Heidi Keefe, ’95

IP Partner, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

When the San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Journal published their list of Top 20 Lawyers under the age of 40 in California, two 1995 Santa Clara Law alums were included on the list. Both Heidi Keefe and Rodger Cole work in IP, and both serve as mentors in their firms.

"IP law has been a wonderful career choice for me,” says Heidi Keefe ’95 (cum laude), a former IP partner in White & Case’s Palo Alto office who joined Cooley Godward Kronish LLP in August 2009 as part of their national IP litigation practice. "As I often tell associates and students, the best thing about IP law is that it is always changing and always affording me the opportunity to learn new things. I may at times be overly busy, but I am seldom bored. And, I get to play with fun new technology,” she says.

Keefe, a registered patent attorney, represents clients in a variety of high-stakes patent trials before juries and judges. She has a background in astrophysics, which comes in handy when her work includes understanding a variety of technical disciplines, from software to medical devices. A frequent author of articles and lecturer and on intellectual property protection, Keefe has taught classes at Santa Clara Law on IP Litigation, and has lectured at Boalt School of Law, Stanford University Law School, and at other locations throughout the country for Law Seminars International, the ABA, and the Practicing Law Institute.

Keefe, who earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude from Wellesley, is a member of the Founding Committee of White & Case LLP’s Women’s Network, an organization focused on providing female lawyers in the firm with access to role models, as well as leadership, business development, mentoring, and peer support opportunities. "Our profession is one of growth and learning at every stage development. Mentoring therefore is critical,” says Keefe. "Not only must young lawyers learn from the successes and failures of older, more experienced lawyers, but if the old lawyer is smart, she can also learn from the young in terms of new technology, new ideas, and fresh thinking.

Prior to joining White & Case, she was a partner at another leading international law firm where she was co-chair of the firm’s training program. She also served as a law clerk to the California Legislative Counsel Bureau and was a judicial extern to the Honorable Conrad Cox and the Honorable James King of the Mendocino County Superior Courts. She has frequently been recognized as a leading lawyer, including listings in "The Bay Area’s Best Lawyers” by Bay Area Lawyer magazine.

Keefe calls her legal education at Santa Clara "wonderful,” adding "where I think my education took me to the next level…was in the classes that I took with adjunct professors who were actually practicing the types of IP law that interested me. Tom Schaetzel and Ed Taylor in particular gave me real exposure to the world of patents and patent litigation in a way that I still recall and use today.”