Welcome

Everyone needs the help of a lawyer at some point. Building a business. Licensing your IP. Setting up a special needs trust. A problem with a neighbor or a fence, or a broken leg from a bike accident. And when you need a lawyer, it’s best to have one who is fully on your side.

Gibbs Law is uniquely able to help with this broad range of problems. We’re small enough to have low overhead and a lean approach to fees, but big enough to have a range of professional experience.

We get to know how best to help by skillfully applying a simple and ancient art: we ask and we listen. That way, we are able to see your legal issues – and their solutions – in context. We provide wise and helpful counsel because our advice and our strategic recommendations are based on a deep understanding of how your problem works.

 

 

Business and Technology – Business-savvy advice and problem-solving

We have represented companies of all sizes in a wide variety of transactions and disputes. Susan worked with numerous start-up ventures on branding, trademark, and copyright issues, licensing, employment, and IP litigation at Cooley. She had a licensing and IP practice at Pillsbury Winthrop, and then moved to the law department at Apple where she provided legal support for the iPod, the Apple Stores, for significant domestic and international  business deals, IP licensing, and product law for six years, and – before striking out on her own – worked on international patent pool / standard body licensing for Dolby.

Before becoming a lawyer Susan ran an advertising and marketing agency, counseling business owners in creating success for their companies and joy for their customers.

And now a word from a client.

Susan is an exceptionally smart and responsive lawyer. She got to the bottom of a very technical, complicated, multi-party contract dispute very quickly, got us past all the bad feelings, and negotiated a settlement that prevented litigation and kept my costs low. She was very approachable and her communication was excellent. She always took care to explain what was going on and what we needed to do in clear, easy-to-understand language. I highly recommend her.

 – Chuck, Berkeley CA

Lawyers

Portrait of Susan Gibbs: woman in distinctive glasses and business suit

Susan Gibbs

Bar Association & Memberships:

California Bar Association
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Bar Association of San Francisco
Berkeley-Albany Bar Association
Disability Rights Bar Association
Alameda County Estate Planning
San Francisco Bike Coalition
ACLU

Education:

Berkeley Law, University of California
She has a bachelor’s degree in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Previous legal experience: Apple Law Department – Product Law; Dolby (Via Licensing – Patent Pools); Cooley (Litigation, Copyright, Trademark, HR); Legal Aid; Protection & Advocacy (now Disability Rights California).

Previous other experience: radio news writer, bartender, groundskeeper, Director – Santa Cruz Community Credit Union; advertising sales management, Design & advertising counsel.

 

Everyone needs the help of a lawyer at some point. Building a business. Licensing your IP. Setting up a special needs trust. A problem with a neighbor or a fence, or a broken leg from a bike accident. And when you need a lawyer, it’s best to have one who is fully on your side.

Gibbs Law is uniquely able to help with this broad range of problems. We’re small enough to have low overhead and a lean approach to fees, but big enough to have a range of professional experience.

We get to know how best to help by skillfully applying a simple and ancient art: we ask and we listen. That way, we are able to see your legal issues – and their solutions – in context. We provide wise and helpful counsel because our advice and our strategic recommendations are based on a deep understanding of how your problem works.