William Abbatt is a skilled patent attorney with experience in foreign and domestic patent prosecution matters. He has a background in varying disciplines including manufacturing, chemistry, and medical devices. With 35+ years of experience as a patent attorney, Bill’s practice involves all aspects of domestic and foreign patent preparation, prosecution, and assertion, including dispute resolution. He regularly advises clients on the development and management of patent portfolios. Bill’s practice includes counseling on how to protect various aspects of inventions and monetize them by sale and licensing. Bill has managed intellectual property matters in many technical disciplines including manufacturing, metallurgy, chemistry, medical devices, and aeronautics. His background in industry plus his diverse experience in writing and prosecuting hundreds of patents enable Bill to spot the strengths and weaknesses in a patent when a dispute or enforcement issue arises. He has an affinity for working with emerging entities whose value can be enhanced by effective intellectual property portfolio creation and management to help his clients’ businesses succeed. In one case, he introduced two separate clients – a physician and an entrepreneur – and brought them together to develop and protect medical devices to treat patients and enhance the quality of their lives. Bill is a member of the Federal Bar Association – Eastern District of Michigan Chapter and currently serves as a co-chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section. He is a former council member of the Aviation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Bill is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and a Master of the Bench (American Inns of Court). He was an adjunct professor of patent law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Bill received Super Lawyers designation for 2006 - 2012, 2024. He was selected for this honor subsequent to undergoing an evaluation of many different factors including peer recognition and professional achievement. Bill also served on the steering committee that formed the Michigan Intellectual Property American Inns of Court Chapter and was its President (2017-18). The Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court is a philanthropic organization of judges, lawyers and legal educators that seeks to promote fair and ethical practice amongst junior lawyers and law students. Bill helped to found the Inn and was enthusiastic about moving into a leadership role. Bill was able to take the organization forward, while staying true to its initial goal of promoting excellence in advocacy amongst those it mentors. Bill holds a Juris Doctor from Detroit College of Law. Before that, Bill graduated with an M.S. in Operations Research & Production Engineering and a B.S. in Metallurgy & Material Sciences at the University of London, England. He has been appointed an Expert Adviser and Facilitative Mediator in the Federal District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Outside the office, Bill enjoys flying his Beechcraft Debonair airplane, skiing, playing golf and tennis, working out, and traveling to England, his birthplace. He and his wife Candyce count Vail Colorado and Ft Lauderdale as favorite haunts. Bill holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating, a Commercial pilot’s license, and is a Certified Flight Instructor.

Rebecca Cantor is a registered patent attorney with an extensive background in patent litigation as well as trademark protection and enforcement. Rebecca serves as the Chair of Brooks Kushman's life science practice group. She concentrates her practice on intellectual property litigation, with a focus on patent litigation involving a wide range of technologies including pharmaceuticals and other life sciences technologies. Rebecca also has experience in trademark disputes, both in Federal Court and in the USPTO. In addition, Rebecca counsels clients in developing strategies to protect their intellectual property. As a registered patent attorney, Rebecca is authorized to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Rebecca was a patent litigator at Vinson & Elkins LLP in New York. While there, Rebecca participated in several patent litigations, including a Hatch-Waxman litigation where she was part of a trial team that received a favorable outcome for its client. Rebecca also worked on a number of due diligence projects, many of which involved technologies related to life sciences.

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.

Alena Marconi is an experienced, hands-on patent prosecution attorney with an extensive background in chemical, materials, and environmental solutions sciences. She guides and advises her clients with high-quality legal advice and strategic thinking. Alena’s practice focuses on domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the chemical, materials science, green tech, and mechanical arts. She counsels clients of all sizes in a wide range of industries including automotive, chemical, horticultural applications, environmental remediation, green technologies, alternative energy generation, industrial processes, medical devices, polymers, coatings, fuel cells, batteries, catalytic converters, packaging, and additives. Alena is admitted to practice in Michigan and before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Alena holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Materials Technology from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic, as well as a Master of Science in Chemistry from Oakland University. Her undergraduate, graduate studies, and research focused on macromolecular chemistry, environmental technology, and toxicology. Ms. Vackova graduated magna cum laude from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in May 2012 with a Juris Doctor degree. During her law school studies, she earned five certificates of merit and served as an Assistant Board Editor on the Cooley Law School Law Review as well as a Secretary for the Student Intellectual Property Law Association and Veterans Organization. Besides English, Alena is fluent in Czech, Slovak, and has a working knowledge of German and additional Slavic languages. In her free time, she’s an avid photographer who loves to spend time with her family exploring Michigan and the rest of the world or running 5K races.

