Christopher M. Arena
| Partner | |
| Atlanta | |
| P. 404.459.5644 | |
| F. 404.459.5734 | |
| carena@woodcock.com | |
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Christopher Arena believes that the practice of intellectual property law is about enhancing the value of a business. It is a belief he developed before joining Woodcock Washburn, while serving as chief intellectual property counsel for Cingular Wireless and earlier as chief patent counsel for BellSouth Corp. "The end-game must focus on the business, not the law - on identifying the business's goals of the client and crafting the best legal strategy to help achieve those goals," he says.
At Cingular, where he worked from 2001 to 2005, Chris was responsible for all aspects of intellectual property. At BellSouth, he was chief patent counsel from 1995 to 2001 and a founding officer of the BellSouth Intellectual Property Group of companies. Earlier in his legal career, Chris was an attorney with a general practice law firm in Pittsburgh. Before becoming a lawyer, he spent eight years as systems engineer and engineering manager for IBM Corporation in Manassas, Va.
Chris holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from George Mason University. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This extensive and varied background has given Chris broad expertise in all areas of IP, including patent and trademark law. He has particular skill in transactional matters, especially asset acquisition and management, licensing and litigation. At Woodcock Washburn, he applies these skills to help clients achieve greater value for their businesses through strategic use of intellectual property.