Tom Cunningham is an accomplished, hands-on attorney who takes a client-centered approach to his practice. Tom has twenty-five years of experience litigating intellectual property cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in federal courts all over the country. Tom’s cases have involved a wide range of technologies including automotive and locomotive developments, e-commerce systems, light-emitting diode applications, biotechnology, numerous consumer products, dietary supplements and computer software. Tom has also handled numerous appeals before the Federal Circuit, 5th and 6th Circuit Courts of Appeal. Tom actively advises clients on the management, enforcement and licensing of intellectual property. He has also worked closely with clients to help them avoid the intellectual property of others, including participating in designing around patents. Tom builds the trust of his clients by maintaining close contact. He believes that to adequately counsel his clients, it is necessary to develop a full understanding of the clients’ business and its goals. By doing what he promises and following up on a regular basis, Tom has been successful in building long-term relationships with his clients.

Sangeeta serves as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer and has over 20 years of experience. Her practice includes all aspects of intellectual property litigation, prosecution and counseling, with a special focus on post-grant challenges and patent opinions. She represents several Fortune 500 clients for whom she provides strategic counseling and guidance on their global intellectual property portfolios. Sangeeta has handled numerous patent, trade secret, trademark, and unfair competition cases involving parties in the chemical, software, automotive and metallurgical industries on such matters as injection molded polyethylene terephthalate bottles, polymer reinforcements, magnetic storage devices, emission testing equipment, touch controlled switching circuits, compression molded doors, chemical vapor deposition processes and cutting tools. She has also litigated design patent and copyright infringement cases in such diverse areas as architectural building designs, automotive parts and consumer products. Sangeeta does an immaculate job of breaking down complex patent law and technology concepts and relates well with other people. She is highly proficient, responsive and committed. – IAM Patent 1000 In view of the breadth of her experience in both prosecution and litigation matters, Sangeeta is the Co-Chair of Brooks Kushman's Post Grant practice group and she is nationally recognized for her experience. She leads teams to challenge and defend patents using the post-grant challenges available in the wake of the America Invents Act. She is at the forefront of this changing landscape and its implications and works closely with clients to take proactive steps to obtain competitive advantage from an adversarial and patent procurement standpoint. Sangeeta has been instrumental in building the Post Grant practice group at Brooks Kushman. She is frequently called upon to counsel clients in developing best practices and strategic planning of their patent portfolios, including writing successful patent applications in complex and novel situations, in anticipation of possible future litigation. She works closely with clients from the earliest stages of their technical development, offering valuable advice about how to protect their inventions and new ideas in view of their business strategies. She advises clients on multi-faceted patent clearance, and adversarial matters and works with technical and legal teams to develop invalidity arguments and design around solutions to bolster her clients' positions. Through her opinion and prosecution practice, Sangeeta has extensive experience with chemical and mechanical technologies, in the areas of catalysts, food science, packaging, analytical instrumentation, dietary supplements, diagnostic kits, adhesives, plastics, therapeutics and metallurgy. A growing component of her work revolves around India. She has represented U.S. companies going into India, and Indian companies doing business in the U.S. to help obtain and protect global intellectual property assets. Prior to becoming CEO, Sangeeta served as the firm’s Chief Diversity Officer. Through her efforts, she created a culture of diversity and inclusiveness within the firm and extend the firm`s reach through pipeline initiatives and outreach efforts. Prior to this position, she also managed human resources for Brooks Kushman for over 10 years. She has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in PTAB Trials in 2019, a 2009 “Women Worth Watching,” a “Top Lawyer” by DBusiness and is a 2012 “Women in the Law” awardee. She has spoken at several business and legal conferences on a variety of intellectual property topics at the IP Leadership Forum, Global IP Convention, the Women Lawyer`s Association of Michigan, State of Bar Michigan, Intellectual Property Division, the Association of Press Photographers, the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, and TiE. Sangeeta's spare time is dedicated to community outreach. In 2012, she founded an early literacy initiative, Retooling Detroit, that assists hundreds of Detroit public school children each year—ensuring that their reading skills improve so that the cycle of illiteracy and poverty can be broken one child at a time. She is also actively involved in the Isha Foundation and its global environmental, education and health initiatives which focus on the use of meditation as a transformative tool for change.

