Who Are The Legal Geeks? | The Legal Geeks

The Legal Geeks are Jessica Mederson, Esq. and Joshua Gilliland, Esq. Both are e-Discovery attorneys, bloggers and unashamed geeks.

About Jessica

Jessica has been litigating business and IP disputes for more than fifteen years. Licensed in four states, Jessica is the Managing Partner of Hansen Reynolds‘ Madison office. Until the fall of 2011, she was an attorney at a large, Texas-based law firm after graduating from the University of Texas School of Law. Jessica litigates construction, business, IP, and employment issues nationwide while still presenting on e-discovery and legally geeky issues around the country.

About Josh

Joshua Gilliland is a California attorney and nationally recognized thought leader on electronic discovery with his blog Bow Tie Law. Josh helps law firms and software companies with eDiscovery.

Josh is the co-creator of The Legal Geeks, which has made the ABA Journal Top Blawg 100 Blawg for 2013 to 2016, and was nominated for Best Podcast for the 2015 Geekie Awards. Josh has presented at legal conferences and comic book conventions across the United States. He also ties a mean bow tie.

Disclaimer: The Legal Geeks blog is purely for entertainment. It is not meant to be considered as legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship with anyone.

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Bloggers

Bethany Bengfort (1)

Bethany Bengfort is an intellectual property and complex technology attorney. Bethany graduated from Stanford Law School in 2016, where she specialized in the intersection of technology and the First Amendment. Working with the Juelsgaard Intellectual Property and Innovation Clinic, Bethany advised and provided legal defense for fan fiction writers, fan game developers, entrepreneurs, and open source innovators. An avid science fiction and fantasy enthusiast, Bethany has presented on sci-fi and the law at various conventions including San Diego Comic-Con and Escape Velocity DC.

Gage Dabin (13)

Gage Dabin is a 2021 graduate of George Mason – Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, VA. Gage is an U.S. Army JAG Corps Officer stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea working as an administrative law attorney. He volunteers with the American Red Cross teaching international humanitarian law to high school students. While at George Mason Gage specialized in the intersection of international human rights and national security law through internships with the USAF JAG Corps., the DOD OGC International Affairs Office, and as an editor on the school's National Security Law Journal.

Christine Peek (1)

Christine Peek is a trial lawyer at McManis Faulkner in San Jose. Her law practice emphasizes business and constitutional litigation, including privacy claims, contract disputes, unfair competition, fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and other business torts. Christine relishes the challenges presented by developing areas of the law, and does not hesitate "to boldly go where no lawyer has gone before.

Gaby Schneider (1)

Gaby Schneider is 2021 graduate of NYU School of Law. A lifelong nerd and proud "fangirl", she started writing for the Legal Geeks during her first year of law school. At NYU, she was best known for her double-triple-threat contributions to the Law Revue (actor/singer/dancer and writer/producer/techie). Her real life legal experience includes class action litigation at Bursor & Fisher, P.A., as well as internships at the Knight First Amendment Institute and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Originally from the Bay Area, she lives in San Francisco, where she can often be found indulging her boba tea addiction under the guise of a nice stroll around the neighborhood.

Gabriella Martin (2)

Gabby Martin is solo practitioner in Connecticut whose practice focuses on government relations and lobbying, with a bit of freelance legal services to assist her fellow attorneys thrown in. She's always up to critique and analyze the MCU, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and historical events. Gabby is not-so-patiently awaiting the introduction of more Latinx representation in pop culture. In her free time, she mentors law students by sharing the good, the bad and the ugly about the law school experience. Follow her ramblings about all things pop culture and social justice on Twitter at @GabbytheEsq.

Jordon Huppert (10)

Jordon is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law. He has spent his career practicing criminal defense with Huppert Law Office before moving to Public Defender Services of Lane County. Jordon has been twice named to the Super Lawyer's Rising Stars List.

Jordon is also a life long sci-fi and comic book fan, and once told an interviewer during a job interview that he wanted to be a superhero when he finished law school. His favorite comic book hero is Spider-man and he credits Star Wars with defining large parts of his early life and the Legend of Zelda for giving him the problem solving skills that make him such a good lawyer.

Nari Ely (1)

Nari Ely is counsel for Epic Games. Prior to joining Epic in 2022, Nari worked as a civil litigator for several years, most recently as an associate at Durie Tangri LLP. In private practice, she has litigated cases in a variety of subject matters, including intellectual property, labor and employment, and complex litigation. Nari clerked for the honorable Judge Todd M. Hughes of the Federal Circuit from 2020-2021. She received her law degree in 2016 from Stanford Law School, where she served as Editor in Chief of the Stanford Law & Policy Review, clerked for the Chief Justice of Rwanda, assisted the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in litigating cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and served as Prof. Michael McConnell’s teaching and research assistant. Nari earned an M.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce, in 2013, and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012. In addition to being a lifetime lover of all things geek, she is an avid and sometimes competitive gamer, a dedicated dungeon master, and enjoys rock climbing and cooking.

Neel Chatterjee (2)

Neel Chatterjee is an intellectual property litigation partner in Goodwin's Silicon Valley office. He is considered one of the nation's leading trial lawyers for complex technology and Internet disputes. Neel is well known for handling cutting-edge legal issues that break new ground in uncertain areas of the law, and is considered a thought leader in Internet law, patent law, and trade secrets law. Neel has handled many high profile cases, including one that was made into an Oscar-winning feature length film. Neel has obtained anti spam judgments in the hundreds of millions of dollars, has litigated many cases related to online liability (such as, whether someone can sell a duck on eBay), and has handled cutting edge patent dispute. In the late 1990's, he was a key person combatting online piracy of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He has also advised numerous people and websites on intellectual property rights related to the development and use of Fan Fiction.

Nearly every ranking organization in the legal profession and numerous bar organizations consider Neel a leader in intellectual property litigation and Internet law. In 2014, Neel was awarded the IP Vanguard Award from the California State Bar and was also named an IP Trailblazer and Pioneer by the National Law Journal. He is currently awaiting nominations for People's Sexiest Man Alive.

Neel is a major fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, and a wide variety of superhero movies. His favorite Star Trek Episode is "Space Seed" because it served as the basis for The Wrath of Khan. While it may not be obvious, he is also very handsome.

Steve Chu (5)

Child of the 80's. Lover of all awesome properties: Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe, Star Trek, Robotech, etc. A lawyer and fan always. Views expressed are my own personal opinions.

Stephen Tollafield (13)

Stephen Tollafield has worked as a civil litigator, court staff attorney, and law professor, and now serves as a law librarian and researcher at a San Francisco plaintiff-side law firm. Stephen is an avid consumer of geek culture on television, at the movies, and at comic conventions.

Thomas Harper (30)

Thomas is the Senior Legal Advisor in International Humanitarian Law for the American Red Cross. He is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves serving as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer. Thomas leads the Red Cross IHL Program, which carries out the Geneva Conventions obligation of educating the American public about the rules of war. During his time in the JAG Corps, he has served in a variety of positions, including as an Operational Law attorney advising on the law of war and rules of engagement in Afghanistan.

After completing more than 7 years on active duty, he now serves in the Army Reserves as a senior military defense counsel, representing accused soldiers in complex cases. While he loves all things geek, he is a massive Star Wars fan, collector, and trivia fiend. Follow his ramblings about the galaxy far far away on Twitter at @thomasLharper.