Doug Colt- Partner

Experience:

Prior to founding Colt Wallerstein LLP, Doug worked as a senior associate with litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.   He gained deep experience in employment and intellectual property litigation, representing a broad range of clients including Intuit, IBM, Charles Schwab, Macrovision, Shell Oil, Oracle, Palm, KV Pharmaceuticals, and other Fortune 500 companies.  Doug has conducted hundreds of depositions and he regularly appears in State and Federal Courts throughout the country.   

While at Quinn Emanuel, Doug earned an exceptional reputation for defending against high-stakes temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, including a record-setting reversal of a temporary restraining order issued against a major software corporation; the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Order on an emergency basis only four hours after it was issued. 

Doug's practice continues to center on high-stakes employment and intellectual property litigation, with a special emphasis on the defense of trade-secret misappropriation suits. Notable engagements include the following:

• JDS Uniphase and Finisar Corp. v. SerialTek.  In a "bet-the-company" suit, Doug represented SerialTek LLC, one of the industry's largest manufacturers of SAS/SATA protocol analyzers and related software.  After aggressive discovery, motion practice, and the filing of an antitrust cross claim against JDSU and another major manufacturer of protocol analyzer technology, the firm obtained a complete dismissal of the suit and a settlement of all claims.

• Intuitive Surgical, Inc. v. Ethicon Endo Surgery, Inc.  Doug represented Intuitive Surgical, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of surgical robots, in a nationwide trade secret and employee non-compete suit against Ethicon Endo Surgery, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The firm obtained an injunction against Ethicon prohibiting the company from enforcing a non-compete agreement that more than 100,000 employees had signed. 

• Helio LLC v. Palm.  Only a few days before Christmas, Palm was served with a complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order that would have shut down a nationwide advertising campaign consisting of television advertisements, radio spots, billboards, and more than 20,000 taxi-top displays.  After aggressive motion practice, a Federal judge denied the temporary restraining order.  Only a few months later, following aggressive discovery and expert work, the court denied Helio's motion for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the case.  The judge further ordered that were Helio to assert its claims again in the future, it would be forced to pay Palm's legal fees.
  
  

Doug is a regular lecturer on e-discovery technology and best practices. He is also an avid computer programmer; he designed Colt Wallerstein's comprehensive Case Management System, which handles all aspects of the firm's daily operations, including document management, proof charts, task lists, time and expense management, conflict checks, payroll, and invoicing.  The software is now undergoing public Beta testing in advance of a public release. 

Doug lives in San Carlos with his wife and four-year-old daughter.  He is a former ski racer and enjoys spending as much time as possible in Lake Tahoe when he is out of the office. 

Education:

Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 2000)
    The Georgetown Law Journal:  Editor

Washington University (B.A., Economics and Political Science, with honors, 1997)
    Todd Lewis Friedman Prize for Best Graduate in Political Science
    Sally E. Strain Scholarship Recipient
    Pi Sigma Alpha Honorary Society
    Omicron Delta Kappa Honorary Society

Prior Associations:

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Associate, 2005-2009
Coddington Hicks & Danforth, Associate, 2002-2005

Professional Activities:

Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Member, San Mateo County Bar Association
Member, San Francisco Bar Association
Member, Beverly Hills Bar Association  
Member, Los Angeles Bar Association  
Member, American Civil Liberties Union  

Admissions:

The State Bar of California
Pro Hac Vice admissions in New York, Delaware, Florida, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Ohio