Chelsea Pasquali is an IP attorney who brings a client-centered approach to her practice and assures that her clients' business and legal goals are surpassed. Chelsea focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation with a focus on patent, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, and copyright litigation. Her experience also includes representation of trademark owners in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as counseling clients on clearance, prosecution, false advertising, enforcement of trademarks and copyrights, and counseling on domain name issues and license agreements. Chelsea represents Fortune 500 Corporations, small businesses, and individuals in a variety of intellectual property claims. She regularly works with her clients to develop and implement IP enforcement strategies to fit their business needs. Throughout her career, she has successfully litigated a variety of cases in State and Federal Court. She has also successfully represented clients before the Michigan Court of Appeals. Chelsea brings a client-centric approach to her practice. She works alongside her clients to understand their business and legal goals, working with her clients as a part of their team. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Pasquali’s practice focused on litigation in a variety of areas including general liability, product liability, and commercial litigation. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Outside of work, Chelsea can usually be found running, walking her dogs, or at the lake with her family. She is active in her community and responsible for planning neighborhood events in her subdivision. She enjoys spending Saturday mornings running races, most often with her kids at the finish line.

Isheeta Patel Laxmanan is an experienced patent attorney with a passion for providing her clients with high-quality, strategic intellectual property advice with an eye for detail and current technological trends. Isheeta focuses her practice on the preparation and prosecution of domestic patent applications in the chemical engineering and materials arts. Isheeta also has experience in advising her clients on intellectual property strategies by providing opinions on whether they have freedom to operate and by assessing the validity of patents. She has experience working with clients of various sizes, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups. Isheeta has multi-faceted experience working extensively within a variety of industries, with an emphasis on technologies related to chemical engineering and advanced materials. Her prosecution and opinion experience is focused on advanced coatings, nanocomposites and composite systems, polymer chemistry and coagulants, heat transfer and thermal management materials, battery components and controls, catalyst structures, fluid flow control, and related coatings, additive manufacturing, paints, and specialty coatings, and consumer products. Isheeta provides reliable insight to clients regarding business-critical decisions such as whether to patent an inventive concept, whether they have freedom to operate, the validity of granted patents, and determining the state of the art and any white space in a specific technology market. Isheeta also has experience supporting intellectual property negotiations, settlements, and litigation. Isheeta previously served as a patent clerk with Honda Patents & Technologies North America and Ohio State’s Technology Commercialization Office. Before entering the intellectual property industry, she held engineering positions with Owens Corning developing wind turbine blade technology and with H.R. Technologies, Inc., a tier-two automotive materials supplier. Isheeta holds a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law where she served as Issue Editor for the technology journal I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society (now the Ohio State Technology Law Journal), as well as President of both the Intellectual Property Law Society and the South Asian Law Students Association. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Outside of Brooks Kushman, Isheeta is the current President of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of Michigan and currently serving on the Board of Directors for SABA North America and SABA Michigan. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family on the lake, checking out new restaurants, and traveling (when it’s not football season). Although she attended Ohio State for law school, Isheeta is true to her undergraduate degree from Michigan and can regularly be found sporting University of Michigan gear, especially every Saturday of football season at the Big House with her husband watching the Wolverines play.