Hope Shovein is a skilled trademark attorney who works hard to ensure her clients receive the best guidance on intellectual property matters. Hope Shovein focuses her practice on the procurement and enforcement of trademark rights. Hope`s work encompasses trademark clearance searches and opinions, prosecuting trademark applications, managing domestic and international trademark portfolios, drafting and negotiating agreements, preparing and responding to cease and desist letters, and representing clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as litigation. Hope specializes in helping clients enforce their rights in any medium, including the unauthorized use of trademarks and copyright protected material in website content, online ads, spam, social media, online marketplaces and auction sites. She handles notice and takedown complaints under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and has successfully represented clients in arbitration proceedings under ICANN`s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and other alternative dispute resolution policies. Hope also has experience with administrative agencies such as the FDA and CPSC with respect to product review and clearance. Online enforcement is a key strength of Shovein, although she also excels in brand management - World Trademark Review 1000 Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Hope worked in the intellectual property department of a major automotive company, where she gained a valuable background in domestic and international trademark law. Hope`s in-house legal experience has given her valuable perspective into providing clients with cost-effective and targeted legal service. She uses this perspective to assist clients across a range of industries on intellectual property matters.

Rachel Smith has a wide range of knowledge stemming from her extensive experience over the past two decades. With a degree in Electrical Engineering, she focuses on software, supplier, and medical device businesses, aiming to ensure that their IP protection aligns with their business needs and goals. Rachel is a registered patent attorney and focuses primarily on domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the electrical arts. Rachel consults clients from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups. She enjoys working closely with clients to counsel them on how to best protect their intellectual property based on their specific business goals. Rachel has a deep understanding of various technologies in mechanical and electrical arts. In particular, she has extensive experience prosecuting patent applications in consumer electronics, automotive, medical device, and network technologies. Her practice further includes drafting patentability, infringement, validity and freedom to operate opinions. Rachel’s practice also includes consulting clients on open source software license agreements. She works with clients to understand complex software licenses and copyright matters. Rachel has worked with the firm’s open source team to perform software audits on complex systems and has advised clients on software license obligations while assisting in compliance solutions. To compliment her client’s needs, Rachel also has experience preparing, reviewing, and negotiating agreements involving intellectual property, including licenses, confidentiality agreements, master services agreements, and others, with a focus on open source and indemnification provisions often included therein. Rachel received a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Ohio Northern University. During law school Rachel was a member and officer of the Wayne State Intellectual Property Student Association (WIPSA) and earned the Silver Key Award for academic achievement. At Ohio Northern University she was active in several student groups holding numerous leadership positions. Rachel served as president of both the student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and her social sorority. Prior to attending law school, Rachel gained electronics hardware and software experience while working as an intern at an avionics safety company in Columbus, OH. Rachel loves a good Disney Cruise (she's a Gold level member) and can be found on her Peloton bike.

Molly Crandall is a detail-oriented and creative trademark attorney with a commitment to providing her clients with clear, succinct, and strategic advice for brand protection. Molly Crandall focuses her practice in the area of trademark law. She counsels clients, ranging from one person start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, in trademark clearance, prosecution, and enforcement matters to help them develop and protect their brands. As part of her brand protection practice, she represents clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She negotiates and prepares intellectual property-related agreements, such as license agreements, co-existence and settlement agreements, and confidentiality, non-disclosure, and trade secret agreements. In addition to handling all facets of U.S. trademarks, she works directly with foreign attorneys worldwide in protecting the brands of her clients internationally. She also handles Internet domain disputes in the U.S. and abroad. Molly also has several years of general civil litigation experience as an attorney, which gives her valuable perspectives in counseling her clients. She also worked in the trademark licensing business for a large corporate trademark licensing company where her work included licensing, agreement compliance, trademark enforcement, including U.S. Customs/border goods importation matters, and matters related to brand protection in advertising and marketing. Molly is involved in the International Trademark Association (INTA), and is currently on the Public Information Committee. She has published articles relating to trademark issues and has spoken to groups on trademark law, including to law students pursuing careers in intellectual property. Molly is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Michael Turner is a dynamic patent attorney with wide-ranging legal expertise in patent law and works closely with clients to ensure that patent portfolios align with international protection and enforcement strategies. Michael Turner’s passion for learning led him to a career in patent law. He applies that drive to every project and obtains patents that are relied upon to protect technology, which has resulted in significant licensing and enforcement. Many of these patents have withstood the scrutiny of challenges at various US district courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Patent Trial & Appeal Board of the US Patent & Trademark Office. Michael has the experience and foresight to obtain intellectual property rights to withstand such challenges. Due to Michael’s experience with obtaining patents for enforcement, he is also sought for prosecution of patent applications with an eye towards litigation. Likewise, Michael also has significant experience with prosecution of patents during reexamination and reissue prosecution. A primary focus of Michael Turner's practice is domestic and foreign patent prosecution for mechanical matters, electromechanical matters, systems, methods, and designs. His industry background in robotics and automation provides him with experience in various technologies and manufacturing processes. Michael counsels clients on procedures for filing domestic patent applications that meet the varying requirements for both domestic and international protection and enforcement, particularly addressing the various international nuances associated with design patents. This counseling includes generating procedures for efficient collection of invention and design disclosures to streamline internal processes. Michael’s experience includes preparing, prosecuting, and managing international patent and industrial design portfolios. This experience includes developing strategies for obtaining strong patent protection in many countries. Due to his experience and understanding of the laws and procedures of many commercially significant countries, Michael efficiently seeks broad and consistent international protection. Michael is actively involved in post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He represents clients in Inter Partes Review proceedings, reexaminations, and reissue patent applications. Such involvement includes coordinating strategies across post-grant proceedings, co-pending litigation, product engineering, licensing, and patent prosecution. Michael is active in appellate practice and oral advocacy before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent & Trademark Office. One of Michael’s strengths involves analyzing complex legal and technical issues for client counseling to mitigate risks associated with commercialization of technology. This ability enables him to assist clients to bring a product to market by guiding their design through the patent portfolios of competitors. This also enables him to protect the core technologies of a client. He is often assigned to protect such technologies where licensing and/or enforcement are necessary; and the strongest protection is required. Consequently, Michael cooperates with litigation counsel (domestic and international), coordinating efforts between the protection and enforcement of technologies. He also negotiates licenses, to reach agreements between parties to avoid litigation. Michael likes to lead by example in his practice and within Brooks Kushman. He is a co-chair of the Patent Prosecution department. He is also on the Brooks Kushman Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Michael participates in recruiting and training, as well as chairing monthly and quarterly internal legal education seminars. Michael also has a passion for educating. As a leader of the Patent Prosecution department, he is active with the coordination of the ever-changing laws, procedures, strategies, and technologies. Michael is one of the teachers of the Brooks Kushman claims drafting training class. Michael participates in the Brooks Kushman mentor program. Michael is a former Co-Chair of the mentor program of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, wherein he helped draft the mentor guidelines. He typically mentors the development of new hires, including lawyers, patent agents, clerks, and patent engineers. Michael helps the firm stay current on developments in the law and the practice by coordinating internal legal education seminars. Michael feels this experience helps build the firm, helps build strong teams for clients, and helps him explain complex matters to clients, patent examiners, and others. In his spare time, Michael loves to do outdoor activities with his family and dogs. Michael also enjoys obtaining patents for inventors with the Michigan Pro Bono Patent Project of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.

