Robert J. Rando

Topics:	Administrative Law & Regulation • Constitution • Federal Courts • Federalism • Federalist Society • First Amendment • Founding Era & History • Intellectual Property • Litigation • Separation of Powers • Supreme Court • Federalism & Separation of Powers

Brian O'Shaughnessy

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Partner

Biography

Brian is chair of Dinsmore’s IP Transactions and Licensing Group. He is a past president of the Licensing Executives Society (USA and Canada), Inc. (LES), the leading professional society devoted to commercial transactions and licensing of intangible property. He continues to serve LES as senior vice president for public policy. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of commercial transactions involving intangible property, and is known for creative licensing strategies to promote collaboration and resolve IP-related disputes.

He is a registered patent attorney with more than 30 years of experience before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in structuring global IP portfolios and strategies. He has extensive experience in contested proceedings before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (interferences, Inter Partes Reviews and Post Grant Reviews), as well as contested matters in federal courts and the International Trade Commission. His wide-ranging experience affords a broad, informed perspective and facilitates creative approaches to intellectual property management, licensing, and enforcement.

In addition to his leadership of LES, Brian served on the LES Board of Directors 2007 – 2018. In his ongoing role as senior vice president for public policy he is responsible for coordinating the society’s public policy positions, amicus briefs, and congressional outreach. He works with legislators, the executive branch, and the courts toward consistent, reliable, and prudent IP laws and policies that advance innovation and economic development. He has also served LES as trustee for education, and has long served as an author, editor, and faculty member of LES educational programs focusing on best practices in IP licensing.

He is also active in the global society, LES International (LESI). Among his various roles in LESI, he has served as co-chair of the External Relations Committee, coordinating public policy and advocacy for effective IP laws and policies among the 33 regional LES societies, and with various non-governmental organizations such as WIPO and EPO. In 2019, he received the LES International President’s Service Recognition Award.

Brian also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bayh Dole Coalition, a 501(c)(4) corporation dedicated to promoting and preserving the Bayh Dole Act. He is a member of the Founding Board of Directors of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance (USIPA), an organization dedicated to raising public awareness of, and appreciation for, the role of IP in fostering innovation for the public good; and he has served on the DC Bar Intellectual Property Section Steering Committee (2013 – 2016).

In 2016, Brian testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on the effects of the America Invents Act on small business and entrepreneurs in a hearing entitled “An Examination of Changes to the U.S. Patent System & Impacts on America's Small Businesses.”

With his longstanding and diverse patent practice, in both private practice and in-house, Brian advises corporate leaders and entrepreneurs in effective IP procurement practices, and in maximizing value from IP assets. He has been retained as a testifying witness in IP and licensing disputes by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and by various private enterprises.

Brian has been acknowledged by IAM magazine as among its “IAM Strategy 300”, the world’s leading IP strategists, and among “The World's Leading Patent and Technology Licensing Lawyers.”

He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Chemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY; and Juris Doctor from Syracuse University, College of Law, Syracuse, NY (1986).

Brian has served his alma mater as president of the RIT Alumni Association 2005 – 2009; and now serves on the RIT Board of Trustees as a member of its Executive Committee, chair of its Student Life Committee, and vice-chair of its Committee on Trustees. In 2013, Brian was awarded RIT’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, and in 2005 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by RIT’s College of Science.

Robert J. Rando

Partner, Patrick Doerr

Biography

Robert J. Rando is a partner at Patrick | Doerr, where he brings over three decades of experience in intellectual property, complex commercial litigation, and appellate advocacy. His practice spans patent and trademark litigation, constitutional and administrative law, and high-stakes federal litigation across a wide spectrum of industries and technologies.

Mr. Rando has represented clients in matters involving computer hardware and software, silicon chip manufacturing, biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemical compounds, food additives, alternative energy, AI, autonomous vehicles, blockchain, consumer electronics, communications, internet, and e-commerce. He has appeared in courts across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and multiple U.S. Courts of Appeals.

As appellate counsel, Mr. Rando has served as counsel of record or co-counsel in more than 30 amicus briefs filed before the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit on issues of patent law, statutory interpretation, separation of powers, and constitutional law. Noteworthy filings include eBay Inc. v. MercExchange (2006), Oil States v. Greene’s Energy (2017), American Axle v. Neapco (2021), Amgen v. Sanofi (2023), and Cellect v. Vidal (2024).

Mr. Rando is a Fellow of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, having served by judicial appointment as Special Master in numerous complex patent cases, including multi-day Markman hearings and post-discovery proceedings. He also serves as a court-appointed Mediator and Neutral in both patent and commercial disputes.

