Nicole M. DeAbrantes

In the case of trials, Nikki is involved in drafting pleadings, motion practice (particularly research, drafting, and strategy), review of expert reports, and Daubert motions. She also assists in the preparation, promulgation, and defense of depositions, as well as assisting clients and employees in preparing to be deposed. For witnesses, a deposition is usually a harrowing experience. By preparing them for both the procedure, and the topics at issue, Nikki helps make a difficult process a little easier and the outcome better. 

She also assists clients in preparation for proceedings before the Patent and Trademark Appeal Board (PTAB), particularly inter partes reviews. With respect to these, she helps research and draft petitions, expert reports, and patent owner responses. She handles privacy-related work as well, including drafting privacy agreements. Finally, Nikki assists clients with projects and research, and examination of the technological landscape for competitive or similar products, and in so doing, helps develop overall strategy.

As a practitioner, Nikki is particularly effective at communicating and working with clients. Patent law is a highly specialized, sometimes to the point of being arcane, field of law. The ability to distill complex procedural and evidentiary requirements into terms clients can understand and work with is invaluable, as is mastery of the endless details of the legal process, the technology at issue, and most importantly, the ways in which they intersect. Because Nikki has exceptionally strong interpersonal skills, and is capable of explaining and working with very complex technological or procedural topics her audience can grasp and interpret, complexity is not an issue. This skill extends to writing – Nikki is a clear, forceful, and effective writer, whether the document is a brief, an internal memo, or a formal pleading.

In combination with others at the firm, Nikki represents clients on a pro bono basis in cases involving religious liberties. These cases have included a Title VII lawsuit arising from the District of Columbia Public Schools’ (“DCPS”) retaliatory termination of Naomi Touvian, a public school speech pathologist, following her request for reasonable accommodation for her religious observances; and a case involving a town mandate forcing the Holy Ghost Society of Plymouth to connect to the Town sewer and incur huge costs, which resulted in the Holy Ghost Society obtaining an exemption under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 

Detailed and very organized, a skilled communicator, and a gifted researcher, Nikki is an essential part of the Rothwell Figg legal team, and someone whose work is frequently a pivotal factor in the team’s success.