Larry Russ is a founding partner and co-head of the litigation department of Russ August & Kabat.
As an active trial attorney, Mr. Russ has focused on trademark, copyright, patent, business torts, trade regulation and advertising law and complex litigation. Mr. Russ has also worked extensively on antitrust and unfair competition matters.
Directly after being admitted to the California Bar in 1978, Mr. Russ launched his career by successfully challenging Levi-Strauss & Co’s resale price maintenance program related to men’s jeanswear in Levi Strauss & Co. v. Federated Pants, et al., 1979-2 Trade Cases #62,727 (C.D. Cal. 1979). In 1981, as co-lead trial counsel, Mr. Russ achieved a multi-million dollar jury verdict in one of the first private Section 7 Clayton Act cases that directed Pillsbury Flour Co. to divest itself of Wilton, Inc., a dominant cake decorating equipment specialty firm.
Throughout his career, Mr. Russ has successfully represented clients in the direct marketing industry and the apparel industry. Mr. Russ also has extensive experience representing clients in the home entertainment, technology and communications sectors, including video game hardware manufacturers, computer software developers, electronic toy makers and wireless communications companies.
In 1985, Mr. Russ obtained the highest Superior Court sanctions award in California history in connection with his representation of plaintiffs in a complex Malibu real estate fraud matter in which the trial judge delivered a seven-figure verdict and awarded punitive damages.
In 2002, Mr. Russ negotiated a highly publicized settlement on behalf of Yodeler Wylie Gustafson against Yahoo. Gustafson, who had recorded a single yodel for a Yahoo radio commercial, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Yahoo after the company began using Gustafson’s distinctive and unique yodel as the company’s audible signature on a myriad of company products and releases.
Mr. Russ represented the prevailing parties in several major apparel cases. In 2010, Mr. Russ successfully defended Forever 21 in a copyright and trade dress infringement action filed by Express. Mr. Russ obtained Summary Judgment in Forever 21’s favor, as well as an award of attorney fees.
In 2016, Mr. Russ was lead Class counsel in Perkins, et al, v LinkedIn, a privacy class action challenging LinkedIn’s ubiquitous ad- connection emails. The Class was approved and LinkedIn agreed to modify its practices and pay the Class $13,000,000+.
More recently, Mr. Russ has been re-focusing his attention on consulting with established and emerging companies in connection with e-commerce, financing, expansion, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, strategic alliances and intellectual property issues. Along with the new chair of the Mergers & Acquisition Department, Christine Shin, Mr. Russ is tasked with the mission of building a pre-eminent M&A team rivaling the talent and depth of knowledge of big law M&A departments.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Russ is the past President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund Los Angeles zone. Mr. Russ is also involved as a principal of several well-known Los Angeles apparel companies including world renowned retailer, American Rag Cie. In 2014, Mr. Russ/ American Rag Cie was selected as a finalist by the Los Angeles Business Journal at the prestigious Southern California Apparel Awards, and WeAr Magazine, a world-renowned international magazine focusing on the apparel industry, announced that American Rag Cie was voted as the best retail denim store in the world.
Mr. Russ is also active in helping emerging and troubled companies raise funds. For a number of years, Mr. Russ served as an associate editor of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers quarterly publication. He is an active member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Litigation, Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law Sections as well as an active member of the American Bar Association Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law Sections.
Mr. Russ was recognized as a Super Lawyer by the Publishers of Los Angeles Magazine from 2008-2025. From 2013-2025, Mr. Russ was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Super Lawyer. Mr. Russ was also recognized among The Best Lawyers In America list for Patent Litigation from 2012-2025. In 2024 and 2025, he was named a “Legal Visionary” in the LA Times B2B’s Business of Law: Updates, Trends, & Visionaries Magazine. Mr. Russ was selected to The American Lawyer’s Top Rated IP Lawyers list in 2015.
