Heidi Keefe

Heidi is a member of Cooley’s board of directors. She is a first chair trial lawyer with two decades of experience representing some of the hottest tech companies in the world in complex patent litigation. A former astrophysicist and registered patent attorney, Heidi easily understands a variety of technical disciplines, from software to medical devices.

Heidi has 260+ patent cases under her belt and regularly leads Markman hearings and trials in district courts across the US, as well as briefings and oral hearings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). She is recognized as one of the top lawyers at the PTAB by Docket Navigator. Heidi also represents clients before the Federal Circuit and the International Trade Commission. She has handled 50+ Federal Circuit patent appeals in recent years – the majority as appellee – and played a lead role in securing winning jury verdicts in each of Facebook’s two patent trials to date. Her clients include Absolute Software, Box, CoolIT Systems, Meta Platforms, Niantic and Snap.

Heidi develops close, trusted relationships with her clients by offering honest, smart advice about which cases to take to trial and which ones to resolve early on. Her goal is to protect core revenue-generating technologies and products so her clients can get back to business. Such guidance has earned her the long-standing trust of industry leaders. Her passion in the courtroom has garnered praise from her peers, with opposing counsel in a recent Federal Circuit appeal stating, “[Heidi] was terrific. She knew the case better than anyone in the room, and she argued persuasively and with passion. From her argument, it was apparent that she was deeply invested in the case, her client and the outcome. She was inspiring to watch.”

Beyond her prowess in the courtroom, Heidi also is actively involved in women’s initiatives. When named among Law360’s Influential Women in IP Law, Heidi noted, “Years in the future, I hope we won’t be talking about how few women there are, we’ll just be talking about how many great lawyers there are.” She is a member of the Women Attorneys Advocacy Project, along with Judge Elizabeth Laporte, and also is heavily involved in Cooley’s Women’s Initiative.

Heidi is a frequent lecturer on all aspects of intellectual property (IP) protection. She has taught classes at Santa Clara University on IP litigation and conducted lectures at the UC Berkeley School of Law and Stanford Law School. She speaks throughout the US for Law Seminars International, the American Bar Association and the Practising Law Institute.