Articles and Podcasts

Navigating a Tough Market: Insights and Strategies for Emerging Public Companies Raising Capital and Avoiding Delisting

Small and micro-cap public companies often bear the brunt of market volatility and price depreciation. Capital Markets and Securities group leader Christopher Tinen offers insights and strategies on navigating a turbulent market, including the risk of delisting and challenges in raising capital.

Is Your Life Sciences Patent Enabled? The U.S. Supreme Court Is Considering That Question

Patentability of life sciences innovations could be impacted by a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision. Jeff Morton, Robert Sloss and Jeremy Edwards discuss in our newest podcast the Amgen v. Sanofi case and how its focus on patent enablement could impact the ability to obtain certain life science, chemical and pharma patents, as well as how it may provide additional ammunition in litigation.

Is Your Company Complying with the New Pay Transparency Requirements?

California employers face additional disclosure, reporting and record-keeping requirements depending on the number of employees due to the state’s new Pay Transparency law. Wendy Tucker explains how this may impact charter schools, including their ability to use publicly available salary scales to meet the new disclosure requirements, but the new law impacts a wide range of employers across the state.

Awards & Accolades

17 Procopio Attorneys in 11 Practice Areas Named 2023 San Diego Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Seventeen Procopio attorneys from eleven practice areas were named by their peers as 2023 San Diego Super Lawyers® or Rising Stars®. Procopio attorneys have also been recognized previously in Northern California and Southern California, specifically Orange County.

Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in the state of California are named a Super Lawyer, and only 2.5% of the lawyers in the state are named Rising Stars.

Trusts & Estates Partner Renee Gabbard Recognized in the 2023 Powerwomen Awards

Award-winning Trusts & Estates Partner Renee Gabbard has been recognized with a 2023 Powerwomen Award by Citiwealth. Named a Silver Winner in the Woman of the Year-Professional Services West Coast category, Renee was recognized as one of a select group of individuals “who maximize the potential of women in wealth, and also create a platform for best practice to collectively exercise positive social influence on the sector.” Renee has been recognized by Best Lawyers® in Trusts and Estates Law since 2013.

Data Sovereignty: The Free Flow of Data is Over; What Can You Do? | 5:30 - 8:45 pm PT | Palo Alto, CA

This Keizai Silicon Valley event will feature Elaine Harwell and other thought leaders providing an overview of the international regulatory landscape around data sovereignty, including Japan; how upcoming regulations such as the EU Data Act may change things even more; and what legal and technical measures companies can take to continue their international operations.

Protecting the Crown Jewels… Tips and Trends in Trade Secret Law | 3:30 - 4:30 pm PT | San Diego, CA

This session, part of the 5th Annual All-Day ACC San Diego La-LAW-palooza, features Mindy Morton discussing trade secret protection under state and federal law, including how to identify and protect trade secrets; litigation trends; and practical guidance for companies trying to stop trade secrets from leaving the company and those accused of infringing trade secrets.

IP Rights Are A Key Economic Asset: Is Your IP Strategy Ready & Why It Matters | 4:30 - 7:30 pm PT | San Diego, CA

Jeff Morton and other distinguished panelists in this Biocom California event will share the key steps to optimize your patent portfolio and the importance of doing so. They will discuss what goes into a deal, key considerations in their decision-making process, and how their patent strategy played into the financial health of their companies.

Latest Developments in Privacy Law – What’s Happening Now & What to Expect in the Near Future (Part 1) | San Diego, CA | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Elaine Harwell will co-present in this ACC San Diego event (limited to in-house counsel) on the current state of the global privacy and cybersecurity landscape, including changes in California such as new regulations and the status of enforcement, potential for federal privacy legislation, and an overview of the recent activity by state agencies. Part 2 will be June 8.

2023 Procopio International Tax Institute | Hilton Bayfront Hotel, San Diego, CA

For the past 18 years, the Procopio International Tax Institute (PITI) has attracted internationally recognized leaders in the field of international tax, providing an educational platform and an opportunity to connect with industry colleagues. This year’s conference boasts a lineup of experts from the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as their counterparts from Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público and SAT, responsible for cross-border accountability operations.

PITI is specifically designed for tax practitioners, U.S. and Mexican attorneys, accountants, corporate tax directors, managers, controllers, banking and financial advisors, and executives to remain up-to-date on the cutting edge of international tax matters.

