2024
AWARD
INTERNATIONAL
Mark Lezama
Partner; Co-Chair Copyright Litigation
Education (degrees & institutions): A.B. Mathematics, cum laude, Harvard College; J.D. University of California, Berkeley, School of Law Company Name: Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP Industry: Law (Intellectual Property and Technology Law) Company CEO: Steven Nataupsky, Managing Partner Company Headquarters Location: Irvine, CA Number of Employees: 673 Words you live by: Be true to yourself. Who is your personal hero? My father What book(s) are you reading? Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, The End of the Affair by Graham Greene and Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists by Yanofsky & Mannucci What was your first job? Math tutor Interests/Hobbies: Working with my son to program and develop our scrolling platformer (video game) Family: Wife and son
His passion for learning and teaching has carried him far. It can do the same for others I love my job. As a trial lawyer focusing on intellectual property disputes, I get to both learn and teach. Whether handling a patent case or a copyright case, I dive deep into the details. Every case differs from the last, so I’m constantly learning something new. Whether it’s quantum computing, optics, or audio signal processing, I study the underlying technology, mastering the critical points as well as any expert in the field. Once fluent in the technology, I identify the best facts to latch onto—the facts that make the best legal case for my client while also bringing out the larger themes that will resonate with a jury. And at trial, I distill the technology I’ve mastered down to the most fascinating essen-
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tials, and I then get to teach those essentials to the jury. This passion for learning and teaching has propelled me throughout my law career. I’m a first-generation attorney. Even though the legal profession was uncharted territory for my family, I never doubted my passion for learning and teaching would continue to carry me. But I believe it would have served me well even if I had chosen a different path. And that’s why I love it when my son comes home from school and excitedly gives me a lesson in whatever he learned that day. I see the same passion in him and know that it will take him a long way. When he announces he’s going to be a NASA
engineer who builds the next Webb telescope or an architect designing the world’s tallest building, I can see it happening. I firmly believe it’s our duty to try to instill the same excitement and values in students as early as possible, to help them become the next generation of scientists, attorneys, and leaders. That’s why, when I get the chance to volunteer (and I don’t volunteer enough), I tend to spend my time working with programs that invest in youth, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. I share my enthusiasm for learning and teaching, hoping it will inspire them and show them that a fundamental thirst for knowledge will take them far.
2024 First Quarter
43