Claudia M. Barrett is of counsel in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office, where she is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, the Intellectual Property Practice Group and the Transnational Litigation and Foreign Judgments Practice Group. She is also a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Ms. Barrett’s practice focuses on litigation and intellectual property counseling, particularly trademark and copyright matters.  She has substantial experience in complex civil litigation matters and has represented national and multi-national companies in a wide variety of civil disputes in various federal and state courts and before arbitration panels.  She has also represented clients in regulatory investigations before several government agencies and has played a significant role in several internal investigations.  Representative matters in which Ms. Barrett has played a key role include:

• Prosecuting trademark infringement action for search engines’ unauthorized use of multi-national company’s marks as keywords;
• Prosecuting trademark and copyright infringement action against pop-up advertising company for the unauthorized use of trademarks and websites owned by several news outlets;
• Prosecuting several actions brought under 28 U.S.C. 1782 in federal courts around the country to obtain discovery for use in foreign proceedings;
• Defending Chevron Corp. against a multi-billion dollar foreign judgment issued in an Ecuadorian court;
• Assisting in the defense of a major insurance company in various class actions;
• Defending national retailers in class actions alleging fraudulent advertising and deceptive business practices.

Ms. Barrett currently manages the trademark portfolios of several firm clients, providing advice to those companies on trademark prosecution matters.  As part of her practice, Ms. Barrett has also drafted and negotiated numerous trademark and copyright license and  coexistence agreements and has counseled companies on issues relating to trademark, copyright and open source software.  She also regularly assists clients in enforcing their intellectual property rights through cease-and-desist letters and subsequent negotiations.  In addition to trademark prosecution and intellectual property counseling, Ms. Barrett also is actively involved in providing intellectual property advice in connection with transactions.

Ms. Barrett devotes significant time to assisting non-profit organizations with intellectual property issues, particularly with the protection of their trademark rights through trademark prosecution and cease and desist efforts.  Recently, Ms. Barrett has provided assistance in this capacity to, among others, the Women’s Heart Alliance, The Human Rights Foundation, and Not Impossible Labs.

Ms. Barrett earned her law degree in 2001 from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Weekly. Prior to attending law school, she spent three years working for an entertainment management company in Los Angeles, California, where she assisted with drafting and negotiating touring and sponsorship agreements for clients in the music and motorsports industries. She received B.F.A. and B.A. degrees from Florida International University in 1992.

Ms. Barrett is a member of the bars of California and the District of Columbia, and has been admitted to appear before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Fourth Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  She is a native Spanish speaker and has a basic knowledge of Italian and French.