Kyle Konz is an experienced patent attorney who takes the time to fully understand his clients’ technologies and business strategies to provide his clients with high-quality and tactical advice. Kyle focuses his practice on patent prosecution, post grant proceedings, and patent and trademark litigation. Kyle also manages trademark portfolios for several small businesses. Kyle works with a wide range of clients including Fortune 100 Corporations and small businesses. Kyle writes and prosecutes patent applications related to automotive, manufacturing, domestic appliances, and heating and cooling systems. A large part of Kyle current post grant and litigation practices relate to vehicle safety systems, connectivity, connected services, lighting, and exercise equipment. Kyle leverages his past engineering and hands-on experience to quickly learn inventions without requiring substantial time investments from inventors. Kyle’s practical experience allows him to understand how a particular invention fits within the larger system enabling him to fully capture the invention in context with the client’s overall goals. This provides the client with a more cohesive and valuable patent portfolio. Prior to joining the firm, Kyle worked for a consulting firm, assisting in the design of commercial and residential developments. While there, Kyle focused on sewer systems, residential roadways, and drainage systems. Kyle is also a certified auto mechanic. Outside of the office, Kyle enjoys action sports. In the winter, he is often found on the slopes with his snowboard, while in the summer he can be found behind a boat on his wakeboard.

Robyn Lederman is a trademark attorney who works extensively with her clients on cost-effective strategies to solve issues related to trademark clearance, prosecution, and a wide array of enforcement strategies. With more than 25 years of experience practicing in the area of trademark law, Robyn Lederman specializes in global branding strategy, trademark and domain name counseling, clearance, protection and enforcement for start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Robyn works extensively with company legal, marketing and business development groups to devise cost-effective strategies to achieve marketing goals. She works with her clients on issues involving anti-counterfeiting, copyright, domain name recovery, IP due diligence, licensing, trade dress and unfair competition. She represents clients in varied industries including agricultural, automotive, bio-tech, consumer products, cosmetics, entertainment, financial services, high-tech and homeland security. Along with managing U.S. trademark portfolios for her clients, Robyn has significant experience in obtaining trademark protection for her clients worldwide. Prior to Brooks Kushman, Robyn worked for more than seven years at a law firm in Israel as a trademark attorney and maintains her professional relationships in what has become known as “the start-up nation” by visiting clients and colleagues each year to keep them apprised of IP developments in the U.S. Robyn Lederman is brilliant at identifying optimal strategies for global brand protection and enforcement - and executing them. - World Trademark Review 1000 Robyn takes a special interest in connecting and creating partnerships between Israeli clients with Michigan universities, investors, and economic development organizations. She enjoys working with companies based in Israel that are expanding into the United States. Robyn is also on the Board of the Michigan Israel Business Bridge, a non-profit, member organization whose mission is to promote business and investment opportunities between Michigan and Israel Outside of Brooks Kushman, Robyn is very active in the community, educating young companies and start-ups on the practical impact of trademark law. She served for years as a mentor for Bizdom, a Detroit based business accelerator, where she often presented on how to effectively select names and build brand identity. Robyn is a Hamilton junkie who loves to brag about Detroit’s revival. She is in awe of Sheryl Sandberg, and continues to provide strong support for her alma mater, with all three children attending Michigan State University at the same time – Go Green!

Reza Roghani Esfahani is an IP litigation professional with a background in mechanical and chemical technologies. Reza's practice concentrates on intellectual property litigation, with a focus on patent litigation involving a wide range of technologies including mechanical, chemical, and pharmaceuticals. Reza also has experience in the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications as well as intellectual property due diligence. Reza earned his Bachelor’s and Master's of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan. While pursuing his engineering degrees, Reza worked on projects directed at breast cancer therapy, live cell delivery, and the development of small molecule inhibitors of a human protein implicated in thrombosis. Additionally, Reza helped fabricate and functionalize microfluidic devices for isolating circulating tumor cells. Reza also has experience working on petroleum projects. In particular, his projects were directed toward the investigation of the aggregation kinetics of crude oil components. Reza holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan. For two years, Reza taught a senior-level Chemical Engineering course at the University of Michigan as a graduate student instructor. During his time at the University of Michigan, Reza was an active member of student organizations such as the Honor Society of Chemical Engineers and the Intellectual Property Student Association.

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.