Fish & Richardson Adds Legal and Technical Talent in the First Half of 2026 

In the first half of 2026, Fish & Richardson welcomed a cohort of legal professionals across the firm, including an associate, a China patent advisor, a European patent attorney, and four technology specialists. Each brings deep technical experience and industry insight, strengthening the firm’s ability to support clients across key areas of innovation.

Associate  

Laura Christeson helps clients protect and strengthen their brands through trademark and copyright counseling and portfolio development across the artificial intelligence (AI), digital media, and e-commerce industries. Prior to joining Fish, she practiced at a global law firm, where she managed trademark portfolios for clients in the business consulting, media, and entertainment sectors. Christeson earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where she served as managing editor of the Boston University Law Review. She received a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

European Patent Attorney  

Maggie Huang is a German and European patent attorney who advises clients on patent prosecution and litigation matters across Europe, representing clients in the telecommunications, medical device, and consumer electronics industries. She is trilingual in Chinese, English, and German, enabling her to support clients operating across global markets. Huang earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Duisburg-Essen and holds a master’s degree in computational mechanics from the Technical University of Munich.

Technology Specialists  

Conner Bender, Ph.D., partners with clients on patent prosecution matters across a range of electrical and computer technologies. He draws on a strong technical background in computer science, having earned a Ph.D. from the University of Tulsa, where his dissertation research focused on counter-cyber-operations involving drone monitoring systems. He also holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Tulsa. Before entering the legal field, Bender served in the U.S. Army as a combat arms officer specializing in electronic warfare. He has also worked as a security researcher at the U.S. Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute.

Kalyan Goswami, Ph.D., supports clients in patent prosecution matters across the computer science and related innovation industries. Prior to joining Fish, he worked as a video algorithm engineer and image signal engineer, where he developed an image-processing pipeline for surgical robots and served as delegate in MPEG video coding standards from Offino. Goswanmi earned a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Sun Moon University, where he applied machine learning approaches to design high-efficiency algorithms for an HEVC encoder. He holds a master’s degree in video processing from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and a B.Tech in electronics and telecommunication engineering from Kalyani University.

Sora Lee, Ph.D., works with clients on patent prosecution for electrical and computer technology innovations. A recipient of Intel’s Distinguished Invention Award and the SWE Rising Technical Contributor Award, Lee brings a firsthand "inventor’s journey" perspective to her legal work. Prior to entering the legal field, she worked as a process integration engineer at Intel and Northrop Grumman. Lee earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Pennsylvania State University, where her doctoral research focused on developing scalable, high-performance electronics based on 2D materials. She received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Hilal Morrar supports patent prosecution across a range of computer science and software technologies, including AI, distributed systems, and cloud-based infrastructure. Prior to entering the legal field, he worked as a software engineer, contributing to the design and development of scalable systems. He earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

China Patent Advisor* 

Xuxuan Chen helps clients obtain and maintain patent protection for technologies related to semiconductors, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and materials science. Prior to joining Fish, Chen worked as a China patent agent at another firm, gaining exposure to preparing patent applications and drafting office action responses. She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Tsinghua University. While completing her master’s degree, Chen’s research focused on the preparation and properties of bismuth oxychalcogenide thermoelectric materials.

*China Patent Advisors are not licensed to practice law in China.