James Bertino is an experienced patent attorney who prioritizes quality and high value results for his clients. James focuses his practice on domestic and foreign patent prosecution. He prepares, prosecutes, and advises on patents in several technical areas including the automotive, automation, and manufacturing industries. Specifically within the automotive industry, James has extensive experience in automotive technology relative to hybrid vehicles, powertrains, HVAC, safety systems, solar power, and plant automation. He counsels clients of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 Corporations to small start-ups, on a wide range of technologies. Because of James’s extensive engineering experience, James is technically proficient, being able to understand and put on paper what the invention is without having to rely solely on the inventor. He has extensive experience in novelty, validity, invalidity, state of the art, and clearance studies. As an experienced advisor, James counsels his clients honestly on their patent portfolio. In his practice, James conducts extensive research on existing technology to determine the white space within a specific technology market to ensure a client’s concept falls within the determined white space to recommend whether the client should pursue patent protection. James is also highly skilled at formulating opinions on the validity or invalidity of a particular patent during litigation proceedings, determining the current state of the art in a specific technology market, and formulating opinions on whether a client has the freedom to operate in a particular technology market. Prior to the legal profession, James worked for an automation manufacturer as a mechanical engineer. He was responsible for the mechanical design of powertrain assembly equipment. The design process included using computer aided design programs to generate the required mechanical drawings. James also worked for a large automotive OEM as a powertrain production supervisor. He was responsible for the daily operations of the department that produced the output shaft of the transmission. This included ensuring the efficiency and troubleshooting of the production machinery when a problem occurred. James is a graduate from the University of Toledo Law School. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in Mechanical Engineering. James is a registered patent attorney and a member of the bar for the State of Michigan and the Federal District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan. In his free time, James likes to spend time on the water in his boat. He also enjoys the non-motorized time on the water and is an experienced oarsman. In 2015, he competed and won a master’s national championship in rowing.

