Managing Partner Joel has over a decade of experience in intellectual property litigation, including a variety of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright cases. He is admitted to practice in all the Federal District Courts in California, as well as the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. His background in engineering exposed him to a variety of technologies, as well as high-pressure situations (literally!) working in the oilfields in Alaska and California, requiring split-second decisions and the ability to think quickly and clearly. In addition to his intellectual property litigation background, Joel has also previously prosecuted patents, providing him with a keen perspective on patent litigation. Prior to becoming a patent litigator, Joel also spent time as a general civil litigator, handling numerous contract and business disputes in California State Court. Joel has a B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and a J.D. from Seattle University. With his technical background in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a strong interest in and familiarity with a variety of electronics, Joel understands complex technologies, and is able to distill them down to clear concepts for a jury to understand. Since his days serving as an editor on the law review at Seattle University Law School, where he graduated Cum Laude nearly fifteen years ago, Joel has continued to hone his writing skills, and thus while able to relate complex concepts to a jury, is also able to clearly, concisely and persuasively explain them to a Court in a brief. For Joel, litigation is a means to an end. That "end" is the client's ultimate goal, and a client's goal must be kept in mind throughout the course of the litigation, and should guide all of the decisions along the way. While a litigator should prepare every case as if it will go to trial, a good litigator must also be aware of the opportunities along the way to achieve a client’s objectives without the expense of a trial. This philosophy has allowed Joel to also obtain successful outcomes for his clients at earlier stages of litigation, from obtaining preliminary injunctions, prevailing on summary judgment, and settling cases on the eve of trial based on thorough preparation and a readiness to proceed. Contact Joel: joel.kauth@kppb.com