Daily Journal Selects Two Sheppard Mullin Partners for 2025 Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California List
The Daily Journal selected Intellectual Property Partners Jill Pietrini and Chris Ponder for its 2025 list of “Top Intellectual Property Lawyers” in California.
Pietrini was noted for her 30-year career representing clients in high-profile trademark cases and complex legal battles. Most recently, she successfully challenged a secret temporary restraining order filed against client Ya Ya Creations which had frozen its main online account. Not only were Pietrini and her team successful in having the TRO dissolved, they also won the client nearly $100,000 in attorneys’ fees after discovering the plaintiff had withheld information about pending litigation in California.
Ponder was recognized for several notable patent victories for leading companies in the digital media streaming, enterprise software, video game, telecommunications and medical devise industries. Notably, one case against semiconductor manufacturing company Broadcom involved more than 10 patents and 15 separate inter parents review proceedings that reached the Federal Circuit. In another, Ponder convinced a district judge that patents for semiconductor design software were invalid for claiming abstract ideas. This had broader implications for the tech industry, as it involved patents allegedly infringed by features of the Linux operating system, which is what powers the Internet and most enterprise software.