Shamita Etienne-Cummings

Shamita Etienne-Cummings is a seasoned patent litigator with a focus on technology sector clients, drawing on over 30 years of experience in engineering, law, and management. Her technical background as an electrical engineer and program manager for GTE Corporation, where she designed wireless communication and satellite systems, informs her practice. She handles patent, trade secret, and breach-of-contract matters across various technologies, including mobile communication, semiconductor design and processing, media, aerospace, defense, consumer electronic devices, and medical devices. Her recent work since joining Paul Hastings has also seen strides in the automotive industry. Ms. Etienne-Cummings operates primarily on behalf of corporate technology clients in high-stakes disputes, as a first-chair patent litigator.

Ms. Etienne-Cummings is currently a partner in the Intellectual Property practice at Paul Hastings, based in Washington, D.C., a firm she joined in March 2024 as part of a six-partner IP litigation team from Allen & Overy. Prior to Paul Hastings and Allen & Overy, she was also associated with Womble Bond Dickinson (US) and White & Case LLP.

Her experience includes representing clients in U.S. District Courts, before the International Trade Commission (ITC), and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). She has served as lead counsel for major companies such as JPMorgan in a multidistrict litigation concerning secure data transmissions, for Toshiba and Kioxia in semiconductor technology disputes, and for American Express in concurrent district court and PTAB proceedings where a motion to dismiss was granted early. She was also pro hac vice counsel for Mundra Solar in its efforts to challenge First Solar's TOPCon crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cell patents through IPRs, though the USPTO denied institution of these IPRs in late 2025. The associated district court infringement cases involving Mundra Solar are currently stayed pending an ITC determination.

Ms. Etienne-Cummings is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and the California Bar. She earned her J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1998 and her B.S.E.E. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.