Fenwick & West partner Antonia Sequeira has been named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence for 2016. Since 2008, the Journal has recognized women who are especially successful in their fields – 757 such women have been named to the publication’s Women of Influence lists during the past eight years.
“I help companies identify what technology to patent and to build strategic patent portfolios focused on bringing the most business value to the company,” Antonia noted in the Journal’s profile of her.
Antonia focuses her practice on patent prosecution, counseling, analysis and litigation for medical device and digital health/health IT companies. Her clients include large corporations, startup companies, venture capitalists, and universities.
“My career began with various jobs in the medical world, from internships with a pediatrician, an internist, an OB/GYN and a pathologist, to working in an emergency room and as a certified phlebotomist in a medical laboratory,” she told the Journal.
She also served as a researcher on the Drosophila Genome Project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “That early focus on healthcare became central to her work as a successful attorney,” the Journal noted.
When asked about the best advice she had received, Sequeira pointed to an encouragement from her husband.
“‘Put the stones in first, then the sand,’” she said. “[This] helps me prioritize and always focus on the important things in life and get those things done first, and then squeeze in the less important things around the important ones.”
In addition to her work for clients, one of the “stones” that Sequeira makes space for is pro bono counsel, the Journal noted. She volunteers regularly with the Share the Cost Healthcare Clinics, helping low-income and disabled individuals recover their Medi-Cal insurance. She has also worked with Tax Aid, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, California Lawyer’s for the Arts Inventor’s Assistance Program, and Verified Voting/Election Protection, among a variety of other programs providing essential pro bono legal help. Sequeira also serves on the board of wogrammer, a nonprofit company that showcases the cutting-edge work of accomplished women engineers.
Sequeira’s full profile is available through the Silicon Valley Business Journal website (subscription required).