Working with clients at the forefront of their fields in developing new technologies, Rachel interacts with people who are as passionate and enthusiastic about their products as she is about the law. Her competitive spirit and analytical thinking skills combined with attention to detail and winning strategies help her deliver favorable resolutions to her clients' problems.
Rachel is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer who has handled all aspects of complex intellectual property disputes from investigation and preparation of the complaint through trial, post-trial, and appeal. With over 24 years of experience in patent litigation, she has managed discovery, directed patent claim construction proceedings, taken and defended fact and expert depositions, handled nondispositive and dispositive motion practice, represented client interests in mediation and settlement conferences, drafted and argued motions in limine and other pre- and post-trial matters, and examined fact and expert witnesses at trial.
Rachel has been responsible for matters in various federal courts and agencies throughout the United States, in state court in Minnesota, and in arbitration. She also has significant experience handling appellate-level disputes, a practice to which she brings valuable experience as a former clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge James B. Loken. She has represented clients in numerous appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has participated in all aspects of appellate practice before that Court, including motion practice, briefing, mediation, and oral argument.
At Merchant, Rachel is chair of the Litigation Practice Group and Editor of the ipcaseupdates.com blog. She serves as a Director of The Fund for Legal Aid, President-Elect of The Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna Intellectual Property Inn of Court, and as a volunteer attorney for the Children’s Law Center. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys watching her daughter's soccer games and traveling with her family.