Sheila D. Gray brings fifteen years of experience to her work alongside clients to develop, negotiate, and document complex deals and establish templates and streamlined processes for managing reoccurring deal types. Her strategic acumen in deal work is enhanced by her litigation experience, which helps her foresee potential issues and map out solutions during negotiation, so that misunderstandings and problems down the road are avoided.
Ms. Gray began her career as a patent litigator at a large Silicon Valley law firm shortly after the dot-com crash. She gained experience in defending clients in “rocket docket” patent litigation, including before the Eastern District of Texas when it was the first choice of forum for plaintiffs, as well as the International Trade Commission. She continues to enjoy being part of a patent litigation team especially as cases heat up. Her engineering education included a breadth of training that helps her quickly grasp complex scientific concepts regardless of specific discipline.
A substantial portion of Ms. Gray’s practice includes drafting and negotiating agreements for financial services, technology, travel, and retail companies, including master services agreements, cloud and SaaS agreements, outsourcing agreements, and merchant program participation and marketing agreements. Ms. Gray strategizes with clients on matters related to agreements, including the protection and licensing of intellectual property, and coordinates with clients to obtain and incorporate feedback from stakeholders and subject matter experts.
Ms. Gray’s breadth of experience with a wide range of commercial contracts, her responsiveness to client needs, and attention to detail from project conception through contract execution make her a key member of any project team.