About Cathy Kirkman

1682.jpgCathy Kirkman is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, licensing, and commercial transactions, with specialized expertise in media and technology law, including content rights and open source software. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced at the entertainment law firm Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles, California, where she specialized in motion picture, television, and music deals.

Cathy has extensive expertise in digital media, copyright, and Internet law. She regularly advises clients on new business models, content rights issues, copyright and DMCA issues, online contracts and e-commerce, privacy, spam, and spyware, as well as patent and technology licensing issues relating to digital rights management and compression standards.

Cathy also has a long history of pro bono service to the community. She served for many years as Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's liaison to the East Palo Alto Community Law Project and has received the firm's Pro Bono Service Award and Community Service Award. Her pro bono work includes assistance to Rubicon Programs, the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, the East Palo Alto Boxing Club, Legal Advocates for Children & Youth, the Public Library of Science, and the International Museum of Women, among others.

Areas of Practice

  • Intellectual property licensing
  • Strategic commercial transactions
  • Intellectual property aspects of corporate reorganizations

Education

  • J.D., Stanford Law School, 1989.
    • With Distinction; Member, Order of the Coif; Research Assistant to Professor Paul Goldstein in connection with his treatise, Copyright Principles, Law & Practice
  • Undergraduate degree, Harvard University, 1986.
    • Magna Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Associations

  • Chair, Committee on Government Relations to Copyright
  • Co-chair, ABA Special Committee on Online Copyright Issues
  • Co-chair, Bar Association of San Francisco's Sports and Entertainment Law Section
  • Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
  • Member, Bar Association of San Francisco's No Glass Ceiling Task Force
  • Member, Board of Editors, American Lawyer Media's Internet Newsletter
  • Member, Planning Committee, Stanford Law School E-Commerce Best Practices Conference
  • Member, Planning Committee, USC Law School Intellectual Property Law Institute

Bar Admissions

  • State Bar of California