Admitted
- State Bar of California (1978)
- U.S. Supreme Court (1989)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1978)
Neil Rubin is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he practices in the intellectual property and litigation departments. Mr. Rubin focuses on patent, trade secret and other intellectual property litigation, for clients in the computer security, networking, electronics, software and financial industries. Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Mr. Rubin was a lawyer at Latham & Watkins from 2006 to 2016, where he was a member of the Litigation & Trial Department’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice group.
Mr. Rubin has litigated patent, trade secret, copyright and antitrust matters in the district courts, International Trade Commission and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, from the pre-suit investigation stage through appeal. He has helped his clients recover more than $1.7 billion in judgments and settlements.
Mr. Rubin also holds physics degrees from Stanford, Cambridge and Case Western Reserve Universities. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and attended Cambridge University as a Churchill Scholar. As a PhD student at Stanford, his area of research was solid state physics. Mr. Rubin was an award-winning teaching assistant, and his PhD advisor was 1998 Nobel Prize winner Robert Laughlin.
Mr. Rubin is active in community organizations and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of Mental Health Advocacy Services, a non-profit organization that provides direct legal services to protect and advance the legal rights of children and adults with mental disabilities in the Los Angeles area.
Mr. Rubin was selected for inclusion in Los Angeles Magazine’s Southern California “Super Lawyers” from 2022-2025 and SuperLawyers “Rising Stars” in 2017.
Admitted
- State Bar of California (2007)
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2010)
Recent Matters
- Intellectual Ventures v. Symantec – jury trial representing Symantec in four-patent suit brought by Intellectual Ventures; plaintiff obtained judgment of approximately 3% of the damages it had sought*
- AU Optronics v. Samsung – represented AU Optronics in series of cases before the International Trade Commission and the district courts involving a total of 20 patents covering display technology*
- AMD v. Intel – represented Advanced Micro Devices in patent and contract dispute*
- OpinionLab v. Qualtrics – represented Qualtrics in patent, copyright, and trade secret case brought by OpinionLab; brought Inter Partes Review and Covered Business Method actions that resulted in invalidating all challenged claims of four OpinionLab patents*
- Veritas v. Microsoft – represented Vertias Software in trade secret, patent, copyright and contract suit filed against Microsoft; obtained favorable settlement*
- Intellectual Ventures v. Capital One – represented Capital One in five-patent suit brought by Intellectual Ventures; all five patents dismissed or held to be unpatentable*
- Letsrun.com v. WCSN – represented World Championship Sports Network in breach of contract case concerning sports-related website; won on summary judgment*
*Represents experience from a previous law firm.
Jean Rhee is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where she specializes in complex business, employment, and intellectual property litigation, and employment law counseling. Ms. Rhee has represented numerous Fortune 100 and 500 clients in a variety of matters, ranging from complex civil to white-collar criminal and regulatory matters. She has successfully litigated in both federal and state court, as well as in various domestic and international arbitral forums.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Ms. Rhee was an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and Bird Marella. Before entering private practice, she clerked for the Honorable Ronald M. Gould on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Rhee was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer from 2022-2025. Prior to that, she was recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2013-2019, and both a Southern California Top 100 Rising Star and a Southern California Top 50 Women Rising Star from 2015-2020.
In her free time, Ms. Rhee stays active by rock climbing, surfing, running, and traveling. She is also focused on giving back to the local and legal community. From 2005 to 2007 she served as a director of the non-profit, Project by Project. From 2008 to 2014, she served as a director and acting General Counsel for the non-profit, Asian Professional Exchange, which was then the largest Asian American young professional organization in the US. In 2012, she co-chaired the Young Lawyers Subcommittee of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee. Currently, she serves on the Internet Committee for the International Trademark Association (INTA), and volunteers with Bet Tzedek.
Recent Matters
- First-chaired jury trial in California state court, and obtained unanimous verdict for client on all contract and quasi-contract claims.
