The Firm works with its clients as part of the management team, just like an in-house General Counsel. We partner with clients to solve problems in a variety of areas facing businesses today, such as intellectual property, contracts, strategic partnerships, corporate, employment, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital.

Laura Lee Norris is the former Vice President of the Legal Department and Corporate Secretary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY), San Jose, California. In her 6.5 years at Cypress, she held positions as Manager of Intellectual Property, Manager of Litigation and Licensing, and Director of the Legal Department.

Laura has actively managed all types of litigation, including a variety of state and federal actions in areas such as patent infringement, antitrust, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, unfair business practices, interference with contract, breach of contract, Lanham Act violations, and conversion. She has also participated in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) proceedings, and orchestrated a number of favorable settlements.

Laura has participated in the acquisition of several businesses, divestiture of a product line, investments in strategic partners, and evaluation of many potential acquisition targets. She has performed due diligence, drafted and negotiated term sheets and definitive agreements, and handled escrow claims and lawsuits relating to these transactions.

Laura has vast experience in licensing through negotiating with large companies for multi-year patent cross license agreements, drafting all forms of outgoing hardware and software licenses, and drafting and negotiating incoming intellectual property licenses.

Working with business managers, finance professionals, and human resource representatives, Laura is experienced in setting company policy in areas such as employee relations, governance, document retention, ethics, labor practices, and compliance. As a former secretary for the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors, Laura has advised directors and management on legal matters and best practices. She has set up whistleblower hotlines and procedures, and oversaw investigation and resolution of hotline complaints.

Prior to joining Cypress in 1999, Laura was a litigation associate at Arnold White & Durkee in Menlo Park, California. Laura represented clients of various sizes in intellectual property and patent disputes. She also performed due diligence, negotiated, and drafted patent licensing agreements. Sample clients include Intel, the University of California, Atmel, Micron, Samsung, and Diamond.

Laura attended the evening program at Santa Clara University School of Law while working full-time as a patent agent in the Legal Department at Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, California. Aside from writing and prosecuting patent applications, Laura wrote non-infringement and invalidity opinion letters, conducted prior art searches, assisted in patent litigation, and identified potential licensing targets.

Before deciding to pursue a career as an attorney, Laura worked as a Pentium ® processor design engineer and product marketing engineer at Intel Corporation in Santa Clara. She was also a co-op engineer at Ford Electronics in Lansdale, Pennsylvania during her sophomore, junior, and senior years at the University of Michigan.

Publications and Presentations
Laura's publications and presentations include "Harnessing Litigation Legal Fees," January 23, 2007, "Business Issues in Intellectual Property," Panel presentation to the Business School Alumni Association of the Bay Area, January 25, 2007; "Creative Ways of Structuring Relationships with Outside Counsel," panel presentation at IP Law & Business' "Innovations in IP Litigation" briefing, May 17, 2006; "Patent Enforcement," presentation at the 11th Annual Institute on Intellectual Property Law, October 6, 2005.

Education
Santa Clara University School of Law, J.D. 1997
University of Michigan School of Engineering, B.S.E.E. 1992
CA Bar # 195844 U.S.P.T.O. Reg # 42886