SAN FRANCISCO, January 4, 2018: Farella Braun + Martel LLP announces the election of senior associates Amanda Hairston and Erik C. Olson to the partnership effective January 1, 2018.

“Congratulations to Amanda and Erik on this significant career achievement honoring their hard work and demonstrated commitment to the firm and to our clients,” said firm chairman Brian Donnelly. “Welcome to the partnership!”

Amanda Hairston represents corporate policyholders in insurance coverage disputes. She has assisted clients in pursuing claims related to products liability, employment class actions, SEC investigations, shareholder litigation, intellectual property claims, technology errors and omissions, and mass casualty torts. Her clients include companies in the technology, healthcare, retail, and financial services industries. She performs insurance policy reviews and advises clients on insurance program renewals. Hairston served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and as an intern for the San Francisco Federal Public Defender's Office. She earned her J.D. from Hastings College of the Law (2007), where she was a member of the Hastings La Raza and the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal.

Erik Olson litigates patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, trade dress, and right of publicity infringement actions, as well as disputes over licensing royalties and ownership of intellectual property.  His cases have involved biotechnology, nanocrystals, electrochromic glass, data centers, corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST), WiFi, USB, Android software and other technologies relating to smartphones and tablet computers. He has experience with inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in parallel with federal district court actions involving the same patents. He has represented clients in all aspects of arbitration and litigation, including Markman, summary judgment, and trial. Olson earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (2008), where he was an editor of the Hastings Business Law Journal.

Farella Braun + Martel LLP is a leading Northern California law firm representing corporate and private clients in sophisticated business transactions and complex commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Clients like our imaginative legal solutions and the dynamism and intellectual creativity of our lawyers. The attorneys in each practice group work cohesively in interdisciplinary teams to advance the clients’ objectives in the most effective, coordinated and efficient manner. Founded in 1962, we are headquartered in San Francisco and maintain an office in the Napa Valley that is focused on the wine industry.  

Contact:
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415.954.4433 / [email protected]
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