Ms. Schwartz is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group. She is based in the firm’s San Francisco Office. Her practice centers on counseling companies regarding intellectual property and information technology issues as well as negotiating intellectual property and commercial agreements.

Ms. Schwartz represents a wide array of public and private companies, from large established institutional clients to start-ups. Her clients have included telecommunications, wireless, software, hardware, consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment, consumer product, food and beverage, medical and scientific research product, hospitality and entertainment, medical diagnostic and device, health care, biotechnology, internet, logistics, and financial services companies. She also has a particular focus on the Cleantech sector and on sustainability issues.

Ms. Schwartz has extensive experience structuring, drafting, and negotiating complex and strategic commercial and technology agreements, such as:

• patent and software licenses and assignments, and other agreements for the procurement of technology and intellectual property;
• development, sponsored research, manufacturing, supply and sales, distribution, and logistics agreements;
• joint ventures and strategic alliances;
• outsourcing arrangements;
• branding, marketing, advertising, and sales representative agreements;
• consulting, support, and professional services agreements; and
• confidentiality agreements.

Ms. Schwartz also provides intellectual property expertise for mergers, acquisitions, and asset sales.

In addition to her transactional expertise, Ms. Schwartz’s litigation background includes representing clients in arbitration, and state and federal courts in such areas as antitrust, false advertising, unfair competition, breach of contract, securities, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law. Her litigation experience includes complex, multidistrict, and class action litigation, as well as appellate advocacy.

Building on her litigation and transactional experience, Ms. Schwartz’s current practice has an active counseling element. She counsels clients with respect to a wide variety of matters, including joint development projects, reverse engineering, use of clean rooms, technology licensing, protection of trade secrets, development and distribution of open source software, Internet law, technology standards, and intellectual property management and audits. Ms. Schwartz also provides clients pre-litigation and litigation counseling to negotiate the settlement of disputes. She frequently advises executives and senior management on strategic business, legal, and commercial issues, including structuring of transactions, risk management, and contract compliance.

Ms. Schwartz’s pro bono efforts have included asylum cases for El Salvadorian refugees, landlord-tenant disputes, intellectual property advice to cultural, media, and arts organizations, and transactional work for not-for-profits.

Ms. Schwartz received her B.A., magna cum laude , from Harvard College in 1991. In 1996, she earned her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. Ms. Schwartz joined Morrison & Foerster in 1996.