Andrei Iancu

Iancu, managing partner of Irell & Manella LLP, said he really likes what he does as a lawyer - working with innovators on the cutting edge of development.

"It really is an opportunity to understand technology and then explain it in clear terms and teach people about it," Iancu said. That part is really rewarding. "[You're] teaching judges, teaching juries about this complex technology so they can then rule on the cases you're on."

One particular lawsuit in Iancu's caseload concerns testing for typical disorders like Down syndrome in a fetus by looking at fetal DNA in the mother's plasma. Ariosa Diagnostics Inc. v. Sequenom Inc., CV 11-06391 (N.D. Cal., filed Dec. 19, 2011).

The case is against a company that has a patent on the what Iancu called "a natural phenomenon."

"Our point is you can't get a patent on a natural phenomenon. It's like if you find a tree in the forest, you can't patent that," he said. "There was a patent owner who brought a motion for preliminary injunction in that case, which we defended successfully. That motion was denied."

Iancu also continues to represent TiVo Inc., negotiating a major settlement at the beginning of the year for more than $200 million in a suit brought by AT&T Inc. TiVo Inc. v. AT&T Inc., CV 09-259 (E.D. Tex., filed Aug. 26, 2009). He has another case for TiVo against Verizon that is scheduled to go to trial in October.

"It's another case on TiVo's fundamental DVR technology. TiVo alleges Verizon infringes TiVo's patents," he explained.

An engineer before becoming a lawyer, Iancu said he was attracted to the law because it was a broader career after spending four years in his previous career. He said the intellectual property specialty involved a variety of issues and technologies that interested him.

"It's an area of law that is very fast changing and you always deal with different areas of technology that are cutting edge," Iancu said. "It's never boring."

Not only was the practice broader and had many options, but switching to law gave him the opportunity to make presentations to management, he said.

Iancu also teaches a course on patent law at UCLA.

- AMEERA BUTT