Current Employment Position(s)

Associate, since 2001

Languages

• German
• French

Lawyer Overview

Jens Koepke joined GMSR in 2001. He has handled appeals in a range of practice areas from medical malpractice to partnership disputes but his substantive experience and expertise is greatest in the intellectual property, anti-SLAPP, constitutional and media law arenas.  Being an appellate lawyer allows Jens to combine two of his passions, creative writing and rigorous analysis.   Jens prides himself on understanding his clients' businesses and accomplishing their goals.

Jens is a Certified Appellate Specialist, as certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and an active member of the local appellate bar.  He sits on both the Appellate Courts and the State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and is a member of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property American Inn of Court.  Before becoming an appellate lawyer, Jens spent 10 years as a litigator at O'Melveny & Myers and at Richman, Mann, Chizever, Phillips & Duboff, so he understands the realities of being a trial lawyer.

Before graduating from the UCLA School of Law in 1990, Jens was the Assistant Managing Editor and Comment Editor of the Federal Communications Law Journal and an Associate Editor of the UCLA Law Review. He graduated summa cum laude in 1987 from Texas A&M University with a journalism degree.

Jens' passion for comprehensive exploration of legal issues led him to teaching.  He has taught Media Law & Ethics at California State University, Northridge since 1998. He also taught Media Law at California State University, Fullerton and was a teaching assistant for Legal Research & Writing at UCLA School of Law.  Starting in law school and ever since, Jens has published articles and lectured on a variety of legal topics.

When he is not practicing appellate law, Jens enjoys backpacking, kayaking, tennis, yoga and spending time with his awesome wife and son and daughter among the critters and canyons of Topanga. He speaks fluent German and passable French, and has traveled extensively throughout the world. He is also a long-time member of the Board of Directors at Co-Opportunity, a cooperatively-owned natural foods grocery store in Santa Monica.

Areas of Practice

• Appellate Law
• Anti-SLAPP Law
• Business Litigation
• Constitutional Law
• Entertainment Law
• Healthcare Law
• Intellectual Property
• Tort Litigation

Representative Cases

• Lance Camper Manufacturing Corp. v. Republic Indemnity Co., 44 Cal.App.4th 194 (1996)
• Burch v. Children's Hospital of Orange County Thrift Stores, Inc., 109 Cal.App.4th 537 (2003)
• Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California, 2005 Cal.App. Unpub. Lexis 1667 (2005)
• McCormick-Gordon v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 2005 Cal.App. Unpub. Lexis 597 (2005)

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Communications & Media Law, Constitutional Law, Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law, Health & Health Care Law, Intellectual Property Law, Litigation & Appeals, Federal Appellate Practice, Patent Litigation, State Appellate Practice

Certification/Specialties

• Appellate Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, 2009

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Co-Opportunity Consumer Cooperative, 1997 - Present (Board of Directors)
• Los Angeles Intellectual Property American Inn of Court: Member, 2008 - Present (Member)

Honors and Awards

• Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2005 - 2006

Classes and Seminars

• Buy Me Some Steroids And Cracker Jacks, We'll Make Sure They Never Come Back, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Inn of Court, September 15, 2009
• When There's A Hit, There's A Writ, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Inn of Court, April 28, 2009
• Appellate Court Experience Program, Venice High School, Los Angeles County Bar Association, April 24, 2006
• Civil Litigation Practice 24th Annual Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar, 2006
• Battle in the Blogosphere: Bloggers, Reporters and the Future of Journalism, California State University Northridge Society of Professional Journalists First Amendment Freedom Forum, May 10, 2005
• Days of Dialogue - Woodrow Wilson High School, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 2004
• Lecturer, Media Law, Journalism Department, California State University, Northridge, 1998 - Present
• Lecturer, Media Law, Communications Department, California State University, Fullerton, 1996 - 1997
• Teaching Assistant to Professor Geoffrey Cowan, Media Law, UCLA Communications Studies Department, 1990
• Teaching Assistant, Legal Research & Writing, UCLA School of Law, 1988 - 1989
• Appellate Writs in the California Court of Appeal: What Works and What Doesn't, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Litigation Section, 2009
• Civil Litigation Practice 27th Annual Recent Developments, Continuing Education of the Bar, 2009

Past Employment Positions

• Richman, Mann, Chizever, Phillips & Duboff, Associate, 1994 - 2001
• O'Melveny & Myers, Associate, 1990 - 1992
• American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Extern, 1989

Education

• UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, California, 1990
  J.D.
  
  Law Review: UCLA Law Review, Associate Editor
  
  Law Journal: Federal Communications Law Journal, Comment Editor, Assistant Managing Editor
• Texas A&M University, 1987
  B.A.
  Honors: summa cum laude
  Honors: University Honors
  Major: Journalism

Published Works

• Co-Author, Media Law and Defamation Torts: Recent Developments, Tort & Insurance Law Journal 333, 1992
• Reporter Privilege: Shield or Sword? Applying a Modified Breach of Contract Standard When A Newsperson 'Burns' a Confidential Source, 42 Federal Communications Law Journal 277, 1990
• The University of California Hate Speech Policy: A Good Heart in Ill-Fitting Garb, 12 COMMENT 599, 1990
• Article Digest, 40 Federal Communications Law Journal 433, 1988
• The Legal Status of Reporter Privilege in Texas, 3 Southwestern Mass Communication Journal 33, 1987
• Traveling By Train, Healthy Outlook, Fall, 1995
• Co-Author, First Amendment in the Electronic Age: Free Speech vs. Market Regulation, Glasser, Securities in the Electronics Age (3d ed. 2002)
• Ruling Shows How to Identify Trade Secrets for Discovery, Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 7, 2005
• Not So Fast - A Stipulated Reversal of Judgment Belies Its Name, ABTL Report, Summer, 2005
• An Agreement Does Not a Stipulated Reversal Make, Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 9, 2005

Address

5900 Wilshire Boulevard
12th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Phones

(310) 859-7811

Faxes

(310) 276-5261

Emails

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Websites

http://www.gmsr.com
http://www.greinesmartin.com