James N. Pickens is a partner in RAK’s patent litigation group. Mr. Pickens excels at trial advocacy. Mr. Pickens has performed the direct examinations for expert witnesses on patent infringement in five jury trials. Each jury returned a verdict of infringement, in favor of RAK’s clients:
- In 2022, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a jury verdict of patent infringement against Google LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in EcoFactor, Inc. v. Google LLC, No. 6:20-cv-00075 (W.D. Tex.).
- In 2023, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a jury verdict of patent infringement against ecobee Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in EcoFactor, Inc. v. Ecobee Inc., No. 6:21-cv-00428 (W.D. Tex.).
- In 2016, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a jury verdict of willful patent infringement, representing the plaintiff in Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. LG Electronics, Inc. et. al. (E.D. Tex.).
- Also in 2016, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a verdict of patent infringement against Apple, Inc. in the Northern District of California in Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. Apple, Inc. (N.D. Cal.). In 2017, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a verdict of patent infringement with respect to data compression technology protected by U.S. Patent No. 8,643,513 in Realtime Data LLC d/b/a IXO v. Riverbed Technology, Inc. (E.D. Tex.).
Mr. Pickens was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2024 – 2025 Editions) for Litigation – Intellectual Property.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Mr. Pickens was an attorney at Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s Complex Litigation Group. He has experience drafting and negotiating agreements on behalf of clients in the media, entertainment, and real estate industries, including clients specializing in virtual reality and augmented reality applications. He also has experience arbitrating motion picture distribution fee disputes and negotiating the acquisition of an entertainment company.
Mr. Pickens earned his law degree from UCLA School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif (i.e., in the top 10% of his Class) and as a Fred & Mary Leydorf Scholar. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society and graduated magna cum laude.
Matthew Aichele is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, specializing in intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on matters before the United States International Trade Commission. Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Mr. Aichele was an attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP, where he was a member of the Intellectual Property group.
Mr. Aichele has significant experience counselling clients through patent infringement actions before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) and in federal district courts. Mr. Aichele has represented complainants, respondents, and third-parties in a number of ITC investigations, including through trial and post-trial Commission review. Mr. Aichele has also participated in consultations with US Customs and Border Protection regarding enforcement of ITC exclusion orders. Mr. Aichele also has significant experience litigating patent infringement actions in federal district courts. Mr. Aichele has been recognized a Rising Star in Washington, D.C. by Super Lawyers (2017-2019).
Mr. Aichele earned his law degree cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, Mr. Aichele worked as a patent agent at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP. Mr. Aichele earned his Bachelors of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004, where he worked as a senior reactor operator in MIT’s Nuclear Reactor Laboratory.
Admitted
- State Bar of Virginia (2009)
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2005)
Recent Matters
- NVIDIA v. Samsung—represented NVIDIA in a series of matters before the United States International Trade Commission and the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.*
- InterDigital v. Nokia, ZTE, Huawei—represented InterDigital in a series of matters regarding mobile devices before the United States International Trade Commission and District Court for the District of Delaware.*
- Cisco v. Arista—represented Arista in defending against patent infringement allegations before the United States International Trade Commission and Customs and Border Protection.*
- 3M v. Amphenol—represented Amphenol in defending against patent infringement allegations regarding its cable technology before the United States International Trade Commission.*
- Intellectual Ventures v. Honda et. al—represented Honda in defending against patent infringement allegations regarding motor technology before the United States International Trade Commission.*
*Represents experience from a previous law firm.
James Tsuei is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he specializes in intellectual property litigation.
In his practice, James has represented clients in patent litigation, trade secret matters, and complex business disputes involving a wide range of technologies and products, including from smartphones and OLED displays to database management software and data compression. He has significant experience litigating at every stage of litigation, including in Federal and state court, as well as before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, James was an attorney at Durie Tangri LLP from 2015 to 2018 and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from 2012 to 2015. James graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as the Research Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, was awarded the school’s Distinguished Service Award for his pro bono work, and was a finalist in the Edwin R. Keedy Moot Court competition. He was selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Star list from 2016-2018 and 2020-2024.
