Esther H. Lim

Partner

Esther H. Lim has a broad patent practice, including litigation, prosecution, licensing, opinions, due diligence, and portfolio management. She has represented many international companies from Asia, Europe, and the United States in complex cases. Ms. Lim is serving as the founding managing partner of the firm's Shanghai office, which opened in 2008.

Ms. Lim frequently lectures and writes internationally on issues relating to procurement and enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights. She is the editor-in-chief of the Last Month at the Federal Circuit, Finnegan's monthly newsletter distributed to subscribers worldwide. Ms. Lim taught advanced patent law and public policy courses as an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law in the United States for six years. In 2010, she started teaching IP courses to postgraduate students at Renmin University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

Ms. Lim served as a law clerk to the Honorable Randall R. Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Highlights

• Represented leading electronics company in a complex patent litigation involving processors for PlayStation^® products, which resulted in a favorable settlement.
• Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of global telecommunications company against charges of infringement.
• Oversees patent portfolio management of one of the country's leading mortgage lenders.
• Serves as a co-chair of the Conference of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice at Howard University School of Law.
• Worked as a computer programmer at the U.S. Naval Air Test Center, 1990.
• Worked on a number of pro bono projects involving client intakes at pro bono clinics and also assisted with translations related to legal services for non-English speaking communities.

Professional Recognition

• Voted as Best Teacher for Renmin University School of Law IP Course, 2010.
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation.
• Burton Award for Legal Achievement, a national award for legal writing, 2007.
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's "Best Lawyers Under 40" award, 2005.

Professional Activities

• D.C. Bar (Board of Governors, 2005-2008; Development Committee, 2006-2007; Nominations Committee, 2002)
• Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (Board of Directors, 2007-2009)
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (secretary, 2007-2008; regional governor, 2003-2005; co-chair, IP Committee, 2005-present; co-chair, Women's Leadership Committee, 2003-2007)
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation (Board of Governors, 2005-2007)
• D.C. Computer Law Forum (president, 2003-2005)
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area (president, 2001-2002; Board of Directors, 1999-2005)
• American Bar Association (Planning Committee for National Conference for the Minority Lawyer, 2006; Annual Convention Host Committee, 2002)
• Federal Circuit Bar Association (Planning Committee for Global Communities Conference, 2011)

Select Publications

• Coauthor. "How Will Patent Reform Affect the Software and Internet Industries?" The Computer & Internet Lawyer, Dec. 2011.
• "Can Chinese Companies Avoid the Hotbed of Patent Litigation in the United States?" MIP Chinese edition, Oct. 2011.
• "The Net of U.S. IP Infringement Actions," Imp & Exp Executive Magazine, Sept. 5, 2011.
• Coauthor. "IP Rights on Chinese Agenda," Executive Counsel, Aug./Sept. 2011.
• "Reflections of a U.S. Lawyer in China: An Asian American Journey Back to Asia," ABA Section of International Law Diversity Newsletter, Summer 2011.
• "China's Growing Constellation in the Global IP Sky," China IP News, April 15, 2011.
• "Adding IP Fuel to China's Fire of Innovation," China IP News, April 2010.
• Coauthor. "2009 Patent Law Decisions of the Federal Circuit," American University Law Review, April 30, 2010.
• Coauthor. "2009: The Year in Summary in U.S. Patent Law," China IP News, April 14, 2010.
• Coauthor. "The Federal Circuit: Key Recent Decisions in the United States that Any Company Should Know," China IP News, March 2010.