Lee C. Cheng is a Shareholder based in the firm’s Orange County office, a member of the Corporate, Intellectual Property and Litigation Practice Groups, and the Chair of the Greater China Practice Group. Mr. Cheng’s practice spans a broad array of disciplines, from corporate transactional work, M&A, finance, governance to intellectual property, licensing and litigation management and strategy. He is regarded as a national expert on defending companies cost effectively against frivolous assertions of intellectual property rights and other types of extortionary litigation, and he prides himself on having a deep understanding of what clients need from outside counsel.

Mr. Cheng’s insights on client service comes from more than 20 years at top law firms, including almost 15 as a C-level legal and operations executive. His business experience includes ranking-level executive positions at venture funded startups like LightCross, Inc. (VP of Administration and Legal Affairs) and GeneFluidics, Inc. (General Counsel), to global, multi-billion dollar revenue companies like Newegg.com (Chief Legal Officer, SVP Corporate Development, SVP Human Resources, Corporate Secretary) and Gibson Brands, the owner of Gibson Guitars (Chief Operating Officer).

Mr. Cheng has been recognized a number of times for his thought leadership in the legal profession.  He is a two-time winner (2014 and 2016) of the National Law Journal’s America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel, and numerous other awards for innovation and excellence in the practice of law. He was named an “Intellectual Property Trailblazer & Pioneer” (2014)–also by the National Law Journal, and received the IP Vanguard Award (2013) from the IP Section of the State Bar of California. In 2018, he became the recipient of the inaugural Champion of Equal Opportunity Education Rights Award of the Asian American Coalition for Education.

Awards and Recognitions

• 2018 Champion of Equal Opportunity in Education Rights, Asian American Coalition for Education (2018)
• Corporate Leadership Award, Asian American Bar Association of New York (2017)
• America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel, National Law Journal (2016, 2014)
• In-House Impact Award, The Recorder(2015)
• Top 50 IP Trailblazer and Pioneer, National Law Journal (2014)
• Vanguard Award, State Bar of California IP Section (2013)
• In-House Counsel of the Year, Daily Journal (2013)
• Innovation Award, NYU-Polytechnic (2011)
• Top 10 Law Department Innovation Award, InsideCounsel Magazine (2011)
• Institute for Civil Justice Southern California Leadership Counsel of the top 50 lawyers in Southern California, RAND Institute
• Best Lawyers under 40, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2009)

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• UC Berkeley School of Law
• University of California, Berkeley

Significant Accomplishments

Litigation

Mr. Cheng has managed dozens of complex litigation matters to successful conclusion for clients, including the following:

• Newegg fought its way through two appeals to win fees from this patent-holder
• Encryption patent that roiled Newegg is dead on appeal
• Wait… we sued who?! Patent troll drops case one day after Newegg’s lawyer calls
• Newegg nukes “corporate troll” Alcatel in third patent appeal win this year
• Judge Sides With eCommerce Merchants in Patent Dispute
• Newegg and friends crush a patent troll
• “Shopping cart” patent troll tries to save itself, gets pounded by Newegg

Intellectual Property

• Provided advice re: prosecution, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Corporate and Transactional

• Represented issuers, investors and lenders in private equity and debt transactions.
• Represented partners, sellers and purchasers in the purchase and sale of entities, assets and businesses, and the creation of partnerships and joint ventures.
• Represented issuers, underwriters and lenders in public equity and debt transactions.
• Represented various parties in strategic agreements, including intellectual property licenses.
• Advised Boards of Directors and executive management teams on corporate governance issues.

Employment Matters

• Represented executives in negotiating employment and severance agreements, and employers in negotiating the same.
• Provided counseling to clients re: equity and other long term incentives.

Real Estate

• Represented purchaser of commercial buildings.
• Represented tenants in numerous leases and buildouts.