Practice Overview
Stephanie O. Sparks is a shareholder and chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property Team. She counsels her clients about, and litigates complex business disputes concerning trade secrets, trademarks, copyright, and other intellectual property issues. She leads the firm’s Electronic Discovery Team, given her specialized knowledge in computer forensics, records management, and electronically stored information. She also counsels businesses on privacy law and data security issues. When the inevitable data breach occurs, she manages the response team, which handles the aftermath of such data breach crises on behalf of firm clients.
Stephanie was named a “Northern California Super Lawyer” in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 as chosen by her peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics and San Francisco Magazine.
Recent Matters
- Guided client companies through the aftermath of data breach crises due to theft of laptops and servers, website hackers, phishing, etc., including investigation and computer forensics, notification processes, public relations, internal employee relations, insurance coverage, dispute resolution, and litigation.
- Secured a jury verdict for $6 million in liability and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs in favor of San Jose-based skincare manufacturing company after a five-month jury trial in Oakland involving claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, antitrust violations, breach of contract, statutory unfair competition, and interference with prospective economic advantage. Was responsible for key electronic evidence against the defendants through computer forensics. Also was responsible for the display of evidence in the courtroom using state-of-the-art technology, and successfully recovered those costs at the end of the trial.
- Negotiated a favorable settlement shortly after a lawsuit was filed against her client, an electronic component manufacturing company, for misappropriation of trade secrets.
- Prosecuted copyright infringement lawsuits to favorable settlements for a commercial real estate mapping company and a business broker.
- Negotiated a favorable settlement in a finder’s fee dispute that arose from the sale of her client’s large machine manufacturing company in the South Bay.
- Prosecuted domain name disputes through the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Process (UDRP) on behalf of large, international private school and international skincare company
- Manages trademark portfolios of firm clients in the U.S. and in over 25 foreign jurisdictions.
Professional Activities & Speaking Engagements
Stephanie is a member of the International Trademark Association and facilitates INTA Roundtables in San Jose. She is also a member in the Association of Business Trial Lawyers of Northern California and William A. Ingram Inn of the American Inns of Court. Stephanie routinely presents seminars on intellectual property issues, electronic discovery, privacy and data security to firm clients, accounting firms, and lawyers throughout Santa Clara County and has taught at Santa Clara University. She recently participated in a panel presentation to members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners entitled, The Virtual Trip Wire: Litigation Holds & the Duty to Preserve Data in Security Breaches.
Photo and permission by Josh Gilliland
- Panelist ("e-Discovery, Privacy and Data Security Issues for Social Networking Web Sites") and moderator (expert-deposition boot camp), Paraben's Forensic Innovations Conference, November 3-4, 2012
- "e-Discovery in Data Breach Context," Women in eDiscovery (WiE), November 14, 2012
- "The Virtual Office: Managing Information of a Remote Workforce," November 8, 2012, at ARMA (Association of Records Managers and Administrators) Silicon Valley
- "Take a Bite out of Data Security," Abbott, Stringham & Lynch, September 26, 2012
- "The Employment Landscape: Meeting the Need and What does it look like," Edward Oates Symposium: Security in the Cyber Age, San Jose State University, September 14, 2012