Len Conapinski Email & Phone Number

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Chapel Hill, Nc

Areas of practice include infrastructure project negotiations (particularly with respect to solar and energy storage equipment supply contracts), joint venture and teaming agreements, commercial and legal process management, and intellectual property. Advise both equipment manufacturers and buyers.

San Francisco Bay Area

- Managed legal affairs for half-billion dollar revenue business in the Americas region, currently the largest supplier of solar panels in the United States- Legal lead for supply agreements, including single deals exceeding $100+ million, and over $700+ million in aggregate US sales while in current position- Coordinated Yingli's global defense against two federal antitrust lawsuits claiming over $2 billion in aggregate damages- Coordinated Yingli's response against anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions (AD/CVD), among the largest such trade petitions in the US - Developed and oversaw processes to utilize mechanics liens, UCC financing statements, and payment bonds for AR payment protection- Successfully led response to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) import audits - Implemented import compliance program in light of import trade petitions- Oversaw corporate entity formation and administration for US, Latin and South America- Successfully defended Yingli in ITC Section 337 patent infringement investigation, zero liability found and zero settlement paid by Yingli- Built small in-house US legal team to reduce outside legal spend and overall legal costs- Assisted Yingli headquarters legal team in global legal matters, including cross-border transactions, OFAC compliance, corporate legal administration, and intellectual property (patent and trademark) matters- Oversaw complex debt collection litigation and pre-litigation settlement of collections- Performed due diligence on solar-related project finance transactions, including power purchase agreements (PPA’s) and EPC agreements- Other experience included: M&A due diligence, joint venture agreements, IP license agreements, employment matters, service/vendor agreements, media/advertising agreements, release and settlement agreements, and loan agreements.

San Francisco, Ca

• Performed due diligence for acquisition and development of utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects • Analyzed long-term electricity market and transmission issues for corporate planning and strategy

Peoria, Il

• Evaluated new technologies for patent protection based on innovation, market potential, and competitive risk • Created long-term patent strategies based upon patent landscape and business strategic plans• Managed outside law firm attorneys worldwide to implement legal strategy for inventions • Managed Caterpillar's general software patent portfolio, as well as inventions relating to sustainable energy (batteries, inverters, wind/solar system integration), machine control systems, predictive analysis software, sensor data and failure analysis algorithms and software, data aggregation and analysis functions, and business methods• Advised business unit managers on IP legal issues relating to competitors, suppliers, and joint venture partners• Trained managers and led invention capture sessions to ensure coordination between business units and legal department• Negotiated licensing agreements and ensured business unit agreement compliance• Collaborated with another attorney to personally design and program a custom patent portfolio analysis tool that integrated with Caterpillar's internal patent database and docketing system

Chicago, Il

• Drafted legal briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and to various federal district courts for patent litigation (e.g., Aristocrat v. IGT Inc., which impacted the validity of 70,000 U.S. patents) • Analyzed legal issues and patents for licensing, mergers and acquisitions, patent re-examination, litigation• Managed litigation discovery including attorney review team

Chicago, Il

• Researched and drafted memoranda for clients for a variety of intellectual property law matters, primarily for patent litigation• Industries included: medical devices, telecommunications, sports equipment, networking hardware, gaming, industrial equipment, financial services

Washington, Dc

Law clerk to the Honorable Alvin A. Schall, Circuit Judge, for the 2004-2005 court term.

Mba

Jd

B.S. And B.A.