of intellectual property matters, including strategically developing and managing patent and trademark portfolios that align with a client’s business objective and product lines. Chris also supports clients with intellectual property due diligence investigations during mergers and acquisitions. Chris has a broad technical background, having prepared and prosecuted mechanical, software, and electrical patent applications in numerous technologies and industries. He also advises clients on complex patent matters, including freedom to operate investigations, infringement, validity opinions, and product design strategies to navigate around existing patents. His expertise includes aligning intellectual property strategies with a client’s business goals, a skill he honed during his tenure at a Metro-Detroit general practice law firm. Before pursuing his legal career, Chris was an engineer at General Motors, gaining valuable industry experience. He holds a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University College of Engineering. In his free time, Chris enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and children including backpacking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, and coaching youth baseball.

Charles Bieneman specializes in patent prosecution, counseling, and opinions for clients across industries such as automotive, telecommunications, and aerospace. Charles Bieneman is a seasoned intellectual property attorney specializing in patent prosecution, counseling, and opinions for clients in industries such as automotive, telecommunications, and aerospace. With a career spanning technical, legal, and managerial roles, Charles brings a multifaceted approach to providing comprehensive intellectual property strategies. Charles spent the early part of his career as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where he examined claim inventions in the areas of computer software, databases, and the World Wide Web. This foundational experience gave him an in-depth understanding of the patent examination process and the inner workings of the USPTO. Building on this, Charles held management positions with two computer software companies where he developed extensive expertise in software development, project management, and consulting, equipping him with a strong technical acumen and practical insights into product development and innovation. In addition, Charles also gained experience as an attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Washington, D.C. office of a national law firm. Charles graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School where he was a Note Editor on the Michigan Law Review. He is also a graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Computer Science as well as a B.A. from St. John’s College in Sante Fe. In his free time, Charles likes hiking, cooking, and reading.

Yasmeen Moradshahi is a driven patent attorney with a focus on electrical and mechanical engineering, combining hands-on technical experience with a strong foundation in intellectual property law. Yasmeen Moradshahi is a dedicated patent attorney specializing in patent prosecution and litigation with a focus on electrical and mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive sector. She brings a wealth of hands-on experience from her time working at a major automotive company, where she contributed to the manufacturing controls simulation lab, diesel launch team, and patent profiling in the IP department. Before joining Brooks Kushman as an attorney, Yasmeen spent three years as a Technical Specialist with the firm, building a strong foundation in intellectual property law. She earned her Juris Doctor from Detroit Mercy School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University. Outside of her legal practice, Yasmeen enjoys reading, baking, traveling, weightlifting, and practicing Pilates.

Abdulai Rashid is a skilled attorney with experience in the biomedical and automotive industries. Abdulai Rashid focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation in the biomedical and automotive fields. He has experience in contract drafting for trademark applications, as well as aiding clients with turning their ideas into businesses or patentable inventions. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Abdulai gained extensive experience in dispute resolution after founding Penn State Law’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. During this time, he coordinated 20 students through 8 competitions in negotiation and mediation. He also participated in the Penn State Law Intellectual Property Clinic in which he was responsible for connecting the Pennsylvania community to counsel and resources to drive businesses and link them to various invention development centers and opportunities. Abdulai holds a Juris Doctor from Penn State Law School. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Central Methodist University. Outside of the office, Abdulai enjoys weightlifting, yoga, running, and building figurines.

Brett J. Smith has a decade of experience securing domestic and foreign patents for clients ranging from small startups to large U.S. and global corporations. In addition to patent preparation and prosecution, he regularly conducts patentability investigations and infringement and freedom-to-operate analyses. He also negotiates and prepares intellectual property agreements, including licenses, joint development agreements, confidentiality agreements, and other types of commercial agreements involving IP. Brett counsels clients on privacy matters, advising on GDPR requirements and various state consumer privacy laws. His diverse practice includes IP litigation and patent post-issuance proceedings, providing clients with a full range of patent portfolio management tools. He has assisted in representing clients through all phases of litigation, from discovery to trial. Brett works with clients across a variety of technical fields, including automotive technologies, commercial vehicles, aviation technologies, robotics manufacturing, medical devices, garage door systems, irrigation products, packaging, consumer products, electronic products, acoustic devices, industrial systems, information technology, and agricultural machinery. Brett is committed to understanding each client’s business, allowing him to tailor his approach to their specific needs and help them achieve their business goals.

