Keker & Van Nest LLP is pleased to announce the elevation of Reid Mullen and Michelle Ybarra to partner.
“Reid and Michelle are both outstanding litigators who care greatly for their clients,” said Firm Managing Partner Steven Taylor, “they exemplify Keker & Van Nest’s culture and work ethic. We are thrilled to add them to our partnership.”
Eight months after joining the firm, Mullen was chosen to join the Google defense team tasked with defeating Oracle in the "world series of IP cases." As the Keker team’s only associate at the time the firm took the case, he quickly proved his ability to handle complex and high-stakes matters involving innovative technologies. His role on the Oracle v. Google trial team helped earn Mullen the Daily Journal’s “Top Five Associates to Watch” award in 2015. In addition to his IP and commercial litigation practice, he has also devoted significant time to pro bono matters. In 2013, Mullen helped win a wrongfully-convicted client his freedom after more than six years in prison, and helped the same client receive noteworthy compensation from the State of California after his release from prison. Prior to joining the firm, Mullen clerked for Hon. Robert J. Jonker of the Western District of Michigan. He earned his J.D. in 2008 from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2003.
Ybarra has also recently worked on several high-profile matters. In 2015, she played a key role in the defense of McGraw Hill and its Standard and Poor’s division from the government’s multi-billion dollar securities matter, and a number of cutting-edge matters for Lyft. She is currently defending the United States’ largest self-storage operator, Public Storage, from a consumer class action, and represents the United Auburn Indian Community in a high-stakes dispute with a California casino. Ybarra has also handled numerous cases pro bono, including challenging California’s Proposition 8 on behalf of individual married plaintiffs, and representing a San Quentin death row inmate in a successful Administrative Procedures Act challenge to California’s lethal injection protocol, which stayed executions in California. She earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008, and her B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University in 2003.