John LeRoy is a highly skilled litigation professional. He uses his electrical and mechanical engineering background, and two decades of intellectual property litigation experience, to represent his clients in high-tech legal disputes and complex licensing negotiations. John’s practice focuses on patent, trade secret and copyright litigation involving software, electronics, and mechanical systems. With over 20 years of experience, a Master’s degree in electrical engineering, and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, he has successfully represented clients in many different industries. He focuses on efficiently resolving litigation disputes outside of the courtroom, leaving the jury trial as a “last resort.” And in the courtroom, John has won, and successfully defended against, multiple “$100+ million dollar” jury trials (and related appeals) involving complex technology and intellectual property claims. Leveraging his extensive software litigation experience, John leads the firm’s FRAND licensing and Open Source Software audit and compliance practice. With respect to FRAND licensing, John works with automotive OEMs and suppliers to address licensing standard essential patents for wireless communication technology. John also advises companies regarding effective use of open source software in their commercial products. He helps companies develop customized corporate policies and strategies for compliance with applicable open source license terms. John’s team manages source code audits and works closely with software developers and business managers to properly navigate the various open source license terms. John’s team has undertaken the audit-and-advice service on complex systems in the automotive, consumer electronics, medical device, and computer industries. John is devoted to his clients’ business interests. He brings a creative approach to his practice to solve the most complex issues his clients face. For example, John worked with several automotive companies to create the SmartDeviceLink Consortium, a thriving new organization of automotive companies managing an open source platform for communication between smart devices and automobiles. John is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts in the Eastern and Western District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Texas, the Western District of Wisconsin, and Colorado. John is also a registered patent attorney, and is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent Office. John holds a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo, where he graduated cum laude. John’s background in both electrical and mechanical engineering allows him to handle patent cases involving many different technologies. John is a regular guest lecturer on Patent Fundamentals at the University of Michigan. John has also personally handled six pro bono civil actions, including a pro bono jury trial. Outside the office, John enjoys fishing and boating with his family in northern Michigan, playing ice hockey, and racing at the M1 Concourse. He is also a Pack Master for his local scout pack, which according to John, makes IP litigation look easy. Charities John regularly supports through donation and service include Alternatives for Girls, St. Jude, Gleaners Food Bank, and his local humane society.

John Rondini is a multi-faceted attorney with extensive knowledge in litigation, negotiating settlements, and licensing agreements. John’s practice includes representing clients in patent prosecution, litigation, and cyber security and data privacy matters. In recognizing the pending threat of cyber-incidents his clients may face, John has worked to help develop Brook Kushman’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy group. John’s experience includes assessing a client’s current cybersecurity and data privacy protocols and developing a comprehensive incident response plan to ensure compliance with applicable laws. John also assists his client’s in determining the potential root cause of a breach and what type of notification may be necessary. John also has experience in addressing information and data security requirements for his clients during both vendor contractual or M&A transactions. John has also represented client’s litigation matters at the district court and appellate level, as well as, before the International Trade Commission. John has actively managed each stage of litigation from pre-suit pleadings through trial, and through appeal. John has also represented his client’s needs in negotiating settlements and licensing agreements. While representing one client’s litigation needs, John became involved in developing and growing Brooks Kushman’s Post-Grant Proceedings team. As a result, John was part of a team that handled 25 inter partes review proceedings that invalidated hundreds of patent claims being asserted against that client. John has also managed the patent prosecution docket for clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to individual inventors. John’s prosecution experience includes handling a patent application from an initial draft through allowance. Relying on his litigation and prosecution experience, John’s has also handled numerous patentability and clearance opinions on behalf of his clients. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, John worked for nearly ten years as a hardware design and software engineer in the automotive and semi-conductor industries. This work provided John with invaluable experience that helps him further counsel his client’s intellectual property needs.

Jeffrey Szuma is a registered patent attorney who specializes in patent prosecution and investigations, as well as post-grant proceedings including reexaminations and Inter Partes reviews. He has also been involved in both trial and appellate level patent litigation. Jeff received his M.S. degree in information systems & technology (computer information systems) and his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. He has three decades of experience as a patent attorney with Brooks Kushman, and during that time has helped to build the firm’s nationally recognized practice. Jeff has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications, investigating patent infringement and validity issues, and handling post-grant proceedings relating to a wide variety of computer and electrical technologies such as data storage and management systems, microprocessors, network services, data encryption, wireless communication, transducers, VoIP, interactive media services, and digital content delivery. He also has extensive experience with automotive related technologies for OEM and Tier I clients, including electrical subsystem control, information and entertainment systems, electrical connectors, battery monitoring, wireless communication systems such as tire pressure monitoring and remote entry systems, electric and hybrid vehicle subsystems, and autonomous vehicle systems. He also served for two years at Lear Corporation, a Tier I automotive supplier, as acting Division Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel for their Electronic Systems Division. In that capacity, he assisted in the operation and management of Lear's IP department and had a diverse array of responsibilities, including counseling management on strategic patent procurement, investigation, litigation, and budget matters. Jeff is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Law section of the State Bar of Michigan, and the Intellectual Property group of the Federalist Society. He is a past President of the Detroit Catholic Central High School Dads' Club and is active at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, Michigan.