LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / August 24, 2026 / Stris & Maher LLP announced today that experienced litigators Mieke Malmberg, Sarah Spires, Steven Hartsell, and Jaime Olin have joined the firm as partners. Malmberg will practice from Los Angeles, while Spires, Hartsell, and Olin will anchor the firm's new Dallas office.
The additions significantly deepen Stris & Maher's intellectual property practice, particularly in patent litigation and life sciences. The group has successfully litigated patent cases in the nation's major patent venues, tried high-stakes cases before juries and judges, won appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, represented patent owners and challengers in well over 100 inter partes review and ex parte reexamination proceedings, and handled Hatch-Waxman litigation for both branded and generic pharmaceutical companies.
They join an established IP practice at Stris & Maher that represents plaintiffs and defendants in consequential patent, copyright, trademark, false advertising, and trade secret disputes nationwide, at trial and on appeal. And they bring additional scientific and technical depth to that practice while substantially expanding its capabilities in patent-specific proceedings before federal courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
"This move is a significant expansion of our already strong patent and complex technical litigation practice," said Elizabeth Brannen, Stris & Maher's Managing Partner and Chair of its Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. "Mieke, Sarah, Steven, and Jaime are exceptional trial lawyers. They are also a natural fit with our firm, bring unparalleled technical expertise, and give us significantly more firepower-particularly in life sciences and Patent Office proceedings."
The group's arrival enhances Stris & Maher's ability to service the life sciences sector. Members of the team have academic backgrounds in the biological sciences and extensive experience in disputes involving pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and methods of treatment. They have represented both branded and generic pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman cases, from Paragraph IV strategy and preliminary injunctions through trials. Their experience also includes medical-device patent litigation and counseling clients on the practical and commercial considerations that bear on pharmaceutical investment and business strategy.
Outside the life sciences, the group's patent work spans semiconductors, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, software, wireless technology, consumer electronics, computer hardware, signal processing, display technology, encryption, and standard-essential patents, among other technologies. They have handled investigations before the International Trade Commission and coordinated U.S. patent litigation with related proceedings abroad.
The group also brings deep technical credentials: Malmberg has a background in biochemistry and cell biology; Spires studied biology at MIT and conducted research at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Hartsell is a former research and applications engineer with a degree in materials science and engineering from Georgia Tech; and Olin studied biology and cognitive science.
"We wanted to join a firm where sophisticated patent litigation was part of a broader litigation platform of the same caliber," said Mieke Malmberg. "What attracted us to Stris & Maher was that the pieces were already here: outstanding trial lawyers, a serious IP practice, sophisticated appellate capabilities, and a culture built around putting the best possible team on consequential problems. Our patent and technical experience expands what that team can do, particularly for clients in life sciences and technology."
With the additions, Stris & Maher will have approximately 40 lawyers handling major disputes across the country, with particular depth in industries driven by technology, innovation, and intellectual property. The firm's new Dallas office will become a base for further investment in patent and technology litigation-including associates and other professionals with scientific and technical backgrounds.
"We have been very deliberate about the firm we are building," said Peter Stris, the firm's Founding Partner. "The goal has never been size for its own sake. It is to have extraordinary lawyers across the disciplines that matter when a client faces a genuinely consequential problem. Mieke, Sarah, Steven and Jaime make us meaningfully better at solving those problems."
About Stris & Maher LLP
Stris & Maher is a national litigation firm representing clients in consequential business disputes. Our lawyers litigate in trial and appellate courts throughout the country, including before the U.S. Supreme Court, in cases involving finance, life sciences, technology, and innovation-driven businesses.
For more information, please contact Victor O'Connell at voconnell@stris.com or 213-995-6802, or visit stris.com.
SOURCE: Stris & Maher LLP
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire