Surviving Overlooked Legal Issues

Jim Thompson, Esq., Partner, Weingarten, Schurgin, Gagnebin & Lebovici, LLP

Jim is primarily engaged in patent prosecution and client counseling. His technical expertise includes a broad range of analog and digital electronics, particularly computer-related technologies such as semiconductors, storage, and networks. Additionally, he has experience in various trademark matters including general trademark prosecution, oppositions and licensing, and has provided intellectual property legal advice for acquisitions and divestitures.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 1995. Jim is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Christopher T. Dahl, Esq., Partner, Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove, LLP

Chris represents high-tech, emerging growth companies, principally in the software and telecommunications areas, and venture capital firms and other investors in connection with capital formation and portfolio investments. He has particular expertise in the areas of business development, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic relationships and intellectual property - related transactions, including licensing and joint ventures. He is a past Chair of the Business Law Section (2001-2002) and the High Technology Practice Group (1999-2002) of the Massachusetts Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Business Development Center and CapitalVenue, and a member of the Program Committee for the Legal Issues Series for the Massachusetts Software and Internet Council. He regularly participates as a speaker on topics of interest to high tech entrepreneurs and attorneys at various programs and legal education seminars.

Chris is a graduate of Ithaca College and Northeastern University School of Law, and post-graduate programs for attorneys at Harvard University Law School.

Maria Cirino, CEO, Guardent, Inc.

Maria brings 18 years of experience in high technology leadership positions, including executive experience in worldwide sales, marketing, and business development. Prior to founding Guardent, She served as a key member of the executive teams at Shiva Corporation (now Intel Corporation) and i-Cube, Inc. (now Razorfish, Inc.). In her management roles at Shiva and i-Cube, She prominently affected rapid growth and success by building new sales and distribution channels and consistently growing revenues beyond expectations. Her leadership experience extends to successful mergers, acquisitions and IPOs, having played a principal role in building these companies into successful, publicly held enterprises.

Regarded as a leader in the industry, Maria offers advice to many other high technology ventures and currently sits on the board of directors for Keane, the Massachusetts Software & Internet Council, and the Board of Governors for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of New England.
Additionally, over the past three years Maria has received numerous industry accolades for her work at Guardent. These honors include being named one of the top 100 most powerful women in Boston by Boston Magazine in 2003, while in 2002 the Boston Business Journal selected her as one of the area's top under-40 technology executives and Women's Business named her to its Hall of Fame. Also in 2002, Ernst & Young selected her as its Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) for Business Services. In 2001, Upside Magazine placed her on its Woman in Technology List and Mass High Tech presented her with the Mass High Tech All Star Award. In addition, The Commonwealth Institute and Babson College chose Guardent as one of the Top 100 Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts. She holds a bachelor of arts in English from Mount Holyoke College..

William R. Byrnes, Esq., Byrnes & Associates

Bill is an attorney with more than 25 years of experience in the information, software, and communications technology businesses. His practice is focused on providing technology companies with efficient and cost effective, temporary General Counsel, and interim In-House Counsel services on a virtual basis. Additionally, he is the founder of Byrnes & Associates, a network of professionals providing a full range of business services to entrepreneurs and early stage companies.

Bill received his undergraduate degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Boston University, a JD from Suffolk University Law School, and a LLM degree in Taxation from Boston University Law School. He is also a board member of the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs' Network, and a member of the Infrastructure Committee of the Cape Cod Technology Council.

Robert A. Adelson, Esq., Partner, Zimble & Brettler, LLP

Rob has been a corporate and tax attorney for 26 years. His clients are mainly (1) early stage technology-based companies, (2) consultants and service providers, (3) executives, and employees, and (4) family businesses. His main practice areas are business formation and capitalization, commercial and strategic contracts, employment, stock and options, severance and termination, trademarks and intellectual property protection and licensing, partnerships and joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and succession planning. Rob�s firm is a 10-attorney general practice Boston law firm.

Rob is a graduate of Boston University, summa cum laude, member of Phi Beta Kappa. He holds law degrees from Northwestern University (Chicago) where he was a member of Law Review, and New York University, with an LL.M. in Taxation. He is a board member the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs� Network and frequent speaker for various professional groups. He has authored articles published in Boston Business Journal, Mass High Tech, Genetic Engineering News, The Culpepper Letter, and Darwin Magazine. His work as an attorney has also been recognized in articles in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald and in a chapter of the book End of Shareholder Value, published in 2000.

Roy J. Coleman, Esq., Iandiorio & Teska

Roy specializes in patent application drafting, prosecution, and patent and trademark litigation. He worked at Iandiorio & Teska for over two years as a legal intern prior to his admission as an attorney. Prior to working at Iandiorio & Teska he worked for two years as biomedical research engineer investigating biomedical ultrasound back-scattering. The results of his research were presented at the 1992 Joint Spring Meeting of the New England Section of the American Physical Society, Wellesley College, Massachusetts. The abstract from the presentation is published in the Transactions of the American Physical Society (Dec. 92), and acknowledged by the authors of �Ultrasound Scattering from Spherical Tumors�, Physics, Medicine, and Biology (Vol. 37, No. 11, 2035-2044).

Roy received his JD from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire, specializing in Intellectual Property law. He is a member of the Bars of Massachusetts and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University and has taken post baccalaureate courses in Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Immunology.