He has played an active role in judicial and legislative engagement. Mr. Rando co-developed and conducted lecture series for the SDNY and EDNY Patent Pilot Program Judges and Clerks, covering the America Invents Act and Section 101 eligibility post-Alice and Mayo. He represented both the Federal Bar Association (FBA) and New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) at the Tillis/Coons Section 101 Patent Reform Roundtable, and submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019.

Mr. Rando is a former president of the NYIPLA (2023–2024) and has held nearly every leadership position in the organization. He also served as Chair of the FBA’s Intellectual Property Law Section and was a founding member and president of the FBA’s EDNY Chapter. He is a founding member of the Association of Amicus Counsel, and an active contributor to the Federalist Society IP Practice Group Executive Committee.

He frequently lectures at CLE programs, universities, and legal associations on IP, constitutional law, and appellate advocacy. He has been quoted extensively in publications such as Law360, Bloomberg Law, WIPR, and National Law Journal. His scholarly publications include articles in The Federal Lawyer, Touro Law Review, and IPWatchdog.

Anne Joseph O'Connell

Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

Biography

Anne Joseph O’Connell is a lawyer and social scientist (with graduate training in economics and political science) whose research and teaching focus on administrative law and the federal bureaucracy. Outside of the law school, she was a presidentially appointed member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent federal agency dedicated to improving regulatory procedures, from October 2022 to January 2025. O’Connell is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration and an elected member of the American Law Institute. She frequently consults with congressional staff, nonprofit organizations, and others, and has testified before Congress. She is a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences for the 2024-2025 academic year.

At Stanford Law School, O’Connell teaches Administrative Law, Advanced Administrative Law, and Constitutional Law. The class of 2020 chose her to receive the Hurlbut Award, which is given to one professor “who strives to make teaching an art.” She co-chaired the steering committee for Stanford University’s Faculty Women’s Forum, which works to enable all women faculty to thrive, from August 2022 to January 2024 and jointly conducted two surveys on COVID’s impacts on faculty for FWF. Prior to joining Stanford University in 2018, O’Connell was the George Johnson Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. While there, she received the Distinguished Teaching Award (the campus’s most prestigious honor for teaching) in 2016 and Berkeley Law’s Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction in 2012. From April 2013 to July 2015, she served as associate dean for faculty development and research under three different deans. In 2013-2014, O’Connell was co-president of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies (co-organizing the 2014 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies).

Before joining the Berkeley Law faculty in 2004, O’Connell clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court during the October 2003 term. From 2001 to 2003, she was a trial attorney for the Federal Programs Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, receiving commendations for her work. She clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 2000 to 2001. A Truman Scholar, O’Connell worked for a number of federal agencies in earlier years, including the Department of Defense (Offices of the General Counsel and Inspector General), Federal Trade Commission (Bureau of Competition), Department of Justice (Office of Legal Counsel), and U.S. Army (RDE). She is a member of the New York bar and served as a volunteer for the Biden-Harris Campaign’s policy team.

Robert J. Rando

Partner, Patrick Doerr

Biography

Robert J. Rando is a partner at Patrick | Doerr, where he brings over three decades of experience in intellectual property, complex commercial litigation, and appellate advocacy. His practice spans patent and trademark litigation, constitutional and administrative law, and high-stakes federal litigation across a wide spectrum of industries and technologies.

Mr. Rando has represented clients in matters involving computer hardware and software, silicon chip manufacturing, biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemical compounds, food additives, alternative energy, AI, autonomous vehicles, blockchain, consumer electronics, communications, internet, and e-commerce. He has appeared in courts across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and multiple U.S. Courts of Appeals.

As appellate counsel, Mr. Rando has served as counsel of record or co-counsel in more than 30 amicus briefs filed before the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit on issues of patent law, statutory interpretation, separation of powers, and constitutional law. Noteworthy filings include eBay Inc. v. MercExchange (2006), Oil States v. Greene’s Energy (2017), American Axle v. Neapco (2021), Amgen v. Sanofi (2023), and Cellect v. Vidal (2024).

Mr. Rando is a Fellow of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, having served by judicial appointment as Special Master in numerous complex patent cases, including multi-day Markman hearings and post-discovery proceedings. He also serves as a court-appointed Mediator and Neutral in both patent and commercial disputes.

