Jean Rhee is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where she specializes in complex business, employment, and intellectual property litigation, and employment law counseling. Ms. Rhee has represented numerous Fortune 100 and 500 clients in a variety of matters, ranging from complex civil to white-collar criminal and regulatory matters. She has successfully litigated in both federal and state court, as well as in various domestic and international arbitral forums.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Ms. Rhee was an attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and Bird Marella. Before entering private practice, she clerked for the Honorable Ronald M. Gould on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Rhee was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer from 2022-2025. Prior to that, she was recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2013-2019, and both a Southern California Top 100 Rising Star and a Southern California Top 50 Women Rising Star from 2015-2020.
In her free time, Ms. Rhee stays active by rock climbing, surfing, running, and traveling. She is also focused on giving back to the local and legal community. From 2005 to 2007 she served as a director of the non-profit, Project by Project. From 2008 to 2014, she served as a director and acting General Counsel for the non-profit, Asian Professional Exchange, which was then the largest Asian American young professional organization in the US. In 2012, she co-chaired the Young Lawyers Subcommittee of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee. Currently, she serves on the Internet Committee for the International Trademark Association (INTA), and volunteers with Bet Tzedek.
Recent Matters
- First-chaired jury trial in California state court, and obtained unanimous verdict for client on all contract and quasi-contract claims.
- Obtained favorable resolutions for Brotman Medical Center, Inc. in a variety of civil matters, ranging from employment discrimination lawsuits (sexual orientation, race and age), to successfully preventing shareholders from obtaining a preliminary injunction to bar a time-sensitive going-private transaction.
- Counseled and represented numerous clients, including 99 Cents Only Stores, Battaglia Shops, Heathco, Brighton Collectibles, Centerplate, and Midnight Mission, regarding state and federal employment issues and termination decisions.
- Counseled and represented numerous clients, including deadmau5, The Honest Company, and Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, the world’s largest self-serve frozen yogurt brand, in trademark matters in district court and before the USPTO.
- Defended Merrill Lynch and Fidelity against nationwide wage-and-hour class actions brought by financial advisors.
- Second-chaired seven felony count healthcare fraud jury trial in federal court and obtained purely probationary sentence for client. Briefed appeal of judgment, including issue of first impression in the Ninth Circuit under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
- Represented President and CEO of premium denim manufacturer in sentencing for a $15M workers’ compensation fraud case, and succeeded in obtaining sentence of only 1 month and reducing restitution amount to under $6M following a contested restitution hearing.
- Represented individual client in abating $33M IRS jeopardy assessment.Conducted internal investigation for and counseled international defense contractor regarding Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues relating to multi-million dollar defense contracts with Indonesian military.
- Represented President of foreign subsidiary of Fortune 500 computer manufacturing company in connection with global federal government investigation into alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
- Represented Global Head of Luxury & Lifestyle Brands for Hilton Hotels Corporation in civil litigation and parallel federal criminal investigation initiated by his former employer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood had alleged that the client had breached his non-solicitation, confidentiality and intellectual property agreements and misappropriated trade secrets relating to the W Hotels. The civil matter was resolved via confidential settlement, and the United States Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to bring charges.
- Represented Milberg LLP, lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a securities class action proceeding, in a sanctions hearing in federal court in San Diego where the defendant corporation alleged that Milberg knowingly received documents misappropriated by its former employee, and used them in the underlying class action. After a full-blown evidentiary hearing, the Court found that no misconduct had occurred.
- Successfully demurred to claims against publicly-traded bank holding company, Hanmi Financial Corporation, its subsidiary bank and its directors and officers in shareholder derivative action.Represented largest PVC pipe manufacturer in the world, J-M Manufacturing, Inc., in $1B+, bet-the-company qui tam case involving federal and state False Claims Act statutes through the pre-trial phase.
- Successfully moved to compel arbitration of breach of contract claims against international pop and film star, Rain a.k.a. Jung Ji Hoon.
- Represented CEO of major US airline in making an SEC proffer in connection with an insider trading inquiry.
- Conducted stock options backdating investigation for the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 company.Second-chaired multi-week international arbitration in insurance coverage dispute for Shell Oil.
Nathan Meyer is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where he practices in the litigation and intellectual property departments.
Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, from September of 2005 to March of 2008, Mr. Meyer was an associate at Kaye Scholer LLP, where he was a member of the litigation department.
Mr. Meyer is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College. From 2010-2020, he was chosen to the “Rising Stars” list by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine. From 2016-2020, Mr. Meyer was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Rising Star.
Recent Matters
- Lead trial counsel in five-day real estate trial in 2022, Los Angeles Superior Court.
- Primary appellate counsel in reversal of trial court ruling on an issue relating to dissolution of Limited Liability Companies, 2021
- Represented, with Larry Russ and Jean Rhee, a major apparel retailer in a trademark case, through successful summary judgment and successful appeal at the Ninth Circuit.
- Lead counsel in more than a dozen apparel copyright matters (defense side) regarding fabric prints.
- Represented, with Jules Kabat, a real estate investor in an arbitration with a partner.Represented, with Jules Kabat, a truck lift gate manufacturer in five cases across multiple state relating to the enforceability of out-of-state noncompetes under Business & Professions Code 16600.
