Rachael Lamkin

Rachael Lamkin is a partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation group at Baker Botts, focusing her practice on patent litigation defense. She has a well-defined specialty in defending operating companies against non-practicing entities (NPEs) and patent assertion entities. This focus is reflected in her litigation history, which is predominantly defense-sided, including her role as lead counsel for Starbucks in Monticello Enterprises LLC v. Starbucks Corp. Her practice aims to counter typical asymmetries in NPE litigation through aggressive and novel strategies.

Ms. Lamkin joined Baker Botts in San Francisco in June 2023. Prior to that, she founded her own firm, Lamkin IP Defense, in 2016, which was built on the principle of defending innovators against patent monetizers. Her experience also includes serving as in-house Senior Associate General Counsel for a group of companies including OtterBox and LifeProof, where she managed litigation on a global scale.

Her representation of Starbucks has become a notable case, where she has pursued counterclaims of fraud directly against the patent monetization executive, a strategy that has been described as pioneering. This litigation also led to a widely reported, and now partially settled, defamation lawsuit filed against Ms. Lamkin and her client. Her firm biography notes past successes in securing attorney's fees awards and achieving significant settlements, such as forcing a patent monetization entity to agree to a public injunction permanently ceasing litigation against all California entities. While her firm highlights its PTAB and IPR experience, her specific record of appearances before the PTAB is not detailed in public sources.

Ms. Lamkin earned her J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 2006 and is a member of the California Bar.