He has played an active role in judicial and legislative engagement. Mr. Rando co-developed and conducted lecture series for the SDNY and EDNY Patent Pilot Program Judges and Clerks, covering the America Invents Act and Section 101 eligibility post-Alice and Mayo. He represented both the Federal Bar Association (FBA) and New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) at the Tillis/Coons Section 101 Patent Reform Roundtable, and submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019.

Mr. Rando is a former president of the NYIPLA (2023–2024) and has held nearly every leadership position in the organization. He also served as Chair of the FBA’s Intellectual Property Law Section and was a founding member and president of the FBA’s EDNY Chapter. He is a founding member of the Association of Amicus Counsel, and an active contributor to the Federalist Society IP Practice Group Executive Committee.

He frequently lectures at CLE programs, universities, and legal associations on IP, constitutional law, and appellate advocacy. He has been quoted extensively in publications such as Law360, Bloomberg Law, WIPR, and National Law Journal. His scholarly publications include articles in The Federal Lawyer, Touro Law Review, and IPWatchdog.

Joseph Cianfrani

Partner, Friedland Cianfrani LLP

Biography

Joe has focused on IP litigation for his entire 25-year legal career. In that time, he has successfully represented clients in high-stakes intellectual property disputes at both the trial and appellate levels. Joe combines a strong technical background with a thorough understanding of his clients’ business goals and then tailors the legal strategy to achieve those goals.

Joe's practice primarily involves representing litigants in federal district court in patent and trademark cases, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where he served as a law clerk to Judge Arthur Gajarsa. Joe has represented clients on more than 50 appeals and petitions for inter partes review involving computer peripherals, optics, electronics, software, pharmaceuticals, DNA sequencing, and medical devices.

Before founding Friedland Cianfrani, Joe was a partner at Knobbe Martens for two decades, where he served as the Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and the co-chair of the appellate practice group. Joe is a leader in the intellectual property bar community and has served on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Association and has chaired the Association’s amicus and legislative committees. He has authored numerous amicus briefs for the AIPLA and other bar associations on a variety of intellectual property issues and is a frequent lecturer on intellectual property law and litigation strategy. Joe is also an active community leader and has coached local high school mock trial teams for the past several years.

Joe has also been consistently recognized with numerous awards as a “Rising Star,” "Super Lawyer," and "Best Lawyer," including Lawyer of the Year award by Best Lawyers in 2021.

Robert J. Rando

Partner, Patrick Doerr

Biography

Robert J. Rando is a partner at Patrick | Doerr, where he brings over three decades of experience in intellectual property, complex commercial litigation, and appellate advocacy. His practice spans patent and trademark litigation, constitutional and administrative law, and high-stakes federal litigation across a wide spectrum of industries and technologies.

Mr. Rando has represented clients in matters involving computer hardware and software, silicon chip manufacturing, biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemical compounds, food additives, alternative energy, AI, autonomous vehicles, blockchain, consumer electronics, communications, internet, and e-commerce. He has appeared in courts across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and multiple U.S. Courts of Appeals.

As appellate counsel, Mr. Rando has served as counsel of record or co-counsel in more than 30 amicus briefs filed before the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit on issues of patent law, statutory interpretation, separation of powers, and constitutional law. Noteworthy filings include eBay Inc. v. MercExchange (2006), Oil States v. Greene’s Energy (2017), American Axle v. Neapco (2021), Amgen v. Sanofi (2023), and Cellect v. Vidal (2024).

Mr. Rando is a Fellow of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, having served by judicial appointment as Special Master in numerous complex patent cases, including multi-day Markman hearings and post-discovery proceedings. He also serves as a court-appointed Mediator and Neutral in both patent and commercial disputes.

He has played an active role in judicial and legislative engagement. Mr. Rando co-developed and conducted lecture series for the SDNY and EDNY Patent Pilot Program Judges and Clerks, covering the America Invents Act and Section 101 eligibility post-Alice and Mayo. He represented both the Federal Bar Association (FBA) and New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA) at the Tillis/Coons Section 101 Patent Reform Roundtable, and submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019.

Mr. Rando is a former president of the NYIPLA (2023–2024) and has held nearly every leadership position in the organization. He also served as Chair of the FBA’s Intellectual Property Law Section and was a founding member and president of the FBA’s EDNY Chapter. He is a founding member of the Association of Amicus Counsel, and an active contributor to the Federalist Society IP Practice Group Executive Committee.

He frequently lectures at CLE programs, universities, and legal associations on IP, constitutional law, and appellate advocacy. He has been quoted extensively in publications such as Law360, Bloomberg Law, WIPR, and National Law Journal. His scholarly publications include articles in The Federal Lawyer, Touro Law Review, and IPWatchdog.