Governor picks Pennypacker for judge
One of the top female intellectual property law experts in the world was appointed Wednesday to serve as a judge in Silicon Valley, home to some of the field’s most famous disputes.
Gov. Jerry Brown chose Evette D. Pennypacker, a partner at the law firm of Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart and Sullivan, to fill the Santa Clara County Superior Court vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Mary Ann Grilli.
Pennypacker, 47, was selected by Managing Intellectual Property, the leading source of news worldwide about intellectual property law, as one of the field’s top 250 women policymakers, academics and lawyers.
Pennypacker was out of town this week and could not be reached for comment. According to her law firm’s website, she also has litigated a variety other complex business cases, including trade secret, partnership, contract and consumer class action lawsuits. She has handled cases across the country, including in Washington D.C., Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. She is a Democrat, according to the news release from the governor’s office.
Her father-in-law, Judge Philip H. Pennypacker, retired from the same bench and is now serving as an assigned judge in Sonoma County. He said Evette Pennypacker is married to his son and the couple have three children.
“We’re overjoyed,” the retired judge said of his daughter-inlaw’s appointment. “I’m probably even more excited than her.”