May 24-26, 2023

Hilton Bayfront Hotel, San Diego, CA

Social Media

Please welcome patent attorney Kristin Smith to Procopio! She represents life sciences, med tech and synthetic biology clients. Based in our Washington, D.C., office, Kristin brings to her clients experience as a former general counsel for a Silicon Valley life sciences company, and an education in chemical engineering as well as an MBA.

A warm welcome to the newest addition of our Family Law group. Kira Iwinski represents clients in a full range of legal matters, including dissolution of marriage, division of assets, child custody, and spousal and child support. She brings attention to detail and creative thinking to her clients as she seeks to resolve legal issues compassionately, with her clients’ best interests front of mind.

What an honor for our Orange County office to make the Orange County Business Journal list of the region's largest law firms! With around two dozen attorneys, we ranked larger than about half of those on the list. This is only three years after we opened the office at the start of the pandemic with a single attorney. Head's up OC, we're continuing to add attorneys! We're here to be your partner, identifying unique opportunities and capitalizing on them now and into the future.

Due to the increasing regulatory notice and public awareness of PFAs ("forever chemicals"), property purchasers and lessees must include them in their due diligence. Learn more in this San Diego Daily Transcript article by Procopio Energy & Environmental Law leader John Lormon and Chris Crosby of SCS Engineers.

Thank you Orange County Asian American Bar Association (OCAABA) for your profile of our IP Partner Raymond Chan! He's definitely an attorney worth knowing.

Trade Secrets Partners Mindy Morton and Raymond Chan enjoyed engaging with a dynamic audience in the "Tips and Trends in Trade Secrets" law event recently in our Orange County office. Look for future trade secrets events in Silicon Valley and San Diego.

Let's hear it for clients Andréa McBride John and Robin McBride on being recognized as "Trailblazing Women" by Good Morning America! They're owners of the largest Black-owned and female-owned winery in the world, McBride Sisters Wine Company. Our Emerging Growth & Venture Capital group leader Roger Rappoport and Beer, Wine and Spirits group leader Matt Short love working with them to help grow their incredible business. Hear their remarkable story, including their She Can Fund that has awarded $3 million in grants and scholarships to female entrepreneurs in an effort to close the gender and race gap in leadership positions in male-dominated fields.

Congrats to client and Jamul Tribal Chair Erica M. Pinto and the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), owner/operator of the Jamul Casino, for closing on $515 million of Senior Secured Credit Facilities from a syndicate of commercial banks. Chairwoman Pinto said the transaction "will allow us to focus on our long-term financial stability and new projects that will continue to provide benefits for the Tribe." Native American Law practice leader Kerry Patterson and her team supported Chairwoman Pinto and JIVDC in the transaction.

A huge congrats to acclaimed muralist and client Judith Baca on receiving a prestigious National Medal of the Arts at the White House from President Joe Biden. She is in great company, with other 2023 recipients including Gladys Knight, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bruce Springsteen. Judith is a Chicana artist, educator and arts administrator who may be best known, according to The Art Newspaper, for her sprawling community mural project The Great Wall of Los Angeles, in progress for about 5 decades and at 2,754 feet considered the longest mural in the world. Visual arts attorney Brooke Oliver has long represented her in a wide array of IP matters.

We loved hosting a robust venture capital discussion 3/23 in our Silicon Valley office. Our startup specialist Partner Roger Rappoport moderated a "What's Hot? What's Not?" panel in a Silicon Valley Startup: Idea to IPO event. Roger leads our Emerging Growth & VC practice. Others speaking were Ephraim Lindenbaum, Managing Director of Advance Ventures; Sanjit Singh Dang, PhD, Chairman and Co-Founder of U First Capital; Alex M. Founder, SVP & Global Managing Director of Experian Ventures; and Ashmeet Sidana, Founder and Chief Engineer of Engineering Capital.

Our Charter School attorneys were keeping busy in Sacramento at the 2023 CCSA Charter School Conference, of which Procopio is a sponsor. Greta Proctor, Wendy Tucker, Kevin Davis and Merrick Wadsworth combined to give seven presentations at the multi-day conference.

We were honored to host the sold-out event "Secrets to Navigating the Funding and Exit Landscape for Life Sciences and Healthcare Companies in 2023" organized by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) San Diego in our Del Mar Heights office. Corporate Law Partner Jessica Lazur hosted the event, with IP Life Sciences attorney Helen Goldstein moderating a panel with Cardiff Advisory LLC Managing Partner David Crean and Synthase Capital Partners Founder and Managing Director Derek Brunelle. In this uncertain market, the discussion included a focus on who is investing, investors’ behind-the-scenes decision-making processes.

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