- Represented, with Steve Goldberg, clothing manufacturing company in a a monthlong jury trial.
- Represented, with Mike Brophy, an apparel partnership in a monthlong court trial.
- Primary appellate counsel in approximately ten successful appeals, including published case law regarding the scope of trust deeds and reversal of trial court order on dissolution of limited liability company.
- With Marc Fenster, successfully litigated a patent ownership dispute from complaint through trial, including opening and closing argument and taking testimony before the Court.
- With Larry Russ, defended Forever 21 in a copyright and trade dress case that resulted in a grant of summary judgment in favor of the client.
- Second-chaired, with Judith Meadow, a three-day court trial regarding enforcement of an Australian judgment and fraudulent transfers revolving around an Indian Ocean casino.
- Represented, with Steven Goldberg, David Gabor, and Raquel Vallejo a Beverly Hills homeowners association in a ten-day court trial regarding disputed easement rights.
- Represented, with Larry Russ, a marine products company against various entities in the marine product industry concerning allegation of a horizontal bid-rigging conspiracy for foam-filled marine fender and buoy contracts.
- Second-chaired a two-day court trial, with Steven Goldberg, in a real estate partnership dispute.
Justin Maio is of counsel at Russ August & Kabat, where he serves as a member of the firm’s intellectual property group, corporate and finance group, and mergers and acquisitions group. His primary practice is focused on trademark protection and enforcement and brand development. He provides all services related to trademark prosecution, including clearance searches, filing applications, preparing Office action responses, filing maintenance documents, handling all aspects of opposition and cancellation proceedings, and filing Board appeals. He also advises on a variety of intellectual property matters and drafts and negotiates various types of IP-related agreements, such as license agreements, influencer agreements, distribution agreements, manufacturing agreements, services agreements, software development agreements, privacy policies and terms of use, data processing agreements, and assignment agreements. His clients range from startups and small businesses to high net-worth individuals, world famous celebrities, and multinational corporations.
Justin has been involved in litigating all stages of intellectual property disputes, including drafting and responding to cease & desist letters, filing takedown notices, preparing UDPR complaints, preparing pleadings, taking discovery, mediation and arbitration, negotiating settlements, trial preparation, and trial. Justin has experience litigating contract disputes, complex commercial disputes, and business torts as well.
With the mergers and acquisitions group, Justin has extensive experience conducting and managing IP due diligence and advising as an IP specialist for complex M&A deals. His experience touches each stage of deal development, including conducting initial IP searches, drafting and negotiating purchase agreements and supporting documents, schedule preparation, portfolio analysis and verification, and handling post-closing IP-related filings and recordations.
Justin graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law with a Dean’s Merit Scholarship (Full Tuition) and was awarded CALI Certificates in Contracts and Mediation Theory & Practice. He also earned a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, the top program of its kind in the nation. He previously worked at Keegan & Baker, LLP in real-estate litigation and for Associated Production Music, LLC, where he focused on preparing royalty agreements for artists.
Justin received a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honors society, Beta Gamma Sigma business honors society, and the Texas Cowboys service organization, the oldest society at the University of Texas. Justin is an active and good standing member of the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Florida and is registered as a patent attorney before the United States Patent & Trademark Office.
Justin has been consistently recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine since 2020. He has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2022 – 2025 Editions) for Entertainment and Sports Law.
Irene Lee is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, where she focuses her practice on all aspects of intellectual property, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and right of publicity. Irene helps clients navigate through the issues surrounding creating, acquiring, securing, protecting, defending, enforcing, licensing, and monetizing their rights in various forms of intellectual property worldwide and counsels them on risk management.
Irene has been featured in WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals and selected by peers and clients in Managing Intellectual Property’s Top 500 IP Stars and Top 250 Women in IP. Irene was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer since 2013, as one of Southern California Top 50 Women since 2016, and one of Southern California’s Top 100 Super Lawyers since 2017. She was named to The Best Lawyers in America (2024 – 2025 Editions) for Litigation – Intellectual Property. Billboard recognized Irene in its 2023 – 2025 ‘Top Music Lawyers’ list. The Los Angeles Business Journal has named her one of the Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles, one of the Most Influential Minority Lawyers in Los Angeles, and one of the Leading Intellectual Property Lawyers in California. Irene is also a sought-after speaker. She was a panelist for the 2022 IPO Annual Conference.
As a registered patent attorney, Irene employs her patent prosecution experience in strategizing patent litigation and licensing issues. Irene represents clients in a wide range of industries, including recreational vehicle, beauty, biotechnology, information technology, housewares, household products, baby products, food and beverages, jewelry, apparel, and CBD-based goods.
In addition to patent litigation and licensing, Irene has extensive experience in trademark prosecution, litigation, and licensing with an emphasis on global brand expansion and management through strategic trademark and copyright protection and enforcement programs.
Irene is fluent in Korean.
Recent Matters
- Britney Spears v. Oil de Lamor Ltd., et al. – protecting the artist Ms. Spears’ rights against infringers in Israel.
