Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Administrative Law Judge Robert Rogers, who recently retired from the International Trade Commission (ITC), has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property Department as senior counsel.  He will be based in Steptoe’s Century City and Washington, DC offices.

Mr. Rogers was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to the ITC in July 2008.  During his five-year tenure, he presided over and conducted hearings and formal proceedings related to Section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930.  Approximately 95 percent of his proceedings involved patent rights.  Mr. Rogers presided over 20 hearings, and issued 17 initial determinations and two temporary exclusion order initial determinations.  A number of the cases he oversaw involved high-profile investigations.  Most recently, in his final decision at the ITC, Mr. Rogers issued an initial determination in a trade secrets case – a rarity for the ITC – finding in favor of SI Group and confirming that the Sino Legend respondents misappropriated SI Group trade secrets.

In welcoming him, Steptoe Chair Roger Warin commented:  “Judge Rogers brings significant case experience from the ITC where he presided over matters involving unfair trade practices and intellectual property rights in a variety of technologies including consumer electronics and telecommunications devices, chemical compositions and processes, and medical and industrial equipment, among others.  He will enhance our already thriving and successful ITC practice by providing clients insight into how they can best present their case before the ITC.”

Steptoe’s widely recognized ITC Litigation/Section 337 practice is led by Charles Schill and Jamie Beaber, two of the country’s best-known Section 337 practitioners.  Mr. Schill has handled more than 115 ITC investigations – a track record believed to be unparalleled.  Mr. Beaber has handled approximately 50 ITC investigations.  Steptoe’s ITC litigation team has been part of several innovative cases, including the first Section 337 investigation initiated by a luxury goods company.  The practice has also been involved in the highly publicized “smartphone wars.”  Steptoe’s Section 337 group is consistently recognized as one of the most active before the ITC, and received the highest ranking of any general practice firm in the 2012 ITC Survey by Corporate Counsel magazine.

“Steptoe has an extremely active presence at the ITC, where it has built a record for success and has earned a reputation for professionalism and high ethical standards,” said Mr. Rogers.  “In retiring from the bench, I am delighted to be working with a team for which I have great respect and admiration.”

Prior to his appointment to the ITC, Mr. Rogers served as a supervisory ALJ at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals in Irvine, California.  He also served as an ALJ at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, and at the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals in Sacramento, California.  Before his nearly 20 years of service as a federal judge, Mr. Rogers served as assistant city attorney for the city of Thousand Oaks, California, and as the city attorney for the city of South San Francisco.  He also spent six years in private practice as a solo practitioner.

Mr. Rogers received an A.B. cum laude in public administration from San Diego State University, and earned a J.D. from Brigham Young University.  Following law school, he was a US Navy JAG officer.

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