Careers

Diversity

With 18 offices, from New York to Los Angeles and Seattle to Orlando, we live and work in communities all over the U.S., collaborating across locations, disciplines and even borders. Our experienced, highly ranked lawyers serve businesses wherever they are and wherever they want to go.

Offices

About Us

Pages

Professionals

Thought leadership: blogs, podcasts, videos, publications, events and news

Insights

Practices & Industries

Pro Bono

Am Law 100 firm with practices in Business, Digital Assets and Data Management, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Litigation and Tax.

Home | BakerHostetler

BakerHostetler cements full-service offerings on West Coast with addition of key trademark and brand protection team

Elizabeth McCurrach, Artie McConnell Quoted in Front Office Sports Article on NBA Betting Scandal

Jeff Paravano Gives Washington Update at 68th Annual Cleveland Tax Institute

FINRA Announces Probe of Broker-Dealers’ Small-Cap Foreign Activity

Susan's practice covers domestic and foreign trademark selection and clearance, trademark prosecution, ex parte and inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), licensing, trademark audits, domain name disputes, trademark strategy and procurement, counterfeit enforcement, customs matters, entertainment law, rights of publicity and intellectual property issues involving artificial intelligence. She also handles copyright protection, enforcement and litigation.

core/paragraph

Appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Susan served as chair of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC), where she directly advised the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO on trademark policy, performance and fee structures. During her tenure, she submitted a report to the President of the United States and established the USPTO’s first-ever stakeholder trademark award.

An active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), Susan served as chair of the Enforcement Committee, participated in multiple Presidential Task Forces and is a member of the INTA Political Action Committee (PAC) Board. Most recently, she co-chaired the INTA Presidential Task Force “Unlocking IP.” She also contributed to advancing innovation policy through her work on the Advisory Board of Counsel for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) and as vice-chair of the USPTO ChIPs Chapter.

In addition to her trademark and brand protection work, Susan is a registered patent attorney with the USPTO and holds an IAPP CIPP/US Data Privacy Certification. Her clients range from fast-growing startups to established global brands across industries including entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, automotive, cosmetics, health and wellness, finance, software, telecommunications, e-commerce, consumer goods and sports.

J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1998, 

B.A., Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1993, 

<ul>
<li>Chambers USA: Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright &amp; Trade Secrets in California
<ul>
<li>Band 3 (2024 to 2025)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Legal 500 United States
<ul>
<li>Recommended in Trademarks: Non-Contentious (2015, 2019 to 2025)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>California Super Lawyers
<ul>
<li>&#8220;Super Lawyer&#8221; (2012 to 2024)</li>
<li>&#8220;Rising Star&#8221; (2005)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>World Trademark Review 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 
guide (2012 to 2025)</li>
<li>Lexology Index (formerly Who&#8217;s Who Legal)
<ul>
<li>Thought Leaders: USA: IP &#8211; Trademarks (2025)</li>
<li>Client Choice Award (2014, 2017 to 2018)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Managing IP
<ul>
<li>Trademark Star (2024 to 2025)</li>
<li>Top 250 Women in IP (2024)</li>
<li>IP Star (2018 to 2025)</li>
<li>Women in Business Awards: Shortlisted as Trademark Lawyer of the Year (2024)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>California Recorder: Mentorship Award finalist with Kate McMorrow (2023)</li>
<li>Euromoney’s Expert Guides: Women in Business Law for Trademark/Copyrights (2022)</li>
<li>Orange County Business Journal: Women in Business Award (2021)</li>
</ul>

Orange County

Services

Intellectual Property

Global Trademark and Brand Protection

<ul>
<li>Represented a leader in the self-storage industry against a Southern California competitor in a trademark infringement action. Obtained summary judgment in the client’s favor on every claim and defense in the case, including that the defendant infringed the company&#8217;s inherently distinctive and commercially strong trademark.</li>
<li>Successfully defended a major activewear company in trademark infringement suit filed in connection with their yoga product collection. Obtained summary judgment of no infringement, including no forward confusion, reverse confusion or initial interest confusion between the parties’ products, which avoided the plaintiff’s damages claims exceeding several hundred million dollars.</li>
<li>Represented defendant and counter claimant, a major cosmetics company, in connection with declaratory judgment suit involving one of their products. Case settled favorably for client resulting in complete phase-out of accused competitor&#8217;s product.</li>
<li>Represented plaintiff, a technology nonprofit, in trademark infringement suit. Case settled favorably for client with defendant&#8217;s complete and immediate cease of use of the infringing mark.</li>
<li>Negotiation and creation of numerous licensing and co-branding structures.</li>
<li>Serving as primary counsel in intellectual property disputes and negotiation of resolutions.</li>
<li>Serving as lead outside counsel in trademark and brand protection searching, global filing strategy and global enforcement strategy for some of the most well-known brands in the world.</li>
<li>Collaborates closely with in-house counsel, management and marketing teams to oversee global trademark portfolios, including international clearance, registration, enforcement, brand expansion and strategic protection of new marks.</li>
<li>Acting as lead counsel in TTAB proceedings.</li>
<li>Advises startups and emerging businesses on strategic intellectual property protection, guiding them through trademark creation, adoption and enforcement while aligning with their long-term goals and budget constraints.</li>
<li>Represented an international clothing and accessory company as plaintiff in a precedential decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, finding on summary judgment that the defendants had committed fraud on the USPTO. Listed by Allen’s Trademark Digest as one of the top ten trademark cases before the TTAB that year.</li>
</ul>

Susan M. Natland

Experience

Recognitions and Memberships

Insights and News

Prior Positions

Credentials

Community and Pro Bono

Areas of Focus

Services

Featured Insights