Allison L. Libeu

Allison L. Libeu has been at Hueston Hennigan LLP since it opened its doors in 2015. As a partner, she handles trials and complex litigation.

She was previously co-counsel at Irell & Manella LLP. "I loved Irell, but as it became more patent-focused, I wanted to stay with soft-IP like trademarks and other business litigation," she said. "At Hueston Hennigan, we take on complex cases, whatever the topic."

In April, Libeu as co-lead counsel and colleagues won $175 million plus royalties in one of the largest-ever U.S. trademark arbitration awards for client Monster Energy Co. The matter began when another company in the energy drink market, Orange Bang Inc., reached out to join with Monster after being sued by a rival.

They teamed up to enforce a decade-old settlement agreement that restricted the rival's use of the "Bang" trademark. Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. V. Orange Bang Inc. and Monster Energy Co., 5:20-cv-01464 (C.D. Cal., filed July 23, 2020); Orange Bang Inc. and Monster Energy Co. v. Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc., 01-20-0005-6081 (AAA, op., filed April 8, 2022).

The big award came after Libeu cross-examined Vital Pharmaceutical's damages expert and obtained critical admissions about his methodology that undercut his opinions and agreed with her disgorgement and royalty theories.

"He'd put a damages cap on his number that diminished it significantly, and I got him to admit it was something he'd never done before or seen done before," Libeu said. "Later, the arbitrator called it a litigation contrivance. But before that, after I asked my questions and got my admissions, the arbitrator probed a little more with further questions. I think he was surprised. It was a very good feeling when I realized that the arbitrator understood exactly what I was getting at."

In a different case, Libeu successfully defended baby products manufacturer Hello Bello in a trademark dispute with a company named Hello Products. Her clients' founders, actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, chose the name due to its personal connection to their family.

They were sued for trademark infringement by toothpaste and oral care company Hello Products, which claimed to have the exclusive right to use of the word "hello" in advertising. Hello Products LLC v. Unconditional Love Inc. d/b/a Hello Bello, 2:20- cv-12618 (D. N.J., filed Sept. 11, 2020).

"Our creative strategy was to counterclaim. We went aggressive and accused them of trying to trademark the word "hello," a ubiquitous word. That made it fun. We settled favorably, and Hello Bello is still happily making and selling its products," Libeu said.

- John Roemer