Stephen M. Hankins

Representative Engagements – Intellectual Property

• Steve represents a major medical device company in trade secret matters.
• He represents healthcare system companies and their customers in patent infringement matters.
• He won summary judgment in a copyright action in the C.D. Cal., also winning attorneys’ fees.
• He represented a fashion model in a misappropriation of likeness case that led to a $14 million verdict against a major clothing manufacturer in LA Superior Court.
• He represented a major mobile phone and PC manufacturer in patent disputes in all jurisdictions and the ITC.
• He led a team of RSHC attorneys in a secondment engagement for a $43 billion company where they oversee all of the company’s litigation docket.
• He represented a Fortune 50 imaging company for many years defending and bringing patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret claims.
• He secured injunctive relief and recovery of lost profits and fees for clients claiming patent infringement, including in the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Steve regularly represents clients in the medical device industry for patent litigation – offensive and defensive – and for general counseling on portfolio management and strategies for assertion of IP rights.
• Steve has tried, arbitrated, or successfully resolved patent infringement matters in the pharmaceutical, heavy machinery, water filtration, computer device, computer method, and printing industries.
• Steve has successfully defended copyright cases involving software, motion pictures, and sales literature.
• Steve has successfully defended or brought claims of trademark infringement involving air filtration, credit cards, and the food industry.
• Combining his expertise for employment and IP law, Steve has defended or prosecuted a number of matters involving departing employees, including securing or opposing emergency injunctive relief.

Representative Engagements – Employment

• Steve has counseled and defended large corporate clients in all varieties of claims of discrimination and harassment, from wage and hour, to age, disability, religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation.
• For a number of clients, Steve has defended claims of wrongful discharge involving retaliation, whistleblowing, breach of contract, fraud, and unfair business practices. He handled the first cyber-harassment/retaliation case in California in the 1990s.
• Steve successfully prosecuted a major whistleblower case by a co-founder of the first unicorn ($1 billion) female-led tech start-up.
• He defended successfully through verdict a wrongful termination and whistleblower claim.
• Steve has successfully arbitrated numerous matters brought pursuant to collective bargaining agreements and handled related Unfair Labor Practice claims.
• He successfully defended the most serious (murder, rape, and suicide) workplace violence claims.

Representative Engagements – Other Litigation

• Steve has represented clients under government investigation for matters involving SEC rules and regulations, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
• He is frequently asked to represent clients in fraud, unfair competition, and antitrust disputes often related to other claims of wrongful discharge (employment) or infringement/theft (IP).

Education

Vassar College, B.A., English and Art History, 1985

Bar Admissions

California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association
Bar Association of San Francisco
Barristers Club
Securities and Antitrust Committee, Past Chair
Federal Bar Association
Section of Intellectual Property and Communications Law
Intellectual Property Owners Association
San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property American Inn of Court
State Bar of California
Section of Intellectual Property Law

Teaching Appointments

Adjunct Professor of Law, University of California, San Francisco – Hastings College of the Law, Intellectual Property Law (Spring 2019, Fall 2021)

Honors & Awards

The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers® (Commercial Litigation, 2024-2026)
Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers, Lawdragon Inc. (2020-2026)
Top California IP Lawyer, Daily Journal (2024)
IP Stars, Managing Intellectual Property Magazine (2015-2023)
Northern California Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2013-2016, 2020-2024)
Top Rated Litigators, Martindale-Hubbell and ALM (2018-2021)
Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow (2019)
IP Star Euromoney Managing Intellectual Property Magazine, Euromoney Institutional Investor (2013, 2014)
Peer Reviewed AV® Preeminent™, Martindale-Hubbell (Since 2002)

Vassar College, Board of Trustees, Alumni Association Board President
YMCA of San Francisco, Board of Directors, Vice Chair
University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Adjunct Faculty Member
San Francisco Friends School, Founding Board Member