Minna Jay is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where she represents clients in high-stakes patent litigation. Ms. Jay has significant experience in all phases of litigation before federal district courts, the ITC, and the PTAB. Over recent years, she has helped attain highly favorable settlement and trial outcomes resulting in over a billion dollars in awards and settlements for clients across a wide range of technologies, including smart thermostats, data compression, wireless communications, electronic storage devices, and semiconductors.
Prior to joining Russ, August, & Kabat, Ms. Jay successfully defended complex product liability, tort, and business litigation cases on behalf of automotive manufacturers and ride-share technology companies in both pre-trial and trial phases. She also worked closely with her clients regarding novel autonomous vehicle research/development issues. Ms. Jay formerly externed for the Honorable Otis D. Wright, II and the Honorable Craig Richman. Ms. Jay graduated from Loyola Law School where she served as the Senior Production Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review.
Ms. Jay has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine every year since 2020. In 2023 and 2024, she was named a Top 100 Rising Star and a Top 50 Women Rising Star.
Philip Wang is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he practices in the intellectual property and litigation departments. He specializes in patent litigation and PTAB proceedings, with a focus on high-technology. Mr. Wang was an attorney at Irell & Manella from 2008 to 2013 and Latham & Watkins from 2014 to 2016.
Mr. Wang’s practice centers on large, complex patent litigations. He has represented clients in the semiconductor, computer software, and pharmaceutical industries. He has trial experience before district courts, the International Trade Commission, and the Patent Office.
Mr. Wang is also a registered patent attorney. He has been involved in more than 30 PTAB proceedings. As trial counsel in an IPR, he successfully invalidated four patents.
In 2021 and 2022, Mr. Wang was named a Top 100 “Rising Star.” Mr. Wang was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2025. Prior to that, he was recognized as a Rising Star from 2014-2023 in the area of intellectual property litigation and he was named an Up-and-Coming 100: Southern California Rising Star from 2019-2023.
Outside of work, Mr. Wang is a professional-level chess player. He holds the International Master title and is a former California State Chess Champion.
Honors/Professional Activities
- Super Lawyers Top 100 Rising Star, 2021-2022
- Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2014–2023
- Southern California Super Lawyer in 2025
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice Pro Bono Service Award, 2016
- Notes Editor, Columbia Business Law Review
- Teaching Assistant, First Year Torts
Publications
- Teaching Assistant, First Year Torts
Recent Matters
- Samsung v. NVIDIA (E.D. Va. & ITC): Represented NVIDIA in two multi-patent cases involving semiconductor technologies and parallel IPR proceedings. Won jury trial verdict of non-infringement and validity.*
- OpinionLab v. Qualtrics (N.D. Ill.): Represented Qualtrics in six-patent case involving online survey technology and parallel IPR proceedings. Invalidated four OpinionLab patents in IPRs.*
- Adobe v. Wowza (N.D. Cal.): Represented Adobe in four-patent case involving video streaming software. Obtained settlement after summary judgment hearing.*
- Infineon v. Atmel (D. Del.): Represented Atmel in 21-patent case involving microcontroller technology. Obtained settlement after claim construction ruling.*
- University of Pennsylvania v. Genentech (N.D. Cal.): Represented the University in patent case involving Herceptin®. Obtained settlement after defeating summary judgment motion.*
- Max Planck and Alnylam v. Whitehead Institute, et al. (D. Mass.): Represented Max Planck and Alnylam in multi-party dispute over RNA patent applications. Obtained settlement before trial.*
- LG Display v. Chi Mei Optoelectronics (D. Del.): Represented Chi Mei in seven-patent case involving LCD panel technology. Obtained settlement before trial.*
- Ermita Alabado, et al. v. French Concepts, et al. (C.D. Cal.): Led pro bono team in winning $15.2 million default judgment on behalf of human trafficking victims.*
*Represents experience at a prior firm.
