My goal is to lead our exceedingly qualified lawyers and staff to provide timely and extraordinary legal service based on a deep understanding of our clients' industries.
How I represent clients at Schwabe
As Chief Executive Officer at Schwabe, I focus on keeping our clients at the center of all we do, leveraging my training as an engineer to deliver efficiencies to our clients and our processes, and bringing diversity of thought to a historically slow-changing industry.
I practiced as an intellectual property attorney for over 20 years, helping individuals and companies protect innovations in technology and healthcare and build enduring brands. As an IP lawyer, I experienced the rapid rate of change in technology and the ever-increasing flow of data and information. We have never been more interconnected than we are now. I am passionate about finding strategies to help our clients adapt to the ways that these rapid changes impact the markets in which they operate.
Before joining Schwabe, I served as managing partner at StoFoCo LLP, a firm I founded and managed with two other partners. Prior to becoming a lawyer, I was a design and manufacturing engineer for Hewlett-Packard Co. in San Diego. That experience instilled in me a lifelong interest in innovation and process efficiencies and metrics.
Education
- University of Washington, Juris Doctor (1997)
- San Diego State University, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering
Admissions
- Oregon State Courts
- Washington State Courts
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- United States Court of Appeals
Memberships
- Providence Health Plan, Board Member
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Portland Branch, Board Member
- Downtown Seattle Association, Board Member
- Washington State Women’s Commission, Chair
- Washington State University Vancouver, Advisory Board Member
- Providence Health and Services, Former Oregon Community Ministry Board Member
- Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, Former Co-Chair
- Hispanic National Bar Association, Latinas in the Profession, Former Commissioner
- Oregon Hispanic Bar Association, Past President and Board Member
- Oregon Judicial Diversity Coalition, Former Member
- Oregon Patent Law Association, Past President and Board Member
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Member
Awards
- The Business Journals’ 2019 Law Influencers (2019)
- IP Stars Oregon (2019-2020)
- Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Female Leader of the Year (2019)
- Latino/Latina Bar Association of Washington, Abogada Exceptional Award (2019)
- Portland Business Journal, Women of Influence Honoree (2019)
- Portland Business Journal, Executive of the Year (2018)
- Dress for Success, Athena Award Winner (2018)
- Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year Award, Patent Law (2018)
- Selected to the Oregon Super Lawyers List (2006-2024)
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, Patent Law (2013-2025)
- Oregon Hispanic Bar Association, Paul J. De Muniz Professionalism Award (2015)
Community Activities
Schwabe’s culture of respect and camaraderie resonates with my own deeply held values. My communities in both Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon are very important to me. My relationships with clients, family and friends in these communities are at the core of my civic efforts. I have served as Co-chair and Board Member for the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, Member of the Oregon Community Ministry Board for Providence Health & Services, Commissioner of the Latina Commission for the Hispanic National Bar Association, past President and Board Member for the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association, and past President of the Oregon Patent Law Association.
I was appointed to the State of Washington’s Women’s Commission to help improve the lives of women in Washington by addressing issues such as domestic violence, childcare and support, sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace, equal compensation and job pathways in employment, and the specific needs of women of color. I additionally serve as a member of the Washington State University Vancouver Advisory Board.
Outside Interests
Skiing at Mt. Hood.
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