- Obtained favorable resolutions for Brotman Medical Center, Inc. in a variety of civil matters, ranging from employment discrimination lawsuits (sexual orientation, race and age), to successfully preventing shareholders from obtaining a preliminary injunction to bar a time-sensitive going-private transaction.
- Counseled and represented numerous clients, including 99 Cents Only Stores, Battaglia Shops, Heathco, Brighton Collectibles, Centerplate, and Midnight Mission, regarding state and federal employment issues and termination decisions.
- Counseled and represented numerous clients, including deadmau5, The Honest Company, and Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, the world’s largest self-serve frozen yogurt brand, in trademark matters in district court and before the USPTO.
- Defended Merrill Lynch and Fidelity against nationwide wage-and-hour class actions brought by financial advisors.
- Second-chaired seven felony count healthcare fraud jury trial in federal court and obtained purely probationary sentence for client. Briefed appeal of judgment, including issue of first impression in the Ninth Circuit under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
- Represented President and CEO of premium denim manufacturer in sentencing for a $15M workers’ compensation fraud case, and succeeded in obtaining sentence of only 1 month and reducing restitution amount to under $6M following a contested restitution hearing.
- Represented individual client in abating $33M IRS jeopardy assessment.Conducted internal investigation for and counseled international defense contractor regarding Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues relating to multi-million dollar defense contracts with Indonesian military.
- Represented President of foreign subsidiary of Fortune 500 computer manufacturing company in connection with global federal government investigation into alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
- Represented Global Head of Luxury & Lifestyle Brands for Hilton Hotels Corporation in civil litigation and parallel federal criminal investigation initiated by his former employer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood had alleged that the client had breached his non-solicitation, confidentiality and intellectual property agreements and misappropriated trade secrets relating to the W Hotels. The civil matter was resolved via confidential settlement, and the United States Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to bring charges.
- Represented Milberg LLP, lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a securities class action proceeding, in a sanctions hearing in federal court in San Diego where the defendant corporation alleged that Milberg knowingly received documents misappropriated by its former employee, and used them in the underlying class action. After a full-blown evidentiary hearing, the Court found that no misconduct had occurred.
- Successfully demurred to claims against publicly-traded bank holding company, Hanmi Financial Corporation, its subsidiary bank and its directors and officers in shareholder derivative action.Represented largest PVC pipe manufacturer in the world, J-M Manufacturing, Inc., in $1B+, bet-the-company qui tam case involving federal and state False Claims Act statutes through the pre-trial phase.
- Successfully moved to compel arbitration of breach of contract claims against international pop and film star, Rain a.k.a. Jung Ji Hoon.
- Represented CEO of major US airline in making an SEC proffer in connection with an insider trading inquiry.
- Conducted stock options backdating investigation for the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 company.Second-chaired multi-week international arbitration in insurance coverage dispute for Shell Oil.
Reza’s practice focuses on patent litigation and licensing. Frequently called upon to develop worldwide litigation and licensing strategies, Reza has obtained more than $600 million for his clients in the past five years alone. Having never lost a jury trial, Reza uses his significant trial experience and success to drive successful outcomes for his clients.
Reza is also a registered patent attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Complementing his litigation expertise, he has worked on numerous successful post-grant matters before the USPTO.
Reza was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Prior to that, he was recognized numerous times as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. And from 2015-2022, Reza was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Rising Star. In 2025, the Daily Journal recognized Reza among its Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Reza was an equity partner at Knobbe Martens LLP.
Recent Matters
- MR Technologies v. Western Digital (C.D. Cal. 2024): Trial counsel among a RAK team that secured a $262 Million jury verdict for Mr Technologies for infringement of asserted patents relating to advanced hard disk drive technology.
- AlmondNet v. Amazon (W.D.Tex. 2024): Reza and Marc Fenster co-led a RAK team that secured a $122 Million jury verdict against Amazon for infringement of asserted patents relating to advertising technology.
