ROBERT J. PATCH is senior partner of the Firm. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and Doctor of Law from the George Washington University School of Law. Before joining Young & Thompson in 1964 as the junior partner to Mr. Thompson, Mr. Robert Patch worked as patent counsel to Air Products Inc. and to the International Nickel Company, as well as in the U.S. Patent Office as a patent examiner. Mr. R. Patch has worked on patent cases in all technical disciplines during his 53 years of experience in the patent field. In addition to his work in patent matters, Mr. R. Patch heads up the trademark operations of the Firm.

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ANDREW J. PATCH joined Young & Thompson in 1983 and is a partner in the Firm. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Maryland, and Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Patch divides his time between supervising U.S. patent prosecution and working in the Licensing & Litigation Group, where he frequently serves as lead patent counsel in patent infringement proceedings and provides substantive patent law expertise to patent license negotiation and license drafting. Mr. Patch has conducted numerous patent interferences, and heads that activity within the Firm.

Mr. Patch counsels companies in the development of their intellectual property portfolios and in developing and improving overall intellectual property strategies. He is frequently called upon to provide expert opinions on the topics of patent infringement, patent validity, and patent enforceability, and has been retained in a patent expert capacity by the U.S. Department of Justice. With other members of the Licensing & Litigation Group, he has represented clients of the Firm before numerous federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Return to top

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DOUGLAS V. RIGLER is a partner in the Firm and head of Young & Thompson's Licensing & Litigation Group. He is a highly experienced litigator, having argued twice as lead counsel selected to speak for multiple parties, including five foreign governments, in the Supreme Court of the United States. He has argued in numerous federal courts of appeal and state supreme courts, and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. At the trial level, he has been lead counsel in jury and bench trials in federal and state courts throughout the United States. During service as a member of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mr. Rigler presided over the largest antitrust trial in the history of the Agency, and the comprehensive opinion of the panel he chaired was upheld on appeal.

In addition to court appearances in the United States, Mr. Rigler has had a supervisory role as worldwide coordinating counsel for pretrial discovery, trial issues and strategy, and settlement of a number of international disputes involving U.S. and foreign counterpart patents. He has had widespread experience in the taking of international discovery in connection with U.S. and foreign proceedings, representing parties seeking information as well as parties resisting the production of information.

In addition to his courtroom practice, Mr. Rigler participates in dispute resolution through arbitration. Mr. Rigler has arbitrated in the United States and in foreign countries under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, the American Arbitration Association, the London Court of International Arbitration, and under ad hoc rules.

Either in connection with settlement of disputes or as a matter of a client's independent business objectives, Mr. Rigler drafts, negotiates and monitors license agreements on behalf of our clients. These agreements are domestic and international and include a large and diverse number of products and services. He also drafts and negotiates joint venture agreements and related commercial agreements.

Mr. Rigler attended The Johns Hopkins University and The United States Naval Academy. After completing his commitment as a Naval Aviator, he attended the George Washington University Law School where he was an honors graduate and an editor of the Law Review. He is the author of a number of law review articles. Return to top

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BENOÎT CASTEL joined Young & Thompson in 1991 and is a partner in the Firm. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York, and Juris Doctor from the George Mason University School of Law. Before joining Young & Thompson, Mr. Castel spent 18 years in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examining patent applications in various technical arts. His last several years in the Patent Office were spent as a Legal Examiner in the PCT International Division, where he acted on petitions relating to PCT applications. As such, he is perhaps the most knowledgeable U.S. patent attorney regarding matters peculiar to the Patent Cooperation Treaty. As a senior examiner, Mr. Castel served as a lecturer at the U.S. Patent Office Academy on the topics of obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Mr. Castel is fluent in French, it being his native language. Return to top

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THOMAS W. PERKINS joined Young & Thompson in 1997 and is a partner in the Firm. He has extensive experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the electronics, electrical and mechanical arts and is a skilled trademark prosecution practitioner. Mr. Perkins prepares and prosecutes patent applications and counsels clients in a variety of intellectual property matters. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy, a Master of Science from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Juris Doctor from the George Mason University School of Law. Return to top

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ROLAND E. LONG, JR. joined Young & Thompson in 1998 and is a partner in the Firm. Mr. Long primarily prepares and prosecutes patent applications in the electronics and mechanical arts, prepares patent validity and infringement opinions, and oversees the searching program. In the past, his practice has included both patent and trademark prosecution, patent infringement litigation, and general client counseling. Mr. Long holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas (Austin), a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, and a Juris Doctor from the George Mason University School of Law. He also is a registered Professional Engineer in electrical engineering (Washington State). Return to top

