Aaron Eckenthal
Westfield
Summary
Dynamic legal professional with extensive expertise at Nomura Holding America Inc., specializing in commercial contracts and legal risk management.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Director, Corporate Legal
Nomura Holding America Inc.
New York
01.2022 - Current
- Counseled internal stakeholders and business units on corporate matters to identify and mitigate legal risks in complex transactional agreements, new business lines, and emerging technologies.
- Prepare, negotiate, and advise stakeholders on complex commercial contracts, including master agreements, professional services, license agreements, SaaS, hardware and software purchases, real estate contracts, NDAs, intercompany agreements and guarantees.
- Interact with internal stakeholders globally at all levels and counsel on complex commercial transaction issues to mitigate risk, including DORA, indemnification, limitation of liability, and privacy related matters pertaining to GLBA, CCPA, GDPR, Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT), and data breach notification laws.
- Collaborated with business units to counsel and strategize on strategic initiatives and equity investments, mitigating risk and aligning with overall commercial objectives.
- Negotiate and prepare legal documentation pertaining to strategic acquisitions, including term sheets, NDAs, corporate documents, purchase agreements, shared services agreements, SAFE, convertible note, and advise stakeholders on legal risks.
- Prepared and advised on internal policies and procedures, including creating and maintaining internal procedure manuals and company-wide policies related to AI, privacy, and cybersecurity.
- Managed outside counsel for transactional matters to achieve a cost-effective approach, including reviewing and approving legal documents and advising internal stakeholders.
Intellectual Property Attorney
Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
Cranford
03.2020 - 01.2022
- Counseled clients on diverse intellectual property matters aligned with business objectives, addressing corporate, bankruptcy, licensing, litigation, strategic decision-making, and risk management across all aspects of IP transactions.
- Negotiated, drafted, and reviewed various agreements, including licenses, litigation settlements, rights transfers, assignments, SaaS contracts, nondisclosure agreements, website terms and conditions, and domain name transfers, ensuring legal compliance and risk mitigation.
- Due diligence for product launch and acquisitions in biotechnology, medical and mechanical devices, and fintech.
- Analyze patent portfolios and draft patentability, freedom to operate, non-infringement and validity opinions.
- Litigate complex patent, trademark and copyright cases for large and small clients, pertaining to software, electrical, medical devices, ANDA, and mechanical inventions.
- Counsel clients on all aspects of electronic discovery to ensure client compliance.
- Evaluate case merits and damages to manage case expectation and reduce risk.
- Perform all aspects of litigation functions, including discovery, depositions, expert discovery and reports, third-party subpoenas, trial preparation, mediation, and settlement negotiations and agreements.
- International Trade Commission experience from drafting and filing a complaint through argument at trial.
- Managed intellectual property portfolios and developed strategic plans and policies that align with clients’ business goals, enhancing IP asset value and protection.
- Trademark portfolio management and development of meaningful global trademark strategies for procurement and enforcement based on clients’ business strategy.
- Perform trademark search and clearance opinions, draft and negotiate trademark license agreements.
- Trademark prosecution, including filing applications and responding to Office Action refusals.
- File and defend Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) arbitration proceedings.
- File and defend against opposition and cancellation proceedings.
- Patent prosecution for computer, medical, mechanical and biological inventions, including Inter Partes Review and Post Grant Proceeding drafting and oral argument.
Associate and Summer Associate
Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
Cranford
01.2005 - 03.2020
Education
Juris Doctor -
Rutgers University School of Law
Camden, NJ05-2006
Master of Science - Biology
Rutgers University Graduate School
Newark, NJ10-2003
Bachelor of Science - Bacteriology and Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI05-2002
Skills
- Commercial contracts
- Contract negotiation
- Legal risk management
- Risk assessment
- Strategic advising
- Corporate governance
- Intellectual property
Bar Admissions
- State Bars of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
- District of New Jersey
- Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
Timeline
Executive Director, Corporate Legal
Nomura Holding America Inc.
01.2022 - Current
Intellectual Property Attorney
Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
03.2020 - 01.2022
Associate and Summer Associate
Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
01.2005 - 03.2020
Juris Doctor -
Rutgers University School of Law
Master of Science - Biology
Rutgers University Graduate School
Bachelor of Science - Bacteriology and Genetics
University of Wisconsin