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Lawyer and Patent Attorney

PAULA NATASHA CHAVEZ

PRINCIPAL LAWYER

BIO
I began my practice in the Silicon Valley in 1990.  There, I worked for an IP boutique law firm and then for a commercial law firm, Ware and Freidenrich, which took Adobe, among others, public.  In 1997, I moved to Portland Oregon where I was General Counsel to two tech companies.  From there I moved to France and worked remotely for Motorola Mobility for eight years.  Finally, I arrived in Australia in 2010.  After gaining my credentials in Australia, I continued my practices in commercial law and IP procurement.

EDUCATION
Bachelors Degree, Physics, UCLA, 1986
JD, Loyola Law School, 1989

BAR LOCATIONS

Principal Lawyer, Victoria 2024-Present

Law Society of NSW, 2014-2024

State Bar of California, 1990-2024

Registered at the USPTO, 1991

Registered with the Trans-Tasman IP Board, 2018

PERSONAL STORY

I was born and raised in Hollywood, California.  To me, Hollywood in the 1960's and 1970's seemed like a normal life.  However, now I realise it was anything but normal.

 

Mom was a school teacher, Dad a jazz musician.  You can imagine how that ended up.  I was raised by my single and very strong mother.  I was very close to my dad even still.

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I did not start university until I was 25.  Before then I was into crafts, living up in Eureka California and then in Marin County - but then realised my mother was right - I needed an education.  To her shock, I graduated from UCLA with a physics degree.  A professor suggested I consider law, so I did and found myself in IP while still in law school.  

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I moved back to the Bay Area to start my practice.  I finally had my first child when I was 40.  We moved to Portland Oregon in 1997 and I had my second child there.  I was a bit bored living in the US, so we moved to France in 2004.  From there my husband moved back to the US when my daughters were still young, and in 2010, my daughters and I moved to Australia.

 

My daughters are in their 20's, and both make me very proud.  I feel very lucky to have had a fulfilling career in law and technology.  I love working with clients - they are always so appreciative and engaging.  I still work in craft very regularly, enjoying life in Australia, and I am very happy to have made the moves across the globe that we did.

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