Jessica Roberts' practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on intellectual property, product liability, and commercial disputes.
Ms. Roberts has coordinated fact and expert discovery, taken individual and 30(b)(6) depositions, participated in trial preparation, and drafted motions in multiparty litigation in state and federal courts across the country. Recently, Ms. Roberts has been actively involved in some of the firm’s biggest patent cases.
In 2012-13, Ms. Roberts took a lead role in case development for a major multipatent investigation initiated before the U.S. International Trade Commission, involving parties from Japan, China, Europe, and the United States. As part of these efforts, Ms. Roberts worked out of the firm’s Tokyo and Hong Kong offices for nearly six months.
Ms. Roberts’ experience also includes product liability litigation in the aviation and pharmaceutical industries. She was a key team member on the Gol Airlines Flight 1907 litigation in which the firm represented Honeywell International Inc. in a lawsuit involving a mid-air collision between a Boeing 737-800, operated as Gol Airlines Flight 1907, and an Embraer Legacy 600, operated by ExcelAire Services, over the Amazon jungle, Brazil, on September 29, 2006. The accident resulted in the deaths of 154 passengers and crew. Ms. Roberts used her background in economics to assist with the assessment of damages and settlement offers arising from the accident.
In addition, Ms. Roberts has been involved in litigation alleging product defects in brand name and generic-labeled drugs. She was part of a national trial team defending a major pharmaceutical company in multiple matters filed throughout the country. The lawsuits allege that the various plaintiffs did not receive adequate warning that company’s heparin products could potentially cause a side effect referred to as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (“HIT”).
Ms. Roberts takes a keen interest in pro bono matters. She represents pro bono clients in a variety of matters ranging from contract disputes to constitutional issues. Ms. Roberts was one of three associates on a team that succeeded in convincing the U.S. military to back down from discharging a decorated war hero under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” one year before he could retire with full benefits. Ms. Roberts also assisted a young man from Mexico in remaining in the country under the Obama Administration’s policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Ms. Roberts received her J.D. (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif) from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2009, where she was the recipient of an academic achievement scholarship. During law school, she was a member of the San Diego Law Review. Ms. Roberts also worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Marilyn L. Huff in the Southern District of California. She received her M.Sc. in Economic History from the London School of Economics & Political Science in 2004, and her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2003.