Karen Ballack > Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP > Redwood Shores, United States > Lawyer Profile
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Offices
201 REDWOOD SHORES PARKWAY
REDWOOD SHORES, CA 94065
CALIFORNIA
United States
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Karen Ballack
Position
Partner
Career
Karen Ballack is an intellectual property transactional attorney with emphasis on representing technology companies, particularly in the computer (hardware and software), Internet, semiconductor, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Karen is also a member of Weil’s Privacy & Cybersecurity group and is based in the Silicon Valley office. Karen has extensive experience in a wide variety of complex technology and intellectual property alliances and transactions. Representative matters include: licensing arrangements; research and development collaborations; joint ventures; strategic alliances and corporate partnering transactions; intellectual property acquisitions and divestitures; manufacture and supply arrangements; distribution and reseller arrangements; co‑marketing alliances; consulting and professional services agreements; and other arrangements involving the commercial exploitation of technology and intellectual property. Karen’s practice also includes providing intellectual property assistance in connection with private equity, M&A and other corporate transactions. Karen is frequently engaged as a guest speaker on topics relating to technology and intellectual property transactions.
Education
San Diego State University (B.S., summa cum laude, 1981); University of San Francisco (J.D., 1986).
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP assists a large roster of blue-chip clients with technology and IP transactional matters, including patent acquisitions and divestitures, license arrangements, and technology and IP joint ventures. The department is jointly led by Charan Sandhu and Jeffrey Osterman from the firm’s New York office. While Sandhu has vast experience in complex technology and IP transactions as well as licensing agreements, Osterman’s practice focuses on technology outsourcing and integration as well as on patent and content licensing. Other notable members of the team are Karen Ballack in Silicon Valley, who advises on the development, commercialization and other exploitation of technology and IP, and New York’s Dennis Adams, whose practice spans across the technology and life science industries. Also in New York, Olivia Greer focuses on assisting clients with privacy and data security issues. Michael Epstein retired from the partnership in late 2022.
United States > Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
Acting for domestic and international clients alike, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP remains a dominant force in the tech transactions space and is noted in the market for its ability to handle the tech, IP, and data privacy elements of high-value M&A deals. The leadership trio comprises Jeffrey Osterman and Charan Sandhu from the New York office as well as Karen Ballack, who is based in Silicon Valley. Osterman is a key contact for technically complex matters relating to pure patent licensing and tech integration, while Sandhu is a first-choice contact for advising on transactions involving the intersect of IP and tech, and Ballack frequently advises private equity investors from the tech field on the IP aspects of corporate deals. Also in the New York office, Dennis Adams is a key contact for advice on software licensing matters, while Olivia Greer has demonstrable experience in privacy and data security concerns, in addition to assisting clients with generative AI tools.
Lawyer Rankings
- Patents: licensing United States > Intellectual property
- Technology transactions United States > Media, technology and telecoms
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Tax > Financial products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense