Shimokaji & Associates, P.C.

Lawyers

For more than 20 years, Mr. Shimokaji has supported clients in industries as diverse as aerospace, apparel, household products, medical devices, software, telecommunications, photo imaging, and semiconductors. He is the author of articles that include “Inducement and Contributory Infringement Theories to Regulate Pre-Patent Issuance Activity” 37 IDEA 571 (1997); “Type of Use Determines Whether Use of Web Content Will Be Infringing” L.A. Daily Journal, August 22, 2002; and “Cease and Desist Letters May Contain Some Hidden Perils” L.A. Daily Journal, February 27, 2003; “Think of Patents as Products” Medical Design & Mfg, May 1, 2005; “Contingency Defense in Patent Lawsuits” L.A. Daily Journal, August 1, 2006; “Putting Designs to the Test” L.A. Daily Journal, October 30, 2008; “Mind Over Matter” Los Angeles Lawyer, April 2009; “Taking Orders” L.A. Daily Journal, August 19, 2009. He has lectured for local and national organizations in the US, as well as abroad, on various intellectual property topics. During the past seven years, Mr. Shimokaji has been a member of the Steering Committee for the California Minority Counsel Program. He was a founding director of the Orange County Japanese-American Lawyers Association and has served as an instructor in the paralegal program at the University of California, Irvine. Mr. Shimokaji is a past president of the Orange Coast Optimist Club. He served for three years on the Executive Committee for the California State Bar Intellectual Property Section. He recently completed a three year term on the California State Bar Federal Courts Committee. Mr. Shimokaji has been a member of the editorial board for The Journal of the Association of University Technology Managers. Following graduation from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Mr. Shimokaji received his Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law. In law school, Mr. Shimokaji was an executive editor for the school’s law review. He has served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Robert M. Takasugi, Judge, United States District Court. Mr. Shimokaji is admitted to the California Bar. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Eric Bram

Mr. Bram brings his experience as in-house patent counsel and outside patent counsel to support patent prosecution matters in the areas of optics, physics, mechanical and electrical engineering, medical devices, laser technology, computer software/hardware, and signal processing. He received his bachelor and master degrees in physics from St. Louis University, and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Hastings School of Law. In law school, Mr. Bram served as an extern law clerk to US District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker. Mr. Bram has worked in the capacity of an aerospace software and flight test engineer, as well as in-house patent counsel for Caterpillar and Philips Electronics.

Susan Davis

Ms. Davis’ practice is primarily in the biological, chemical, and genetics arts for patent prosecution matters. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science degree in phytopathology, and then undertook graduate courses in genetic engineering at Harvard University. She is registered with the USPTO as a patent agent. Ms. Davis spent about 10 years as a scientist for EcoScience, Bioran, and BioRad. During her time in industry, Ms. Davis was involved in bioassays for virulence attenuation, antibiotic production, enzyme-linked and radio-immunoassays for medical testing, and immunoassays for clinical control development.

Evelyn Defillo

Ms. Defillo’s expertise is in the chemical, mechanical, medical, and pharmaceutical arts. She is a registered patent agent and former US patent examiner in the chemical engineering group. Ms. Defillo graduated in 1988 from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña in the Dominican Republic with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She is a registered patent agent.

Frank Gao

His focus is in patent prosecution and litigation support. Mr. Gao his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry , respectively, from Jilin University in China. He received an additional Master of Science degree in organic chemistry from The Ohio State University. From Capital University Law School, Mr. Gao obtained his Juris Doctorate degree. He has served as a legal extern to the Honorable Magistrate Judge Mark Abel in Ohio and to the Honorable Judge Daniel Hogan in Ohio. He is registered with the USPTO. Mr. Gao is fluent in Chinese and conversational in Japanese.

Bruce Hare

Mr. Hare worked in industry for over 12 years as an engineer in circuit design. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Diego. He is registered with the USPTO.

Daniel Northfield

Mr. Northfield’s expertise is in computer engineering and electrical engineering. He graduated in 1985 from Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering, and in 1985 from Covenant College with a bachelor degree in natural science. He then graduated from Iowa State University in 1989 with a bachelor degree in computer engineering. In 1997, he received an M.S. in computer science from Marycrest International University. In 2000, he graduated from Drake University Law School where he served on the Drake Law Review. Prior to law school, Mr. Northfield worked for nearly ten years in the areas of electronics engineering, computer engineering, and computer programming. He is a registered patent attorney.

Ivan Posey

Mr. Posey litigates intellectual property and general civil matters. He has first-chair trial experience in the International Trade Commission (ITC), federal district courts, and state courts. He also provides extensive intellectual property counseling. This includes, for example drafting opinions regarding patent infringement and contract rights, negotiating technology licensing, and managing intellectual property portfolios. He has owned and operated small businesses, and managed departments in larger companies, specifically as a manager and software programmer in the technical areas of C++, Object PAL, dBase, Oracle, Sys 38-CL, RPG and assembly languages on early CISC and RISC processors. Mr. Posey received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Strayer University and his Juris Doctorate degree from George Washington University School of Law.

Alexis Saenz

Mr. Saenz works primarily in the areas of patent prosecution, trademarks and litigation. In the patent prosecution area, his expertise includes computer software, electronics, optics, and web-based design. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School and a Bachelors of Science degree in physics from California State University at Dominguez Hills. Mr. Saenz is admitted to the United States Patent Bar. His past industry experience relates to electro-optical systems including testing and development of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), semi-conductor devices, fiber optics and lasers. Prior to engaging in the practice of law, Mr. Saenz also assisted a national defense contractor in testing and development of weapons test systems

David Shifrin

His practice spans patents, trademarks, licensing, and litigation. In the patent prosecution area, Mr. Shifrin’s expertise includes electronics, integrated circuits, computer systems and networks, communication, optical storage devices and financial services. Mr. Shifrin received his bachelor degree in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado and his Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law. Mr. Shifrin also holds a bachelor degree in economics. He previously worked as in-house patent counsel for IBM and Cirrus Logic. Mr. Shifrin is admitted to the USPTO.

Lyman Smith

Mr. Smith has BS and MS degrees in chemistry and a JD from St. John's University. Prior to entering the legal field, Lyman was a development chemist for four years at a large pharmaceutical company and a patent examiner for three years at the US Patent and Trademark Office, specializing in chemical and pharmaceutical patent examination. Mr. Smith has worked in-house and as outside counsel in the patent prosecution and opinion areas of in chemical matter, pharmaceutical methods, proteins, biomarkers, receptors and antibodies.

Peter Tribulski

Supporting clients in patent matters, with a focus in the mechanical and electromechanical areas, Mr. Tribulski received a bachelor of engineering science (mechanical) from John Hopkins University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland. Prior to becoming a registered patent attorney, Mr. Tribulski worked for several years at Western Electric, including a number of years as an engineering manager.