Jessica Hudak
Vice President, Lead Counsel, Advanced Innovation & Technology, Edwards Lifesciences
Orange County Office
Class of 2016
Favorite memory from your time at Gibson: My favorite memory is from the day the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. The patent litigators sitting around me and I followed the court’s opinions so closely that we all spotted the decision the instant it posted. Without any coordination, we all had the same instinct at the same time, and we came running out of our offices to talk it through together in the hallway. That moment captures what I loved about Gibson: being surrounded by colleagues who cared that much about the law, paid that close attention to it, and could not wait to dig into it together. The decision held that the appointment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s administrative patent judges violated the Appointments Clause. The case went on to the Supreme Court as United States v. Arthrex, and I had the opportunity to work on it with Mark Perry representing Smith & Nephew. Working on a Supreme Court case about the constitutionality of the PTAB was a career highlight, but it is that moment in the hallway that stays with me most.
How did Gibson prepare you for this next chapter in your life? The training I received at Gibson set me up for success in my career. Gibson’s training is unmatched, and its reputation is recognized well beyond the firm, by the broader legal community and by the companies we serve as clients. Most important, it taught me to be a fearless problem solver. I am never intimidated by a new legal issue, because I know I have the skills and the tools to dig in and get to the right answer. That has become essential in my role today. I was trained as an intellectual property litigator, but in-house I am much more of a generalist and business attorney. Issues come across my desk in areas of law I have never worked in before. Gibson gave me the confidence and the wherewithal to master those issues, assess the risk, and successfully translate it all into business decisions for my internal clients.
How do you stay engaged and continue relationships with your fellow Gibson alumni? I am lucky that at Edwards we often work with Gibson Dunn attorneys on our most important matters, so I stay in close contact with the firm that way. Quite often they are the same attorneys I worked cases with when I was at the firm. They still tease me about whether I keep my Bluebook handy. (Of course I do! Two copies, within arm’s reach at all times.) I have also maintained real friendships from my Gibson days. One former colleague and I have a standing rule that if we are ever in the same city, we meet for spicy margaritas no matter what else is going on. Two attorneys I worked with in the Orange County office have become two of my very best friends, and we regularly get together for dinners and family gatherings. I also keep tabs on the firm’s work. I subscribe to Gibson’s client alerts and follow the firm’s cases at the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court. And I always say yes to opportunities to attend events, join panels, or meet up with Gibson attorneys and alumni. I am always happy to give my time to these folks.
