Editors’ Note: As part of our ongoing Faces of MoFo series, Christian G. Andreu-von Euw, an intellectual property associate in our San Diego office, discusses his career path, which led him to call MoFo home.
My path to MoFo was not direct.
I was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and Swiss mother. They brought me to San Diego when I was young, and I have lived in San Diego, on the border between two countries, ever since.
My father is an engineer who built our house (and our neighborhood) in Mexico and my mother’s brothers and father were all engineers. So it was no surprise that I decided to study engineering. I began my career by designing HDTV broadcast systems and moved on to the design of laser tracking systems for free space optical communication systems (which communicate by shining lasers across the sky). I loved engineering and engineering was good to me. It even allowed me to work in Germany, where I was able to learn German and see the end of the transition from “East Germany” to “Germany.” It also brought me my closest friends. But my passions led me to a different path.
I took a sabbatical to work on a presidential campaign, where I spent long hours with many lawyers, learned a lot about the law, and realized how impactful the profession can be. By the time I returned to Germany, I bought a few books, found a local library, and started studying for the LSAT. That was my first step towards becoming a lawyer. It was the second-best decision I ever made (after proposing to my now-wife).
I studied law and summered at MoFo because of its amazing IP practice, because the two judges I externed for spoke so highly of the firm, and because of MoFo’s reputation for pro bono work. I made the right choice. Working at MoFo allows me to represent leading-edge companies in their most important disputes and to have the privilege of having a vibrant pro bono practice that helps people who cannot afford counsel at some of their most desperate moments. I also work with some of the smartest and kindest people I have ever met.
My practice focuses on IP litigation. I represent technology, software, and life sciences companies in patent and trade secret disputes in state and federal courts. My engineering experience allows me to quickly find and address the technical heart of these disputes, but my engineering training did more than teach me to understand technology. It taught me to look at the world in a logical and systematic way, an essential tool for any litigator.
Being an immigrant myself, I focus my pro bono efforts on immigration and I have successfully tried many asylum cases (often after prior counsel suffered adverse rulings). I have also defended victims of domestic abuse in civil and criminal cases and stopped unjustified evictions.
My hobbies used to be running, skiing, and surfing. Now my hobby is spending time with my wife and our eleven-month-old daughter Indigo (pronounced Indy-go-go). Indigo’s goals include walking ten steps in a row, using her little pointer-arm to tell Daddy where to go, catching all the bubbles in her bath, and taking naps in our jogging stroller. My goal is to have the discipline to only speak to her in Spanish.