Alexander (“Lex”) Brainerd is well known for his ability to master complex facts quickly and to thoroughly assess the strengths and weaknesses of all parties’ positions, the result of having served as a neutral in hundreds of matters, and from prior experience as lead trial counsel in over 30 trials during his 42-year career as a trial lawyer. He has used these skills successfully as a neutral in mediations, arbitrations and special master assignments in a wide range of cases, such as intellectual property, business disputes, and professional malpractice cases.

Mr. Brainerd’s experience as a neutral and a trial lawyer allows him to assist the parties in fully understanding and evaluating the risks associated with their cases. In that regard, he strongly believes that an essential foundation for a successful mediation is a thorough discussion with the parties regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their respective positions.  Mr. Brainerd has a reputation for being extremely prepared, diligent, and tenacious, and for having a very high settlement rate.

Mr. Brainerd practiced law for over four decades prior to becoming a full-time neutral and developed a broad range of experience with various types of litigation. Just before turning to ADR full time, his practice focused on intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on patent trials. He also has significant experience in complex commercial, professional malpractice and construction matters. Mr. Brainerd has an in-depth understanding of various types of technology as it relates to intellectual property cases, including biotechnology, medical devices, semiconductors, telephony, broadband DSL, software, computer and industrial equipment. 

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• Mediated hundreds of cases on a wide range of subjects, with special emphasis on intellectual property and complex commercial matters
• Appointed as a Special Master to resolve all discovery and pretrial disputes in a patent and trade secret case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He also acted as a Special Master in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to resolve the terms and conditions of a license agreement and all pretrial disputes in an antitrust action relating to computer hardware and software technology
• Served as an arbitrator in numerous cases concerning a wide range of commercial disputes 
• Acted as Discovery Referee in State Court action involving claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty

Representative Mediations

Patent Cases: Mr. Brainerd has mediated a range of patent cases related to:

• Biotechnology
• Medical devices
• Semiconductors
• Wireless communications
• Business methods
• Computer technology
• Electronic cables and connectors
• Construction methods and techniques
• Features of heavy equipment
• Golf equipment

Other Intellectual Property: Mr. Brainerd has extensive experience in other intellectual property cases such as:

• Trade secrets in the automotive industry
• Trademark disputes involving companies in the fine foods industry
• Copyright infringement disputes in the e-commerce industry
• Copyright infringement disputes in the home goods industry

Business Commercial Cases: Mr. Brainerd has mediated numerous commercial cases involving issues such as breach of contract, consumer class actions, fraud, professional malpractice, securities, real estate, and transfer of technology.

Representative Arbitrations

Mr. Brainerd has arbitrated numerous business and commercial matters, most recently serving as an arbitrator in the following cases involving:

• Alleged breach of franchise agreement relating to the distribution of artwork
• Failed solar energy business in Israel
• Attorney malpractice case arising from patent litigation
• Alleged breach of contract action arising from the sale of semiconductor equipment
• Dispute between a homeowner and a condominium homeowners association
• Alleged breach of patent license agreement

Special Master Assignments

• Discovery Referee in California State Court action concerning claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and elder financial abuse
• Special Master to resolve all discovery and pretrial disputes in a patent and trade secret case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• Special Master in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to resolve the terms and conditions of a license agreement and all pretrial disputes in an antitrust action relating to computer hardware and software technology

Mock Trial

• Acted as one of three judges in a mock trial of a Hatch Waxman case
• Acted as one of three arbitrators in a mock arbitration exercise
• As a trial lawyer, participated in well over 30 mock trials  

Representative Litigation

As a trial lawyer, Mr. Brainerd handled the following representative matters:

• Patent infringement case involving pulse oximeters for measuring oxygen levels
• Patent infringement case involving tissue expanders used in connection with breast reconstructive surgery
• Patent infringement case involving DNA microarray technology
• Patent litigation under the Hatch Waxman Act involving a pharmaceutical formulation
• Patent litigation involving the removal of pollutants from diesel exhaust using non-thermal plasma technology
• Patent and antitrust litigation arising from certain patents relating to ADSL high-speed modem technology
• Patent litigation involving the application of superconductor technology to the transmission and filtering of wireless telephone transmissions
• Patent infringement litigation regarding three patents covering various aspects of field programmable logic technology
• Trade secret litigation involving the design of an expandable coronary stent
• Trade secret litigation concerning thin film head and disk drive technology
• Breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets case relating to ultra-high molecular weight polymer technology
• Breach of contract action arising from the sale of automated blood separation technology
• Breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secret case relating to high-speed modems
• Breach of contract action arising out of a stock option agreement
• Fraud, breach-of-contract, and breach-of-fiduciary duty action concerning the securitization of sub-prime loans
• Breach of contract action against general contractor concerning the construction of major multi-use project in San Francisco

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer, ADR Category, 2011-2019
• Recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer, Intellectual Property Litigation, 2005-2010
• Early neutral evaluator and mediator, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• Evaluator for Legal Evaluation Group, a firm providing early neutral evaluation
• San Francisco Superior Court Arbitration Committee, 1981-1991
• Master, Intellectual Property Chapter of American Inns of Court
• Member, The Fellows of the American Bar Association
• Member of the Executive Committee of the Litigation Section, Bar Association of San Francisco, 1989-1996
• Board of Governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers of Northern California, 1992-1999
• Delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council, 1992-1995
• Board of Directors, National Center for Youth Law
• Former member, Local Patent Rules Committee for U.S. District Court for Northern District of California
• State Bar of California
• "Golfing will have to wait," Daily Journal, ADR Profile, December 21, 2012

Background and Education

• Partner, Sonnenshein Nath & Rosenthal, 2008-2010
• Partner, Heller Ehrman, 1999-2008
• Partner, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, 1997-1999
• Partner/Associate, Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon, 1968-1997
• J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law (formerly Boalt Hall School of Law), 1968
• B.A., Amherst College, 1963