Susan L. Heller

Trademark law

Heller has been known as a leading international trademark attorney for years, and got an opportunity to put her experience to work in a big way when Black Rock Inc. completed a $13 billion acquisition of longtime client Barclays Global Investors, N.A. at the end of last year. She oversaw the international trademark, copyright and domain name due diligence required in connection with the stock purchase agreement.

Since then, Heller has supervised the transfer of the intellectual property assets acquired by Black Rock, including the iShares exchange traded funds. This work, she says, is painstaking and requires careful attention so that marks are not lost.

Aside from the Barclays deal, Heller continues representing FremantleMedia to enforce the brands connected with shows including "American Idol." She also represents the Rolling Stones, protecting the rock band's famous marks.

"More and more clients are very serious about reviewing their portfolios and doing strategic analysis," says Heller, who is national co-chair of Greenberg Traurig's Trademark/Brand Management Practice Group.