Perkins Coie Names New ITC Section 337 Litigation Practice Co-Chairs

SEATTLE (May 25, 2023)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Patent Litigation Partners Veronica Ascarrunz and Kevin Patariu have been named firmwide co-chairs of its top-ranked U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Section 337 Litigation practice, effective May 25, 2023. Veronica and Kevin join John Schnurer as co-chairs of the firm's ITC Litigation practice within the firm's Intellectual Property group.

Veronica, based in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, has deep experience representing clients before the ITC and venues across the country, securing successful wins for dozens of clients, including in the software, semiconductor, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries. Veronica is ranked nationally by Chambers USA for ITC and recently concluded her tenure as the president of the ITC Trial Lawyers Association.

Kevin, based in the firm's San Diego office, has extensive experience before the ITC, including successfully litigating several Section 337 investigations through trial. Kevin regularly ranks among the most active, top performing ITC litigators, including as the second best performing ITC lawyer overall ranking out of over 7,500 lawyers who appeared before the ITC between 2014 and 2019. Before attending law school, Kevin worked as an electrical engineer for eight years, designing integrated circuits for a variety of applications. Kevin is also named as co-inventor on eight U.S. patents and four foreign patents in the fields of data encryption/decryption and information security.

"Veronica's and Kevin's depth of knowledge and experience, combined with their commitment to collaboration, make them excellent additions to our ITC Litigation leadership," said Shannon Bloodworth, Perkins Coie's firmwide chair of the national Intellectual Property practice. "We look forward to the fresh and innovative perspective they will bring."

"Veronica and Kevin are both accomplished and highly respected in this specialized area," said John Schnurer, ITC Litigation co-chair. "I am excited to partner with them to further deepen the value we bring to our clients."

Perkins Coie's internationally recognized Intellectual Property group consists of more than 250 lawyers and agents in the United States and Asia who provide innovative, holistic counsel at every stage of intellectual property protection and development. The firm is nationally recognized as one of the most active and best performing law firms at the ITC and offers clients a deep bench of lawyers from every technical discipline, including Ph.D.s, professional engineers, and former industry professionals, who draw on their technology experience and combine it with extensive knowledge of patent law, litigation, and the ITC's unique rules and procedures.