Manuel Nelson

I began my legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable John T. Elfvin, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the W.D. of N.Y. (Buffalo). After my two-year clerkship, I became an Assistant Public Defender with the Pima County Public Defender’s office (Tucson, AZ), where I was responsible for all phases of criminal litigation, including discovery, pre-trial motions and jury trials as first chair. After almost a year as an Assistant PD, I began a career as an intellectual property lawyer, during which time I was responsible for all phases of intellectual property litigation in federal court, from pre-complaint investigations, complaints and answers, discovery disputes, dispositive motions, motions in limine, to post-trial motions and appeals. I was usually charged with the more challenging and critical technical fact and expert witnesses and depositions. I also evaluated countless patents to serve a wide range of client needs. After several years with law firms, I had the opportunity to go in-house. I started as the sole in-house counsel for the parent of entertainment and technology companies providing content-streaming and Hologram productions. I helped the companies identify, minimize, and when necessary mitigate, business and legal risks and exposures regarding current operations and future endeavors. As the sole in-house counsel, I helped craft numerous contracts of a variety of different types, including NDAs, service agreements, advertising agreements, third-party partnership agreements, and commercial leases and installation agreements. I worked with IT and product managers to formulate and improve EULAs and product descriptions and disclosures, worked with HR to ensure compliance with labor laws, helped prepare corporate disclosures, managed all litigations, and implemented internal processes and controls to help increase uniformity across the companies. Currently, I work for a publicly traded technology company, OSI Systems, Inc. I have a broad spectrum of tasks and duties, similar to those I had with the startup. In my spare time, I have the privilege of spending time with my daughter.