Robert W. Dickerson Jr.

In more than three decades in the field, Dickerson has had ample chance to flex his knowledge of technology, a passion that dates back at least to his undergraduate studies in engineering at UC Berkeley.

Co-leader of the firm's intellectual property practice, Dickerson focuses on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation in the plaintiff and defense realm.

"I find it the most interesting practice because I'm dealing with inventors and inventions and new things," he said. "Every case allows me to learn about new technology."

His big matters last year included handling the appellate phase defense of a patent infringement lawsuit against a client that manufactures spinal implants. Earlier this year, a district court's ruling following a five-week trial in 2011 went before appellate justices in Washington, D.C.

For his client, Spinal Kinetics, the suit was a "bet-the-company-case," he said. "If Spinal Kinetics lost the case, its ability to stay in business in the U.S. would have been questionable."

The plaintiffs' claims that the defendants infringed patents centered on the way that the implants were constructed. In a published decision, the justices ruled in favor of his client, finding that "the asserted claims were not infringed and were invalid," he said. Synthes (USA) v. Spinal Kinetics Inc., CV09-1201 (N.D. Cal, filed March, 9, 2009).

He said the decision is likely to impact the medical patent law arena.

"Decisions in this area are always of interest and a somewhat developing area for law," he said. "This decision will be cited by other attorneys down the road."

Dickerson said that while intellectual property disputes can get heated, he tries to maintain a calm demeanor and let legal arguments do the talking. "I try to be reasonable at all times and seek a middle ground. At the end of the day you can disagree without being disagreeable."

- Chase Scheinbaum