Michelle Safro Smith

Michelle Safro Smith is an experienced trial litigator and intellectual property attorney, and a partner and the head of the litigation and trademark departments. Ms. Smith practices in federal and state courts, and prosecutes trademarks and copyrights at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office, and foreign patent and trademark agencies around the world. She has served as lead counsel in numerous and varied areas of litigation, including patent and trademark infringement, FOIA prosecution and litigation, and business and contract disputes. Ms. Smith is also experienced with transactional matters, and drafts and negotiates contracts and agreements, including license, purchasing, and distribution agreements.

Ms. Smith believes in a strategic and global approach to conflict resolution, and with her many years of experience, favors efficient, to-the-point representation. Ms. Smith views litigation as an ongoing negotiation rather than conflict escalation, and has successfully prevailed in court cases in their infancy, minimizing costs and allowing clients to return as quickly as possible to their businesses and lives with peace of mind. Highlights of her career include:

-Successful prosecution and registration of hundreds of trademarks in the United States and various countries around the world

-Prevailing against likelihood of confusion and descriptiveness-based trademark office actions at the USPTO

-Prevailing in FOIA actions against a variety of government agencies

-Settling a trademark litigation for a plaintiff client within a few weeks of initiating a complaint at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia

-Achieving dismissal of a patent infringement and Lanham Act litigation and invalidating the patent-at-issue at the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

-Recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs in litigation

Prior to joining Remenick PLLC, Ms. Smith worked as a litigator at a number of small firms, where her responsibilities included trial work, dispute resolution, and mediation and arbitration proceedings.

Ms. Smith received her juris doctorate from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and her bachelor degree from the University of Tennessee. She is licensed to practice in Virginia.

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