The Recorder will honor five Reed Smith lawyers in three categories at its upcoming 2023 California Legal Awards.
- Partners Sarah Bruno and Chris Morgan are both winners of a Women Leaders in Tech Law Award.
- Partner Ashley Jordan is a winner of the Lawyers on the Fast Track Award.
- Partner Katy Basile and counsel Katrina Kershner are co-finalists, as mentor and mentee, for the 2023 Mentorship Award.
The California Legal Awards honor the lawyers, law firms and legal departments that are instrumental to the state's thriving technology sector and also recognize its most accomplished women leaders in tech law.
Winners will be recognized at The California Legal Awards 2023 on Nov. 2 in San Francisco.
Women Leaders in Tech Law Award: Sarah Bruno
San Francisco-based partner Sarah Bruno advises on data security and privacy regulatory regimes, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), New York’s SHIELD Act, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
From emerging start-ups to the world’s leading tech giants, Bruno advises on all aspects of data governance. She counsels on data collection and use for global platforms, leads on breach incident prep and response, drafts and reviews internal and external policies and notices, prepares and conducts trainings, and helps manage governance reporting requirements.
Women Leaders in Tech Law Award: Chris Morgan
San Francisco-based intellectual property partner Christine Morgan is a first-chair trial lawyer in high-stakes patent litigation specializing in the Section 101/Alice defense. Morgan has leveraged her experience with Alice to help her clients avoid tens of millions of dollars in potential liability by invalidating patents as abstract and patent ineligible.
In the process, Morgan has helped shape this case-made area of law in a way that enables tech companies to end lawsuits quickly and efficiently and that preserves their freedom to innovate. She also teaches what is believed to be the first U.S. law school course on litigating Section 101 patent eligibility at a prominent Bay Area law school.
Lawyers on the Fast Track Award: Ashley Jordan
A partner in Reed Smith’s insurance recovery group based in the Orange County and Los Angeles offices, Ashley Jordan has recovered more than $200 million in insurance proceeds for Fortune 500 and middle market businesses through her state and federal trial and appellate, and arbitral tribunal experience.
Jordan’s pro bono work includes providing counsel to the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and representing a state prisoner in a civil rights action. A DEI champion, Jordan serves as co-chair for Reed Smith Los Angeles Women’s Initiative Network, and she is a partner lead for the firm’s Racial Equity Action Plan Task Force.
For years, Jordan also has served as a mentor of younger lawyers across virtually all practices, including a group of 15 diverse lawyers through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
2023 Mentorship Award: Katy Basile and Kat Kershner
Silicon Valley-based IP partner Katherine Basile’s exceptional trademark law practice is only one part of her extraordinary 35-year legal career. Equally significant is her mentor role to legions of up-and-coming attorneys. Katy’s mentorship has impacted the careers of countless young, and some seasoned, attorneys.
“Katy was born to mentor,” said San Francisco-based IP Counsel Katrina Kershner, one of Basile’s mentees and her co-finalist for this year’s Mentorship Award. “She is driven by a commitment to empower others, especially young lawyers and individuals in marginalized groups. Katy excels at enabling her mentees to become competent, confident, and capable in all areas of their lives.”
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