Top PTAB Lawyer Todd Baker Joins Kirkland in Washington, D.C.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Todd Baker has joined the Firm as a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Mr. Baker focuses on Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He will be based in Kirkland’s Washington, D.C., office starting on Sept. 14.
“Todd has a strong reputation built from his significant experience before the Patent Office, particularly at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. As parallel challenges at the PTO have become standard fare in major patent litigation, Todd’s PTAB experience is especially relevant for our clients. We are confident he will add value immediately for existing clients and that he is well placed to help us grow our already active PTAB practice,” said Gregg LoCascio, an IP partner and member of Kirkland’s Executive Committee.
An electrical engineer and former patent examiner, Mr. Baker brings over 20 years of experience with cutting-edge technology to his work on all variety of Patent Office post-grant proceedings, including Inter Partes Review and Post Grant Review proceedings, as well as reissues, reexaminations and appeals. He is also a sought after advisor to clients on patent portfolio management and licensing strategies. He joins Kirkland from Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt LLP, where he was chair of the firm’s post-grant patent practice group and a member of the firm’s management committee.
“I’m thrilled to join Kirkland and the Firm’s outstanding intellectual property practice,” Mr. Baker said. “Kirkland presented a great opportunity for me to play a key role in its complex patent litigation practice, particularly leading their growing practice before the PTAB. Kirkland’s platform is second to none and I’m excited to get started,” said Mr. Baker.
Mr. Baker, 50, holds a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia. He has previously served on the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s board of directors and currently co-chairs the AIPLA’s IP Practice in Japan Committee.
He has earned recognition from Best Lawyers in America and The Legal 500 U.S. He was selected as one of the top practitioners in the United States for post-grant proceedings by Intellectual Asset Management and named an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property.
Mr. Baker is active on diversity and inclusion issues. He previously served as chair of the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Diversity in Intellectual Property Committee, and was honored with a Minority Business Leader Award from the Washington Business Journal.