- The University of Utah v. 21 Savage – defended the artist 21 Savage’s rights in contract dispute.
- Thor Industries v. Thor Trucks – obtained a final judgment in favor of the world’s largest RV company, Thor Industries, permanently enjoining Thor Trucks from using THOR.
- Galatea Jewelry v. Swarovski – represents the world–renowned jewelry designer and his companies in protecting and enforcing copyrights.
- The Honest Company v. Redmon d/b/a Honest Herbal – obtained a final judgment in favor of Honest Co., permanently enjoining the defendants from using HONEST.
- The Honest Company v. Jakks Pacific – obtained a confidential settlement agreement in three months of filing the lawsuit against Jakks Pacific asserting infringement of Honest Co.’s copyright and trademark rights.
- VIA Technologies v. ASUSTek Computer – secured a significant settlement for VIA in a patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation action.
- Meowingtons, LLC v. deadmau5 – secured a significant settlement for deadmau5 in a trademark infringement action.
- Google v. VIA Technologies – secured a significant settlement for VIA Technologies in trademark proceedings over the CHROME trademark portfolio.
- deadmau5 v. West Coast Vape Supply, Inc. – successfully enforced deadmau5’s trademark rights.
- The Redbean House v. Colonnade Wilshire Corp. – obtained a verdict in favor of The Redbean House, along with full recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, in a five-year real estate dispute.
- Disney v. deadmau5 – represented deadmau5 in trademark proceedings over deadmau5’s intellectual property rights.
- Honest Tea, Inc. v. The Honest Company, Inc.– defended Honest Co. in trademark proceedings.
- com v. Brenwell Media – obtained a final judgment for LegalZoom permanently enjoining the defendants from using ZOOM.
- travisMathew v. Leisure Society Unlimited – obtained a preliminary injunction for travisMathew in a contract dispute and trademark action.
- Java Equities v. Newheart Limited Partnership – obtained a complete and total defense decision in favor of Newheart in arbitration on breach of contract and fraud, including award of attorneys’ fees.
- Absolute Software v. Stealth Signal – obtained a final judgment and permanent injunction in favor of Absolute Software in a seven-year patent infringement action.
Articles/Publications
Brian Ledahl is a partner at Russ August & Kabat, specializing in intellectual property and litigation with an emphasis on high-technology patent litigation and entertainment litigation. Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Mr. Ledahl was a lawyer at Irell & Manella LLP from 1996-2013, where he was a member of the Intellectual Property and Litigation workgroups.
Mr. Ledahl has extensive experience litigating complex claims in patent infringement, copyright infringement, trade secrets, and entertainment matters. He has appeared in numerous Federal trial courts around the United States, state courts in California, and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. Mr. Ledahl has tried cases before juries in multiple federal and state courts. Mr. Ledahl has also successfully represented clients in multiple appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and California state appellate courts. Over the course of his career, Mr. Ledahl has helped his clients recover more than $1.5 billion in judgments and settlements. Mr. Ledahl also counsels clients on a variety of business and strategic issues involving intellectual property and related issues.
Mr. Ledahl has been honored as a Southern California Super Lawyer from 2014-2025 by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine, and in 2021, he was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Super Lawyer. Mr. Ledahl has been peer-rated as AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubell.
Before beginning his legal practice, Mr. Ledahl earned his J.D. in 1996 from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. During law school, Mr. Ledahl served as a judicial extern to the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor. Mr. Ledahl earned his Bachelors Degree in 1993 from Columbia University where he was a member of the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Champion fencing teams and earned the Eisenhower Scholar Athlete Award. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Ledahl is a member of the board of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus.
Recent Matters
Patent and Technology Matters
- Realtime Data v. Riverbed Technology – representing Realtime Data in a patent infringement case regarding data compression technology and obtaining a damages verdict from the jury.
- HBAC v. Google – representing HBAC in a patent infringement case regarding targeted advertising technology and obtaining reversal of an unfavorable summary judgment ruling on appeal to the Federal Circuit.
- In the Matter of Certain Dynamic Random Access Memory and NAND Flash Memory Devices – representing patent holder Intellectual Ventures before the U.S. International Trade Commission in a patent infringement matter against manufacturers of computer memory.
- Microprocessor Enhancement Corp. v. Texas Instruments – representing Texas Instruments in a patent infringement dispute regarding microprocessor architecture, obtaining summary judgment for Texas Instruments, and handling successful defense of appeal from that judgment.
- Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems v. Space Exploration Technology – representing Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) in a trade secret dispute relating to rocket propulsion technology and in a separate antitrust claim against Northrop Grumman.
Entertainment and Business Matters
- HLC Properties v. UMG Recordings – representing Universal Music in multiple disputes (including a jury trial) with heirs of recording artist Bing Crosby over music royalties and distribution rights.
- Price Automotive v. Mass Management – representing classic automobile collector in fraud claim against seller of a vehicle.
- UMG Recordings v. Myspace, v. Grouper Networks, and v. Veoh Networks – representing Universal Music in copyright infringement actions addressing issues of first impression under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- TI Beverage Group v. Home Box Office – representing HBO in a trademark dispute relating to a beverage product connected with the original series True Blood.
