Lathrop Gage LLP is pleased to welcome Andrew Choung and Erica Van Loon to its Los Angeles office as Partners in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. Both Choung and Van Loon come to Lathrop Gage from Glaser Weil LLP.

“Lathrop Gage is committed to strategically growing in key markets like Los Angeles,” said Cameron Garrison, Managing Partner of Lathrop Gage. “The strength of our Intellectual Property practice is well-known, and we are excited to add two extremely talented and well-respected attorneys like Andrew Choung and Erica Van Loon to the group. With their addition to our rapidly growing Los Angeles office, our IP expertise now stretches from coast-to-coast.”

“We are fortunate to have Andrew and Erica join our Los Angeles office,” said Nancy Sher Cohen, Partner in Charge of Lathrop Gage’s Los Angeles office. “We continue to grow the L.A. office with high caliber attorneys like Andrew and Erica who share our firm’s dedication to providing exceptional legal services and value to our clients. The addition of their IP expertise also continues the diversification of practices in our L.A. office, where we have developed a group of exceptionally talented litigators that can service needs in a number of practice areas.”

Andrew Choung is an accomplished IP attorney. His primary focus is on high-tech, complex patent litigation and strategic counseling, including the development of licensing and monetization programs. He also handles Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, such as Inter Partes Reviews. In June 2018, he won a $400 Million jury verdict for his client KAIST IP on a patent related to semiconductor technology.

Choung represents a wide range of clients, with a particular focus on Korean universities, research institutes and companies. His clientele cover various high-tech fields including telecommunications technologies, display and display materials technologies, semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, automotive and aeronautical technologies, software, internet technologies, business and financial methods, PC games, and virtual worlds and assets.

Choung is a frequent speaker on patent defense, monetization and development topics, and has addressed intellectual property issues at conferences presented by the Korean Association for Intellectual Property Services and the International Association of Korean Lawyers, and has authored and co-authored articles on intellectual property laws. He has practiced at prestigious law firms in both the U.S. and Korea, and has the unique experience of practicing in the legal systems of two of the leading intellectual property countries in the world. Choung is on the Law360 Intellectual Property Editorial Advisory Board and belongs to the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the PTAB Bar Association. He was named one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2016.

Choung earned his juris doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles, 1999, his M.S., Aerospace from the Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995, and his B.A., Physics and Philosophy, from Bard College, 1994.

Erica Van Loon is an experienced trial attorney who focuses her practice on copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent litigation. She also helps clients create effective brand strategies to protect and enforce intellectual property and digital rights through trademark and copyright prosecution, as well as, technology transfer and license agreements. Her accomplishments in the courtroom include 10 summary judgment and motion to dismiss wins for high-profile clients in the last five years. She also recently completed a bench trial concerning ownership of the copyrights for the iconic board game, The Game of Life, and is awaiting a decision from the Court.

Van Loon represents clients across a variety of industries including entertainment and media, apparel and footwear, toys and video games, consumer electronics, beauty and personal care, food and beverage, and various other industries. Her past and current clients include Bally Gaming, VIZIO, British Broadcasting Corporation, Target Corporation, Wal-Mart, Topson Downs of California, Conan O’Brien, Morgan Creek Productions, Lionsgate Film, Nike, Mattel, Harley-Davidson and others.

Van Loon has been repeatedly selected as a recommended expert in trademark litigation and prosecution by the World Trademark Review and was recently named one of the “Most Influential Women Attorneys” by the Los Angeles Business Journal for 2018. She was selected as one of 10 attorneys nationwide in intellectual property as a Law360 Rising Star and is repeatedly named to the Southern California Super Lawyers list in intellectual property litigation. Van Loon has a Martindale-Hubbell legal rating of AV – the highest category awarded.

Van Loon is active in the local legal community and proud to serve as the Co-Chair of the Trademark Subcommittee for the 2019 USC Intellectual Property Institute; Co-Chair of the 2019 Los Angeles Intellectual Property Association’s Spring IP Leadership Seminar; Chair of the Law Firm Advisory Board for the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (“AMEC”); and Chair Emeritus of AMEC’s Women Who Lead Board.

Van Loon is frequently asking to share her expertise on numerous IP topics, including: Moderator, “Common Pitfalls of Trademark Expert Reports and Survey Evidence,” 2018 LAIPLA Spring Seminar; Moderator, “Decide and Conquer: A Closer Look at the ITC versus Federal Court,” 2018 USC Intellectual Property Institute; Moderator, “Different Ways to Think About Differences: Understanding and Interrupting Implicit Bias in the 21st Century,” 2017 USC Intellectual Property Institute; Speaker, “FASHION FORWARD: A Look at the Legal Issues Found in the Fashion Industry”, Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel Women Who Lead Event; Speaker, “Digital Media Joint Ventures: The Tug of War;” Speaker, “When the Follower Becomes The Leader — The Expanding and Innovative Roles of Games, Toys, Songs, and Merchandising as Originators of Filmed Expression,” University of Tennessee Law School’s Entertainment Law Conference; Moderator, “Avoiding IP Pitfalls in Corporate Transactions,” National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firm’s Annual Conference.

Van Loon earned her juris doctor from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, 2003, her International Law Certificate from Pace University, 2002, her B.A. in American Studies, from the University of California, Berkeley, 1999. She was a finalist in the Gray’s Inn Moot Court Competition in 2002 and a published author of the article, “Protecting Car Design Internationally: A Comparison of British and American Design Laws” for the Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review.

The strategic buildup of the firm’s Los Angeles office began in October 2017 when Lathrop Gage added Nancy Sher Cohen, Partner in Charge of the Los Angeles office and Insurance Recovery and Counseling Practice team leader, and Partner Ron Valenzuela from Proskauer Rose LLP. In March 2018, Lathrop Gage added Partner Alexandra Roje from Latham Watkins to the Insurance and Recovery Counseling team, and in June 2018, Scheidemantle Law Group combined with Lathrop Gage’s Los Angeles office, bringing four attorneys: Partner David Scheidemantle, Of Counsel Joshua Pollack and Caroline A.H. Sayers, and Associate Karine Akopchikyan.

www.lathropgage.com