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ERIC JENSEN joined Young & Thompson in 1996 and is a partner in the Firm. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. Before entering law school, he worked as a computer engineer for the IBM Corporation for five years. Mr. Jensen is principally engaged in patent prosecution and opinion work in the electrical, mechanical, and computer-related fields. Return to top

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MARK LEBOW joined Young & Thompson in 2000 and is a partner in the Firm, specializing in trademark law and litigation, infringement, unfair competition and related areas, including copyright law. He manages and supervises the Firm's 100+ year old trademark practice, which has many hundreds of domestic and foreign clients with trademark issues worldwide. Mr. Lebow has a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and an LL.M in Information Technology Law from The John Marshall Law School. He has lectured on Trademark Law and Unfair Competition issues and was a criminal prosecutor and public defender with extensive courtroom experience, including more than 50 jury trials, before deciding to specialize in intellectual property law back in 1996. Return to top

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LIAM J. McDOWELL holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Juris Doctor from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. He is currently pursuing a degree of Master of Science in Electrical Engineering with a focus in semiconductor devices and processes. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. McDowell was a patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office reviewing patent applications in the mechanical arts. Return to top

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JEFF GOEHRING is an associate attorney in the Licensing and Litigation Group. Mr. Goehring holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania and is a 2004 graduate of Tulane Law School. He is a member of the California and the District of Columbia bars, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As a law student, Mr. Goehring clerked for the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and for the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Orleans. Return to top

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Robert Madsen joined Young & Thompson in 2006 as a Patent Agent. Mr. Madsen holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Madsen was a patent examiner for six years at the United States Patent and Trademark Office reviewing patent applications in the chemical arts. Mr. Madsen also has eight years of relevant work experience as a chemical engineer in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Return to top

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Jeffrey R. Snay is an associate attorney in Young & Thompson's Licensing and Litigation Group. He holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from New York's Polytechnic University and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining Young & Thompson, Mr. Snay spent 17 years in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office examining patent applications in the Chemical Arts. Mr. Snay culminated his tenure with the USPTO working in the Office of the Solicitor, where he issued legal opinions and memoranda on proposed rulemakings, drafted legal documents in Administrative and Judicial proceedings, and participated in preparing an Amicus Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. Return to top

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ROBERT E. GOOZNER has been a patent professional since 1997. He holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Temple University. Dr. Goozner was a post doctoral fellow at the T.U. Clausthal and U. Freiburg, both in Germany. Dr. Goozner received a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, and he is a member of the Virginia bar. Prior to becoming a patent professional, Dr. Goozner worked as a research chemist and in process development, including in the fields of liquid crystals, filtration, polymer chemistry, semiconductors, and raw material processing and refining. Dr. Goozner is skilled in all areas of patent prosecution, including appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Dr. Goozner speaks German. Return to top

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Jeremy G. Mereness holds a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. He learned computer programming as an undergraduate and spent 11 years as a computer professional before enrolling in law school. As a law student, he interned with the New York City Dept. of Information Technology and Telecommunications, and was a founding fellow for the Institute for Information Law and Technology. He earned his J.D. in 2006 with a Certificate of Mastery in Law Practice Technology and was a court attorney for the New York City Civil Court before joining Young & Thompson in 2007. Return to top

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James J. Livingston, Jr. is a patent attorney concentrating in the electrical, computer and mechanical fields. He holds a B.S.B.A. in Management Information Systems from Northeastern University, Cum Laude, and a law degree from New England School of Law where he was awarded the CALI Award for the Future of Patent Law. Prior to attending Law School, Mr. Livingston worked as Software Engineer for 17 years for computer hardware and software companies. Mr. Livingston is principally engaged in patent prosecution and opinion work. Return to top

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Jay F. Williams is a patent attorney concentrating in the chemical and biotech areas. He holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Virginia as well as a Masters degree in Biotechnology from the Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Williams received his law degree from the George Washington University. Mr. Williams' practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications, opinion work and client counseling primarily in the biotech, pharmaceutical, chemical, medical device, cosmetic and food arts. He has significant experience in all phases of utility patent preparation and procurement; infringement, validity and patentability opinion preparation; interference, reexamination, reissue and appeals practice; and litigation support involving infringement and validity disputes. Mr. Williams previously worked as a biotech patent examiner for the USPTO, where he examined applications in immunology and virology regard to vaccines, antibodies, viral vectors, viral peptides, therapeutics, DNA, transgenic animals and immunoassays. Mr. Williams is a member of the IP Practice in Japan Committee of the American Intellectual Property Association. Return to top

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Matthew Lee joined Young & Thompson in 2008, and is a registered U.S. patent agent. He received a law degree in Korea (Kyung Hee University, LL.B.) and is currently enrolled in the L.L.M. program at The George Washington University Law School. Mr. Lee's technical background is in biology. Mr. Lee is a native speaker of Korean. Return to top

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