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
  • Amicus Briefs
  • Supreme Court Decisions
  • Federal Circuit Appeals

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 
Caprihan, Kakoli 
Chajon, Michael 
Craven, Sarah 
Dang, Mai-Trang 
DeAtley, Melinda 
DeBoer, Hendrik 
Dickey, Erica 
Ferman, John 
Forman, Michael 
Hickman, Ben 
Kazhdan, Daniel 
Kelly, Mary L. 
Lateef, Monica 
McBride, Robert 
Munasifi, Lena 
Queler, Maureen 
Racilla, Brian T. 
Richards, Kevin 
Sawert, Peter 
Schoenfeld, Meredith 
Tyler, Michael 
Walker, Mary Beth

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 
Miller, Denise