Practice areas
Education
- University of California, Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2007); Order of the Coif; Member, California Law Review; Recipient of Jurisprudence Award in Comparative Law, Partnership Tax, and Torts; Recipient of Prosser Prize in Estate Planning Tax, Immigration Law, and Property
- The George Washington University (M.A., International Development Studies, concentration in geography)
- Walla Walla College (B.A., Chemistry); summa cum laude
Laura Evans is an associate at Irell & Manella LLP where her practice focuses on IP litigation. Ms. Evans has extensive experience handling IP matters for various clients including medical device companies, hard drive manufacturers, speech recognition software developers and companies providing networking solutions. Such matters have included jury trials and arbitrations, claim construction proceedings, and successfully having a case dismissed for lack of standing. For example, Ms. Evans was a member of the Irell patent litigation team which, in December 2010, secured a $27.1 million jury verdict on behalf of St. Jude Medical. The verdict is the largest handed down in the Western District of Arkansas in any area of law. She also has experience handling IP transactions and patent reexaminations.
In 2013, Ms. Evans was named a "Rising Star" in intellectual property litigation by Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, she was elected to serve as a member of Public Law Center’s Young Professionals Group in 2012. She is a member of the Orange County Bar Association and hosted the 2010 and 2011 Women in IP events for the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) in Orange County. Ms. Evans has also served as chair of the firm’s Associates Committee, among other firm committee work.
Ms. Evans earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. During law school, she served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Claudia Wilken of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Ms. Evans earned her M.A. in International Development Studies from The George Washington University and her B.A. in Chemistry from Walla Walla College, summa cum laude.
Publications
"Why Diversity is Essential in an Economic Downturn," Diversity Journal (2012)
"Monitoring Technology in the American Workplace: Would Adopting English Privacy Standards Better Balance Employee Privacy and Productivity?," 95 California Law Review 1115 (2007)
"Limiting Virtual Representation in Headwaters Inc. v. United States Forest Service: Lost (Opportunity) in the Oregon Woods?," 33 Ecology Law Quarterly 725 (2006).
Bar & Court Admissions
- 2007, California
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit