NW Venture Law, PLLC

Attorney Profiles

Jarrett K. Payne, J.D., MBA

Managing Attorney/Founder

Jarrett Payne left a successful corporate career at The Boeing Company to start NW Venture Law because he saw a need for a law firm which understood the challenges companies face in today’s global economy where business and technology changes daily instead of quarterly. Jarrett’s legal practice focuses on business and corporate law, intellectual property law, and international law.

Jarrett has experience leading numerous negotiations in technology acquisitions, intellectual property licensing, procurements, proposal reviews, sales campaigns, government contracts, and joint venture and collaboration agreements. He has assisted clients with intellectual property protection strategies, commercialization of intellectual property assets including clean technologies, and emerging market analysis for technology sourcing and product development. He also has international experience negotiating with customers in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

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Ali Ritter, J.D.

Patent Attorney

Ali leads NW Venture Law’s patent Prosecution practice where she is responsible for advising clients on intellectual property matters, especially patent, trademark, and copyright issues.

Ali began her career in computer networks and software engineering where she worked with databases and mobile phone interfaces. She has also worked in the medical device field, where she helped analyze competitors’ intellectual property and worked with engineers to protect inventions. She is an active committee member of the University of Washington’s Institutional Review Board, a group that oversees biomedical research involving risk to human subjects. Her hobbies include skiing, cycling, and climbing, and she is passionate about working with inventors in the outdoor industry.

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John Gregory, J.D., L.L.M

Attorney

John Gregory began his legal career as a successful public defender in Washington state; however, his professional passion was protecting and commercializing the intellectual property assets of creative people and companies. John followed his passion to University of Washington, where he earned an L.L.M. in Intellectual Property Law & Policy and now focuses on intellectual property licensing and litigation.

While at UW, John focused his studies on all aspects of intellectual property licensing. Given this focus, John’s professional experience as a public defender provides him with the skills necessary to successfully represent and advocate for clients in the courtroom. Through conducting many successful jury trials and arguing many pre-trial motions, John’s developed advocacy skills will help NW Venture Law clients completely and confidently present their case in the courtroom. However, as a public defender, John utilized his natural communication abilities to favorably resolve many difficult cases prior to trial. In fact, from 2009 – 2010 John achieved one of the highest rates of reduced charges in the public defender’s misdemeanor unit.

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Staff Profiles

Lucas Michels, M.A.

Legal Intern

Lucas Michels is a legal intern with NW Venture Law. Lucas received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Brussels School of International Studies. While obtaining his Masters, Lucas worked as junior lobbyist at PRM European Lobbyists, helping industry organizations understand and influence EU legislative proceedings. While at PRM, Lucas also worked with developing world governments and organizations to obtain funding for development projects. Lucas has since worked as a international regulatory analyst and consultant at Bryant Christie, Inc., helping U.S. agricultural and food companies evaluate regulatory and market barriers in export markets and working with U.S. and foreign government officials to reduce foreign trade barriers for U.S. businesses.

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Downtown Seattle Office

Phone | 206.623.9600
Fax | 206.577.5346
E-mail | info@nwventurelaw.com

One Union Square
600 University Street, Suite 1919
Seattle, WA 98101-3150