Office of the Solicitor

Local
571-272-9035
Fax
571-273-0373

The Office of the Solicitor serves as legal counsel to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on intellectual property law matters. The Solicitor's Office also works in collaboration with the Department of Commerce on interagency intellectual property law matters. The Acting Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor is Farheena Rasheed.  

Among other responsibilities, the Office of the Solicitor

  • Defends decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the federal district courts
  • Represents the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO in district court actions that are filed against the USPTO pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
  • Provides legal advice on intellectual property law policy and regulation
  • Prosecutes attorneys and agents who practice before the agency for alleged ethical violations
  • Defends USPTO employees at deposition

Office of the Solicitor staff

Acting Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor:

Rasheed, Farheena Y.

Acting Deputy Solicitor:Nelson, Amy
Senior Counsel for Patent Law and Litigation:Ayers, Peter
Senior Counsel for Patent Policy and Litigation:Nelson, Amy
Senior Counsel for Trademark Policy and Litigation: Hieber, Christina J.
Special Counsel for Intellectual Property Litigation:LaMarca, William
Senior Counsel for Enrollment and Discipline Litigation:Johnson, Jr. Sydney O.
Senior IP Legal Counsel:McManus, Robert J.

Administrative Management Specialist:

Nicholson, Tasha

Attorneys:

Amin, Omar  
Bova, Justin
Caprihan, Kakoli  
Chajon, Michael  
Craven, Sarah  
Dang, Mai-Trang  
DeAtley, Melinda  
DeBoer, Hendrik  
Dickey, Erica  
Ferman, John  
Forman, Michael  
Kelly, Mary L.  
Lateef, Monica  
McBride, Robert  
Munasifi, Lena
Patel, Fahd  
Queler, Maureen  
Racilla, Brian T.  
Richards, Kevin  
Sawert, Peter  
Schoenfeld, Meredith  
Tyler, Michael  
Walker, Mary Beth
Wynne, Shehla

Supervisory Paralegal:

Walter, Shane

Paralegals:

Domenico, Michael  
Fletcher, Macia  
Kilby, Candice  
Newsam, Sean  
Nguyen, Phoebe  
Peterson, Laura  
Rushenas, Orchideh  
Russ, Natasha

Law Librarian:

Kennedy, Laura

Legal Assistants:

Gibson, Darryl  
Willis, Tiffany