Stefani E. Shanberg

Two new cases for Spotify USA Inc. will allow Shanberg to defend a client whose streaming music service she uses often. "It's a product I love," the Morrison & Forerster partner said. "I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and country music is definitely my thing. It makes me happy."

The new patent cases, both venued in the District of Delaware, arose around the time of Spotify's April initial public offering. Shanberg will be Spotify's lead trial counsel. "A positive milestone for a company frequently brings people out of the woodwork to try to get their piece of the pie," she said, as she implements a strategy to have patent eligibility decided early despite recent federal case decisions making it more challenging to have successful motions to dismiss for lack of patent-eligible subject matter.

For Shanberg, challenges are nothing new. "There are challenges and advantages to being a woman in this profession," she said. "I just take them as they come." She learned that lesson early, working for a Texas law firm in San Antonio before moving to the Bay Area in 1999. "It was a traditional Texas firm, and I got 'little lady' and 'lady lawyer' all the time," she said. "The great Mexican food and barbecue in Texas almost made up for being called lady lawyer. Now that I'm here, my husband does the barbecue and I do the Mexican, usually with a little less coagulated cheese."

Her first California firm was Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC. "The Bay Area is such a meritocracy," Shanberg said. "It didn't matter what you looked like if you were smart, enthusiastic and hardworking. Wilson Sonsini was so great to me."

Even so, last year Shanberg moved to MoFo, bringing with her a team of four women and two men. "I have prided myself over the years in mentoring other women," she said. "I hope they would call me a role model. The Morrison & Foerster litigation department has so many opportunities for my team. I love the discourse in an office surrounded by so many trial lawyers."

In 2017, Shanberg achieved wins for cybersecurity and network management client Blue Coat Systems Inc. and for Google Inc., the defendant in a video software patent dispute. She also make a successful trip to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for client Square Inc. "It was the best year of my career so far," she said. "I knock on wood a lot."

-- John Roemer