WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE FOLLOWING ATTORNEYS HAVE BECOME PARTNERS AT THE FIRM. Troy Foster Corporate & Securities, Palo Alto Jessica L. Margolis Litigation, New York Laura M. Merritt Litigation, Austin and Seattle Michael H. Rubin Litigation, Palo Alto Seth C. Silber Antitrust, Washington, D.C. David S. Thomas Employee Benefits & Compensation, Palo Alto Karen K. Wong Intellectual Property, Palo Alto February 2010
Troy Foster Based in the firm s Palo Alto office, Troy Foster advises a wide range of corporate and entrepreneurial clients, including emerging growth companies, venture capital firms, public companies, and investment banks, on matters of corporate governance and finance. His venture practice is primarily focused on the life sciences and clean energy arenas. In addition, Troy is active in the digital media and Internet sector. Troy received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1999, where he was a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review and a contributing editor of the National Black Law Journal. From 1999 to 2000, he clerked for the Honorable Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Troy earned a B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1993. Jessica L. Margolis Jessica Margolis is a partner in the New York office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she specializes in general commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense and related investigations. Jessica has advised individual and corporate clients in connection with an extensive array of criminal and civil matters encompassing many substantive areas of the law, including fraud, contract, and intellectual property. She has significant experience litigating in federal and state courts. Jessica received her J.D. in 2000 from Yale Law School, where she served as a senior editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. From 2001 to 2002, she clerked for the Honorable Barbara S. Jones of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Jessica earned a B.A. in politics from Princeton University in 1997, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Laura M. Merritt Laura Merritt advises technology and growth company clients of both the firm s Austin and Seattle offices in all areas of labor and employment law, including federal and state antidiscrimination statutes, executive compensation, wage and hour issues, restrictive covenants, employment and severance agreements, collective bargaining, and employment policies and procedures. Based primarily in the Austin office, Laura also focuses on labor and employment law litigation in state and federal courts, including discrimination, breach of contract, wrongful discharge, and wage and hour cases, among other matters. In addition, she is experienced in the representation of companies in labor union matters. Laura received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994. She earned a B.A. in English in 1990 and a B.S. in journalism in 1991, both from the University of Texas. Michael H. Rubin Michael Rubin is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on intellectual property and Internet-related litigation and counseling. Michael has particular expertise and experience representing technology companies in matters involving copyright, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and other intellectual property issues as they apply to the Internet. Michael received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2000, graduating cum laude, and earned a B.A. in foreign affairs, with distinction, from the University of Virginia.
Seth C. Silber Based in the firm s Washington, D.C., office, Seth Silber specializes in antitrust counseling, mergers, and litigation. He has substantial experience advising clients in the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets, including on issues concerning pharmaceutical patent settlements, mergers and acquisitions, and anticompetitive conduct. Seth joined the firm after serving six years at the Federal Trade Commission, most recently as antitrust advisor to Commissioner (now Chairman) Jon Leibowitz, advising him on enforcement issues relating to both anticompetitive conduct and mergers affecting various industries including healthcare, medical devices, media, and oil and gas. Seth received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1997, graduating cum laude. He earned an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1993 and a B.A., cum laude, from Emory University in 1991. David S. Thomas David Thomas is a partner in the firm s Palo Alto office, where he counsels clients ranging from multinational corporations to small businesses on issues related to compensation and employee benefits. His practice focuses on the design and administration of equity incentive plans, employment agreements, tax-qualified retirement plans, and welfare benefit plans. In addition, a large part of David s practice focuses on assisting companies with compensation and benefits issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions, including cross-border and other complex transactions. David received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1996 and was awarded the Edwin S. Cohen tax scholarship. He earned a B.S. in economics and political science from James Madison University in 1993, graduating summa cum laude.
Karen K. Wong 黄嘉 Based in the firm s Palo Alto office, Dr. Karen Wong serves as intellectual property counsel to numerous venture-backed companies, primarily in the life sciences field. Her practice includes freedom-to-operate and due-diligence studies, patent preparation and prosecution, opinion work, litigation strategy, and technology licensing. Karen has worked on numerous strategic alliance transactions, cross-border collaborations (particularly between China and the U.S.), acquisitions, spin-outs, and initial public offerings. Karen represents a wide variety of companies, as well as venture capital firms, in areas including therapeutics, diagnostics, personalized medicine, bio-research equipment, chemical engineering, and biofuels. Karen received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2002. In addition, she earned a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular physiology from Tufts University in 1997 and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. Karen received a B.A. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and minored in business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese.