James Riley > Goodwin > Silicon Valley, United States > Lawyer Profile
Goodwin Offices
601 Marshall Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
CALIFORNIA
United States
James Riley

Position
Partner
Career
Jim Riley is a partner in the firm’s Technology group and a co-chair of Goodwin’s Intellectual Property practice group. He also serves as the chair of the firm’s Silicon Valley office. He specializes in the representation of emerging growth technology companies and venture capital firms in the areas of corporate partnering and strategic alliances, technology acquisition, licensing and commercialization, open source licensing and compliance, data privacy and security, joint venture and spin-off transactions, and intellectual property strategy, counseling and protection. His practice also focuses on the intellectual property and technology aspects of venture capital financings, public offerings and mergers and acquisitions.
Education
JD, University of California, Davis 1995 / BA, University of California Los Angeles 1992
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
Working closely with companies at all stages of growth, in both US and foreign jurisdictions, Goodwin is lauded for its licensing, technology transactions, patent enforcement, prosecution and counseling. Capable of acting in various industries, clients span tech, life sciences, private equity, and financial services. In Boston Catherine McCarty co-heads the IP practice group, bringing expertise in IP to help clients in pharma and chemistry matters protect their innovations. Silicon Valley’s James Riley co-heads the group and frequently represents emerging growth tech companies and venture capital firms in licensing matters. Adept in technology, data and IP transactions is Boston-based lawyer Stephen Charkoudian. Kingsley Taft is well-versed in supporting emerging to mature life science companies. Washington DC’s Noelle Dubiansky possesses broad capabilities in IP including licensing and commercial undertakings for a diverse clientele including biotech, pharma and medical devices. Bethany Withers specializes in tech data, publicity rights and IP matters. Unless otherwise stated, all lawyers are based in Boston.
United States > Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
Goodwin‘s group has a strong reputation for its patent prosecution work in the life sciences and tech sectors in particular. The team is also equipped to assist across pharma, medical devices, and tech among other sectors, advising on patent matters covering clearance, patentability, infringement, and validity, among other areas. The team is helmed by Boston-based Catherine McCarty and James Riley, who works from Silicon Valley. A life sciences expert with a specialism in drug development, Theresa Kavanaugh is a key name in Boston. Carl Morales joined the New York office from Fenwick & West LLP in January 2025.
Lawyer Rankings
- Patents: licensing United States > Intellectual property
- Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings) United States > Intellectual property
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: middle-market (Up to $500m)
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Labor and employment > ERISA litigation
- Finance > Fintech
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Finance > Commercial lending
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Finance > Financial services regulation