Elaine Hou’s practice focuses on complex intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation. Her experience spans technologies such as computer software, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. Before joining Morrison Foerster, Elaine served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Richard G. Taranto on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where she worked on opinions involving patents, trademarks, government contracts, and international trade.

Elaine previously gained experience at several leading law firms where she worked on intellectual property, corporate transactions, and complex commercial litigation matters. Before attending law school, Elaine was an operational risk strategies analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she developed statistical models and led professional development initiatives.

Elaine earned her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation and received the Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition Prize for the best paper in the field of copyright. She also earned her M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management as part of the school’s accelerated J.D./M.B.A. program. Elaine holds both an M.S. and a B.S. magna cum laude in Computer Science, as well as a B.S. in Mathematics, from Yale University.