Kristina Cary is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Boston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Kristina is a patent litigator and trial attorney who concentrates primarily in hardware and software matters in the federal district courts and in Section 337 investigations before the International Trade Commission (ITC). Her practice, supported by her background in electrical and computer engineering, covers a variety of complex technologies including RF circuitry, embedded microprocessors, consumer telecommunications systems, converged devices and related software and operating systems, mobile communications infrastructure, DDR4-compliant memory modules and DRAM, memory controllers, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), voice recognition systems, LED-based lighting systems, thermoplastics, and electrical motors.
Kristina has acted as the technical and litigation lead in complex patent cases involving some of the largest technology companies in the world, and has worked with foreign counsel to develop strategies for infringement and nullity proceedings. She has examined witnesses at trial, argued Markman, deposed scores of fact and expert witnesses, coordinated extensive multinational discovery, and managed large teams of attorneys and technologists through trial and appeal. She works closely with industry experts throughout all phases of litigation and related diligence.
On the transactional side of her practice, Kristina performs merger and acquisition-focused intellectual property diligence involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. She has coordinated and conducted analyses of both practical and technical issues related to acquisitions, including mechanics of domain name, source code, trade secret, and know-how transfer. In this context, she has also led open source audits to advise on sale and licensing implications.
While on leave from her prior firm in 2018, Kristina practiced as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex County (MA) District Attorney's Office, based in the Framingham, MA, district court. During that time, Kristina prosecuted and tried numerous criminal cases in bench and jury sessions.