- In Ecofactor, Inc. v. Google, (W.D. Tex. 2022), Reza and Marc Fenster co-led the RAK team that won a $20 Million jury verdict of infringement, and no invalidity against Google related to smart thermostat and energy saving HVAC controllers.
- In Solas OLED v. Samsung, (E.D. Tex 2021), Reza second-chaired a RAK team that secured a $62.7 Million jury verdict of willful infringement against Samsung Display, Samsung Electronics Corporation and Samsung Electronics America on patents related to OLED and touchscreen technology in Samsung’s mobile phones.
- Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Electronics (E.D. Tex. 2019). Reza was lead counsel for a RAJK team that won a jury verdict for damages the full damages model sought by their client, Conversant Wireless (formerly Core Wireless) against LG.
- In Realtime Data v. Riverbed, (EDTX 2017), Reza second-chaired a RAK team that obtained a jury verdict of infringement in a trial against Riverbed for patent infringement related to data compression and data acceleration.
- In Core Wireless v. Apple, 5-15-cv-05008 (N.D. Cal. 2016), Reza second-chaired a RAK team that secured a verdict of infringement and no invalidity on both patents against Apple for infringement of two standards essential patents involving cellular technology. This appears to be the first time Apple has lost a patent case in NDCA.
- Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Electronics (E.D. Tex. 2015). Reza second-chaired a RAK team on behalf of Core Wireless in two matters against LG with respect to fundamental telecommunications and graphical user interface patents. Obtained verdict of willful infringement with respect to U.S. Patents 7,804,850 and 6,633,536.
- iRise v. Axure Software Solutions, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2009). Represented Plaintiff iRise in a patent infringement lawsuit involving prototyping products for software visualization. Obtained summary judgment that Axure infringed asserted claims and successfully defended against summary judgment of invalidity and non-infringement.
Justin Maio is of counsel at Russ August & Kabat, where he serves as a member of the firm’s intellectual property group, corporate and finance group, and mergers and acquisitions group. His primary practice is focused on trademark protection and enforcement and brand development. He provides all services related to trademark prosecution, including clearance searches, filing applications, preparing Office action responses, filing maintenance documents, handling all aspects of opposition and cancellation proceedings, and filing Board appeals. He also advises on a variety of intellectual property matters and drafts and negotiates various types of IP-related agreements, such as license agreements, influencer agreements, distribution agreements, manufacturing agreements, services agreements, software development agreements, privacy policies and terms of use, data processing agreements, and assignment agreements. His clients range from startups and small businesses to high net-worth individuals, world famous celebrities, and multinational corporations.
Justin has been involved in litigating all stages of intellectual property disputes, including drafting and responding to cease & desist letters, filing takedown notices, preparing UDPR complaints, preparing pleadings, taking discovery, mediation and arbitration, negotiating settlements, trial preparation, and trial. Justin has experience litigating contract disputes, complex commercial disputes, and business torts as well.
With the mergers and acquisitions group, Justin has extensive experience conducting and managing IP due diligence and advising as an IP specialist for complex M&A deals. His experience touches each stage of deal development, including conducting initial IP searches, drafting and negotiating purchase agreements and supporting documents, schedule preparation, portfolio analysis and verification, and handling post-closing IP-related filings and recordations.
Justin graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law with a Dean’s Merit Scholarship (Full Tuition) and was awarded CALI Certificates in Contracts and Mediation Theory & Practice. He also earned a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, the top program of its kind in the nation. He previously worked at Keegan & Baker, LLP in real-estate litigation and for Associated Production Music, LLC, where he focused on preparing royalty agreements for artists.
Justin received a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honors society, Beta Gamma Sigma business honors society, and the Texas Cowboys service organization, the oldest society at the University of Texas. Justin is an active and good standing member of the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Florida and is registered as a patent attorney before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
Justin has been consistently recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine since 2020. He has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2022 – 2025 Editions) for Entertainment and Sports Law.
