Brooks Kushman P.C., a specialized intellectual property (IP) and commercial law firm, recently hired
Christopher C. Smith as an associate to further strength the firm`s litigation practice. The announcement was made by
Mark Cantor, president of the firm. Smith will be based in the firm`s Southfield, Mich. office, but will work seamlessly with the firm`s Los Angeles office as a member of the California State Bar.
“Chris brings a unique combination of technical background, experience and energy that will make him an asset to our
IP litigation department,” Cantor said. “I welcome Chris to the Brooks Kushman team and look forward to his continued growth and development as a specialized IP professional. He is a welcomed addition to a practice area of our firm that has experienced significant growth over the past year.”
In his new role, Smith will further bolster the IP litigation practice and will work with senior litigators at the firm on every aspect of the firm`s cases, including discovery, depositions and trial preparation.
Before joining Brooks Kushman, Smith was an associate with Kirkland & Ellis L.L.P. in Los Angeles, where he worked closely with experts on their reports and deposition preparation, conducted depositions, participated in trials and drafted motions. One such motion overturned a $45 million jury verdict in a case involving content delivery network technology. Previously, he was an associate with Christie Parker & Hale L.L.P. in Pasadena, Calif., where he responded to patent office actions and drafted patent applications, legal research memos, discovery requests and motions. One of those motions resulted in a summary judgment of non-infringement in a patent case involving pharmaceutical shipping technology.
While in law school, Smith served as a judicial extern for the Honorable R. Gary Klausner, U.S. Federal District Court, Central District in Los Angeles, as well as a law clerk for Dobrusin & Thennisch P.C. in Birmingham, Mich. Further, in conjunction with his undergraduate engineering education, he also held undergraduate and post-graduate positions at TI Automotive in Warren, Mich., The Goldman Group in Ann Arbor, Mich. and American Axle & Manufacturing in Rochester Hills, Mich.
Smith earned a juris doctor degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is admitted to the State Bar of California, United States Patent & Trademark Office, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of California.
