People

Overview

"In spite of Rachael’s extraordinary litigation skills, the thing that has consistently impressed me the most about her is her integrity and desire to do the right thing. Although fiercely competitive, and always willing to fight, she keeps the bigger picture in mind in both her litigation strategy and her business advice. It is truly rare to find an absolute brawler with the compassion and ethics to get the best results for their client."

— James Parke, CEO, Otter Products LLC, Blue Ocean Enterprises Inc.

Rachael Lamkin is a partner at Baker Botts in the IP litigation group. Rachael litigates from both sides of the v but her specialty is patent litigation defense. Passionate about strategy and leverage in litigation, Rachael shifts the asymmetries that traditionally hamper the defense side, e.g., asymmetries in information, cost, financing, and damages. In so doing, Rachael has been able to obtain multiple attorney's fees awards and game-changing settlements, e.g., forcing a highly litigious patent monetization entity to take a public injunction agreeing to permanently cease litigation against all California entities.

In her career as outside counsel, lead counsel, and in-house counsel, Rachael has presided over more than 100 patent litigations. She has represented clients in IP matters in federal court, including the Northern, Southern, and Central Districts of California, the Western & Eastern Districts of Texas, Customs, the ITC, the CIT, the Federal Circuit, and has coordinated with counsel in the European Union and China where clients have required cross-border collaboration.

Rachael is faculty at the Practicing Law Institute for the patent litigation curriculum and Southern University School of Law (patent law).

Rachael is a co-founder of the Lead Counsel Summit, a training and mentoring academy for women poised to occupy the first chair in patent litigation (https://www.leadcounselsummit.com).

Rachael earned her JD from University of California, Davis School of Law (2006), during which she was a moot court national champion, a federal judicial clerk for the Honorable Lawrence K. Karlton, and a law clerk with the U.S. Attorney's Office, where she received a commendation for excellence from the U.S. Attorney.

Rachael is committed to pro bono work and has provided services to the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Surfrider Foundation, and numerous artists, including multiple cases against The Frida Kahlo Corporation, therein defending Latina artists creating work honoring Frida Kahlo.

When not litigating and teaching, Rachael enjoys mountain running, tennis, obstacle course racing, falling off her wing foil, and pranking her close friends and colleagues.

Admission & Affiliations

  • State Bar of California
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • Faculty, Patent Law, Southern University Law Center
  • Faculty, Patent Law Institute
  • American Bar Association's Air & Space Law Committee
  • J.D., University of California Davis School of Law 2006
    Senior Editor, Business Law Journal
    Moot Court National Team
    Moot Court Honors Board
    Neumiller Moot Court Champion
    Patent Law Moot Court Team Coach
  • B.A., Philosophy, Minor, Neuroscience, California State University, Sacramento 2000
    cum laude

Experience

  • Philips North America LLC v. Garmin International, Inc. et al CDCA-2-22-CV-08805. Summary judgement win for client Garmin.
  • Cellspin Soft, Inc. v. Garmin International, Inc. et al NDCA-4-20-CV-03673. Summary judgement win for client Garmin.
  • Rothschild Digital Confirmation, LLC v. CompanyCam, Inc. DDE-1-19-CV-01109. Early section 101 win for client CompanyCam. Secured attorney’s fees award against Plaintiff.
  • Synkloud Technologies, LLC v. Nuance Communications, Inc. DMA-1-20-CV-10564. Summary judgment win for client Nuance.
  • Digital Verification Systems, LLC v. Foxit Software, Inc. NDCA-4-21-CV-08529. Highly favorable outcome for client Foxit. Pro bono case.
  • Kindred Studio Illustration and Design, LLC d/b/a True Grit Texture Supply v. Electronic Communication Technology, LLC a/k/a Eclipse IP, LLC CDCA-2-18-CV-07661. Rule 12(c) win at the pleading stage. Secured attorney’s fees award for client True Grit. Plaintiff (highly litigious NPE) agrees never to file a case in California again.
  • Eloqui Voice Systems, LLC v. Nuance Communications, Inc. CDCA-2-17-CV-00890. Summary judgment win for client Nuance.
  • Gellyfish Technology of Texas LLC v. Alltel Corp et al EDTX-2-11-CV-00216. Case dismissed after filing novel “reverse bifurcation” motion.
  • Landmark Technology, LLC v. Azure Farms, Inc. DOR-3-18-CV-01568. Successfully fought Constitutional challenge to state “anti-patent troll” statutes.
  • Protective Cases for Electronic Devices and Components Thereof ITC-337-TA-955. ITC win for OtterBox.


Awards and Community

Recognized as a "Top Intellectual Property Lawyer" by The Daily Journal, 2024