Principal Corporate Counsel: IP Litigation

Cisco•Atlanta, GA

6d•$189,200 - $331,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The in-house litigation team at Cisco includes commercial and IP attorneys, specialists, and paralegals. The IP Litigation team is responsible for the company’s patent litigation matters globally and collaborates closely with Cisco’s product, engineering, sales, finance, marketing, and other business teams on disputes. This position reports to the Vice President & Deputy General Counsel of IP Litigation and will be responsible for handling a wide variety of matters across geographies, working closely with business functions across the company. The role requires a bright, inquisitive, highly strategic, and business-savvy candidate who can operate independently and find innovative and practical solutions to resolve issues. The ideal candidate is highly collaborative and proactive, possesses excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and can synthesize complex legal issues, assess legal risks, and provide clear counseling and advice to executives. This role involves a leadership position in all aspects of intellectual property disputes, managing strategic and day-to-day litigation from initial demand through trial, appeal, and working on a variety of cases including U.S. district and appellate court litigation, mediation, arbitration, PTAB/PTO matters, and foreign patent litigation.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate (JD) with a strong academic record.
7-8 years of experience working on significant IP litigation matters, including through mediation, arbitration, post-grant proceedings, or trial, at a law firm or in-house legal department.
Experience coordinating litigation strategy between U.S. district court litigation and IPR teams is a must.
Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to translate complex legal principles and issues to business partners.
Ability to work independently, and exhibit the poise, presence, judgment, and decision-making skills to advise senior-level management on matters involving legal and reputational risk.

Nice To Haves

USPTO admission.
Significant experience with U.S. District Court and PTAB/PTO proceedings.
International litigation experience, particularly in the UPC and Germany.
Undergraduate degree in engineering or computer science.
Additional experience coordinating with foreign litigation teams is a huge plus.

Responsibilities

Managing all aspects of Cisco’s docket of patent disputes in courts, alternative dispute forums, and other tribunals throughout the world.
Selecting, retaining, and managing outside counsel; establishing and managing litigation budgets that align Cisco’s interests with the interests of outside counsel and enhance the likelihood of successful outcomes.
Providing business-driven counseling to mitigate legal risk in a wide scope of patent disputes.
Coordinating litigation strategies between U.S. district court, PTAB, PTO, and foreign legal teams, and facilitating regular communication between these teams.
Liaising with Cisco engineers and outside counsel to assist with discovery and inform litigation positions and strategy.
Attending hearings and trials (as well as mocks) and providing valuable feedback on strategy to outside counsel.
Counseling finance and business functions on risk assessment and dispute resolution strategies.