Isaac’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecuting of patent applications, primarily in the computer science and electrical arts. Isaac provides counseling to clients of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small start-ups. Isaac has a deep understanding of various technologies in computer science and electrical systems. He has worked with clients in a broad range of industries including computer software, consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive, and medical devices. In addition to counseling clients on patent prosecution, Isaac advises clients on complying with open source license terms and obligations. He has an in-depth understanding of various license agreements and works alongside clients to create compliance strategies. Prior to becoming a patent attorney, Isaac was a software developer at a leading computer technology corporation, where he worked closely with customers and sales to analyze customer requirements and design and implement software product features. Isaac also worked as an engineering assistant for a non-profit traffic safety organization operating in combination with local government, where he collected and studied traffic data to provide solutions to traffic problems. At Wayne State University Law School, Isaac was a Dean’s Scholar, and received scholarships including the Ira J. Spoon Endowed Scholarship and a bronze key award. Isaac was on the Wayne Law Review for two years, the second year of which he served as a senior articles editor.

Dave Bir is a skilled patent attorney with experience in patent preparation and prosecution as well as opinion and post-grant work. Dave's practice focuses primarily on U.S. and international patent preparation, prosecution, opinion work, and patent litigation in the computer software, electrical, and mechanical arts. Dave has prepared and prosecuted patents that have been successfully enforced resulting in both settlements and multi-million dollar damages awarded by a jury and affirmed on appeal. Having written patents scrutinized by opposing counsel, trial and appeals courts, and a jury, in addition to testifying during trial and associated depositions provides Dave with unique experience and perspective that is applied in drafting every patent application. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Dave acquired significant engineering experience in Manufacturing and Product Engineering with General Motors Powertrain Division including networking and troubleshooting of industrial machine controls, prototype machining of automatic transmission components, and design and calibration of automatic transmission software and hardware. Dave's undergraduate thesis was directed to a communication network for a manufacturing facility using manufacturing automation protocol (MAP). After receiving his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering (Minor in Applied Optics), Dave was awarded a General Motors Fellowship to pursue a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering majoring in Electro-optics with a Minor in Artificial Intelligence where he gained experience with various cognitive architectures, programming languages and production systems. Dave's legal education and technical interests led to a published Law Review article addressing the patentability of software during his tenure as a Note and Comment editor for the Wayne Law Review. In his spare time, David enjoys exploring and traveling, from beaches, canyons and mountains, to the variety of culinary and cultural destinations, particularly theater and concerts. He also enjoys attempting to play the piano, especially new age and jazz/improv pieces.

Fanqi Meng is a skilled patent prosecution professional with a focus in computer systems and the electrical arts. Fanqi focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation in the mechanical and electrical arts, and computer systems. His practice also includes free and open-source software compliance and review. Fanqi has extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications on a variety of technologies including electronics, computers, and automotive-related arts. He has also been involved in a number of patent dispute negotiations and settlement. Fanqi spent three years working as a patent practitioner in Beijing, China, conducting various patent practices including drafting responses to office actions and interviewing with examiners. He has extensive experience in handling both Chinese domestic and international clients from the US, EU, and Japan. His international experience makes him an invaluable asset to Brooks Kushman’s patent prosecution team. Fanqi received his Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center). Prior to becoming a patent practitioner, Fanqi majored in Microelectronics and has extensive experience in integrated circuit designs. Particularly, he has experience in VLSI (very large scale integration) designs.

Matt Mietzel’s comprehensive experience provides him with an intuitive ability to advise his clients on the management and protection of their intellectual property through even the trickiest of legal situations. Matt has extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications, primarily in the mechanical and electromechanical arts. Beyond patent prosecution, Matt also has experience in the preparation of validity and infringement opinions, trademark prosecution, licensing, IP due diligence, and litigation matters. “In my practice, I find that compared to other patent attorneys, I have more of a genuine understanding of my clients’ problems and struggles, enabling me to advise them authentically and work with them on a deeper level.” – Matt Mietzel Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Matt was an engineer in the automotive industry for over seven years. Whereas some engineers work solely in manufacturing or design, Matt gained experience in manufacturing, design, and research and development. Matt also has a deep understanding of the business needs of his clients, having earned a master’s degree in business administration. These experiences provide Matt with a strong foundation for advising clients on the management and protection of intellectual property. Matt was also a patent agent at a technology corporation where he learned first-hand about client expectations and how best to service clients. During his three years in that role, he prepared and prosecuted patent applications, led innovation workshops and patent design-around efforts, developed patent portfolio management strategies, and was involved in technology licensing matters. Matt has also served as acting in-house patent counsel for a Fortune 500 company managing a range of intellectual property matters. The combination of these diverse experiences provides Matt with an excellent understanding of the many aspects of intellectual property prosecution and intellectual property management. Outside of the office, Matt enjoys time with his family, hiking, and travelling.