IRENE YANG, co-head of the firm’s IP Litigation practice, focuses on patent and complex commercial litigation in the high tech and life sciences industries. Clients have described her as “a seasoned litigator who is adept at civil procedure, intellectual property law, and understanding of technology” (Chambers USA, 2023) and “an incredibly talented lawyer – good at procedural, pre-trial and trial stage” (Chambers USA, 2022).
Irene has extensive experience in cases involving a diverse set of products and technologies, such as networking and telecommunications, semiconductors, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer devices, as well as cases involving FRAND obligations for standard-essential patents. Irene’s litigation experience spans patent litigation, contractual disputes, trademark and trade dress infringement claims, business torts, antitrust litigation, and trade secret claims.
Irene has obtained significant jury trial victories and led litigation teams that achieved wins prior to trial. She regularly serves as lead counsel in her clients’ important disputes across a range of industries.
She has represented clients before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; U.S. District Courts in California, Texas, Delaware, Illinois, New York, and Florida; the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC); and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Irene also counsels clients on intellectual property issues, assists with intellectual property due diligence in connection with transactional matters, and serves as a Court-appointed mediator for the Northern District of California’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program. Her pro bono work includes employment discrimination litigation, veterans’ benefits applications, and immigration and asylum proceedings.
She earned a J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University.
Awards and Rankings
- Chambers USA: California — Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation (2022‒2023)
- Lawdragon, “500 Leading Litigators in America” (2022)
- Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under List” for IP Litigation (2022)
- Law360, Rising Star (2019)
- Super Lawyers, Northern California (2019‒2020; 2023)
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2016)