Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that partners Robert M. Masters, Jonathan R. DeFosse and Bevin M.B. Newman have joined the firm’s growing Washington, D.C. office.
Masters and DeFosse join the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Newman joins the firm’s Antitrust and Competition and Healthcare practices from Jones Day. These three new partners continue the firm’s successful expansion in Washington, D.C., which includes the recent additions of former FTC Deputy Chief Trial Counsel, Tom Dillickrath; FDA/Life Sciences partner Allison Fulton; and International Arbitration partner Joseph LoBue. Since January 2018, the office has added 27 attorneys bringing its presence to 100.
"Expanding our Washington, D.C. presence with superior talent is a key strategy for us. Rob, Jon and Bevin bring a wealth of knowledge in their respective practice areas and are great additions to the office and firm," said Guy Halgren, Sheppard Mullin’s chairman.
David Douglass, Washington, D.C. office managing partner added, "Rob and Jon’s extensive experience handling significant IP litigation matters in courts throughout the U.S. and before the ITC and PTAB and Bevin’s experience handling high stakes regulatory and investigative matters for large healthcare organizations, including academic medical centers, underscores our focus on expanding our core practice groups to broaden our ability to protect and defend our clients’ valuable IP and advise on the ever-changing regulatory landscape facing the healthcare industry. We’re thrilled to have them join us."
About Sheppard Mullin’s New Washington, D.C. Partners
Robert Masters has served as lead counsel in all phases of patent, trade secret, copyright and trademark/trade dress litigation matters in district courts throughout the United States and before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He has represented clients on matters involving a wide range of technologies, including consumer electronics and semiconductor design; hardware, software and apps for computers and smartphones; secured internet/network communications and protocols; telecommunications; medical devices; financial services and technology (Fintech); and sporting goods, among others. In addition to his litigation practice, he regularly advises clients on intellectual property licensing, negotiations, due diligence investigations, portfolio management and monetization, counterfeiting issues, best practices for corporate intellectual property legal departments, and on intellectual property issues arising in mergers and acquisitions. Masters earned his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law and his B.S. in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Jonathan DeFosse focuses on intellectual property litigation involving clients in automotive technologies, consumer electronics, telecommunications, website design, cloud computing and medical devices. DeFosse regularly appears in federal courts throughout the United States and before PTAB in connection with post-grant review proceedings. DeFosse also has substantial experience with inter partes review proceedings, and has represented companies in petitions challenging the validity of patents concerning light-emitting panel displays, pattern recognition systems, telematics units, wireless communications systems, crash avoidance systems, hybrid engines, adaptive cruise control systems, and tail lights. DeFosse earned his J.D., with highest honors, Order of the Coif, from The George Washington University Law School and his B.A. from The University of Toledo.
Bevin Newman is a strategic adviser to globally recognized academic medical centers and health systems in cutting edge affiliations and collaborative arrangements. She has substantial experience advising and defending healthcare providers, payers, and pharmaceutical companies undertaking significant transactions, including mergers, joint ventures, intellectual property licenses, and a variety of innovative affiliations and collaborations. She regularly advocates for clients before the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and state attorneys general on complex antitrust matters. She also has extensive experience coordinating the merger-control, foreign direct investment (CFIUS) and regulatory reviews of multijurisdictional transactions for U.S. and foreign clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, technology and energy industries. Newman earned her J.D. from Columbia University and her S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The firm's Intellectual Property practice includes more than 100 attorneys firmwide; the Antitrust and Competition practice includes more than 30 attorneys firmwide; and the Healthcare practice includes more than 150 attorneys firmwide.