Irene Lee is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where she focuses her practice on all aspects of intellectual property, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and right of publicity. Irene helps clients navigate through the issues surrounding creating, acquiring, securing, protecting, defending, enforcing, licensing, and monetizing their rights in various forms of intellectual property worldwide and counsels them on risk management.
Irene has been featured in WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals and selected by peers and clients in Managing Intellectual Property’s Top 500 IP Stars and Top 250 Women in IP. Irene was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer since 2013, as one of Southern California Top 50 Women since 2016, and one of Southern California’s Top 100 Super Lawyers since 2017. She was named to The Best Lawyers in America (2024 – 2025 Editions) for Litigation – Intellectual Property. Billboard recognized Irene in its 2023 and 2024 ‘Top Music Lawyers’ list. The Los Angeles Business Journal has named her one of the Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles, one of the Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Los Angeles, and one of the Leading Intellectual Property Lawyers in California. Irene is also a sought-after speaker. She was a panelist for the 2022 IPO Annual Conference.
As a registered patent attorney, Irene employs her patent prosecution experience in strategizing patent litigation and licensing issues. Irene represents clients in a wide range of industries, including recreational vehicle, beauty, biotechnology, information technology, housewares, household products, baby products, food and beverages, jewelry, apparel, and CBD-based goods.
In addition to patent litigation and licensing, Irene has extensive experience in trademark prosecution, litigation, and licensing with an emphasis on global brand expansion and management through strategic trademark and copyright protection and enforcement programs.
Irene is fluent in Korean.
Recent Matters
- Britney Spears v. Oil de Lamor Ltd., et al. – protecting the artist Ms. Spears’ rights against infringers in Israel.
- The University of Utah v. 21 Savage – defended the artist 21 Savage’s rights in contract dispute.
- Thor Industries v. Thor Trucks – obtained a final judgment in favor of the world’s largest RV company, Thor Industries, permanently enjoining Thor Trucks from using THOR.
- Galatea Jewelry v. Swarovski – represents the world–renowned jewelry designer and his companies in protecting and enforcing copyrights.
- The Honest Company v. Redmon d/b/a Honest Herbal – obtained a final judgment in favor of Honest Co., permanently enjoining the defendants from using HONEST.
- The Honest Company v. Jakks Pacific – obtained a confidential settlement agreement in three months of filing the lawsuit against Jakks Pacific asserting infringement of Honest Co.’s copyright and trademark rights.
- VIA Technologies v. ASUSTek Computer – secured a significant settlement for VIA in a patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation action.
- Meowingtons, LLC v. deadmau5 – secured a significant settlement for deadmau5 in a trademark infringement action.
- Google v. VIA Technologies – secured a significant settlement for VIA Technologies in trademark proceedings over the CHROME trademark portfolio.
- deadmau5 v. West Coast Vape Supply, Inc. – successfully enforced deadmau5’s trademark rights.
- The Redbean House v. Colonnade Wilshire Corp. – obtained a verdict in favor of The Redbean House, along with full recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, in a five-year real estate dispute.
- Disney v. deadmau5 – represented deadmau5 in trademark proceedings over deadmau5’s intellectual property rights.
- Honest Tea, Inc. v. The Honest Company, Inc.– defended Honest Co. in trademark proceedings.
- com v. Brenwell Media – obtained a final judgment for LegalZoom permanently enjoining the defendants from using ZOOM.
- travisMathew v. Leisure Society Unlimited – obtained a preliminary injunction for travisMathew in a contract dispute and trademark action.
- Java Equities v. Newheart Limited Partnership – obtained a complete and total defense decision in favor of Newheart in arbitration on breach of contract and fraud, including award of attorneys’ fees.
- Absolute Software v. Stealth Signal – obtained a final judgment and permanent injunction in favor of Absolute Software in a seven-year patent infringement action.
Articles/Publications
