Joining Ocean Tomo
At Ocean Tomo, you will gain the insight of an appraiser, the thought of a strategist, the calculus of an investor, the discipline of a banker and the voice of an expert.
Intern
Ocean Tomo supports an internship program for college and high school aged students. Each year we host approximately six to ten interns in our office providing for them work experience and training in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing and general business. We assign each intern a mentor who oversees their practical work experience allowing the student to shadow their work related internal and external meetings. During our summer program, we host daily lunch and learn sessions where we invite our recent college graduates to speak with the students sharing how their college experience is applicable to their professional career.
Entry Level
Gabriela Aghakian
Gabriela is an Expert Testimony Analyst in our San Francisco office. She was recruited from the University of Southern California in 2020.
“I graduated from USC – the University of Southern California in 2020 with a master’s degree in Financial Engineering. While in college, I was fortunate enough to intern for a Global Wealth Management firm. I applied my research experience and quantitative analysis across a range of industries, unique to each client. Working at Ocean Tomo has been so rewarding. Every day I am challenged with new opportunities to think critically and problem solve across a variety of technologies and companies. The firm recognized my skills and contributions as I was asked to serve in a leadership role as the firm’s Semiconductor and Blockchain Industry Analyst, authoring reports and sharing important updates with clients. With our focus on intellectual property across so many technology areas, I learn something new every day.”
Ana Giancola
Ana is an Expert Testimony Associate in our San Francisco office. She was recruited from the University of California Berkeley in 2018.
“I graduated from University of California Berkeley in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. When I began the recruiting process my senior year, I had two summer internship experiences under my belt in two very different industries, Entertainment and Healthcare. I had enjoyed both opportunities tremendously and realized that I valued the knowledge I gained about the different businesses and wanted to expand this knowledge further. I was interested in a position at a consulting firm and was drawn to Ocean Tomo at the Consulting Career Fair because of its focus on intellectual property. My desire to learn helped me to succeed as an Analyst at Ocean Tomo and allowed me to take on even greater responsibility in my new position as an Associate.”
Eric Carnick
Eric is an Expert Testimony Director in our Chicago office. He was recruited from the University of Illinois in 2006.
“Ocean Tomo has been a rewarding experience. I could not have asked for a better opportunity directly out of school. Through building models, writing reports and conversing with clients, the work at Ocean Tomo has challenged my critical thinking, creative abilities and communication skills.”
Garrett Glover
Garrett is an Expert Testimony Director in our Chicago office. He was recruited from Indiana University in 2012.
“I graduated from Indiana University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. As a freshman, I played for the Hoosier baseball team and continued to be involved in intramural sports thereafter. I first became aware of Ocean Tomo through an employee at a networking event. Although I was originally unaware of the industry, through conversations and other interviews within the industry I quickly learned that this was the right fit for me. During the interviews at Ocean Tomo, I felt that the office culture was very friendly and that employees were genuine. I also liked the idea of working in intellectual property on a wide range of topics.”
“As an employee, I appreciate that no two days at the office are the same.”
Team Hire
Cate Elsten
I joined Ocean Tomo right at inception, an amazing 16 years ago. I was the partner in charges of an incredible group of professionals who were refugees from Big Accounting. We had a small practice in a small city and we really liked the “familial” feel of our group but knew we could profit from alliance with a larger network. Our practice is just so unpredictable in terms of deadlines and work flow – dates change, cases settle and new cases come from nowhere with a fire under them. Having colleagues in other cities who could help out when we were overloaded and provide staff opportunities when we were slow made life a lot easier. Ocean Tomo provided us with the advantages of a mid-sized firm but let us keep the feel of a small practice.
Over the years, Ocean Tomo has really accommodated the big events in our professional and personal lives. They supported my move to San Francisco and established one of my up-and-coming directors in another city when family issues demanded it. Over time our original practice evolved and we found new colleagues in new places, but the framework provided by Ocean Tomo has remained in place, ensuring smooth transitions and a continued professional framework.
Shirley Webster
Joining Ocean Tomo as a Managing Director provided me with resources not available to me as a sole proprietor – well-trained staff, a community of knowledgeable IP professionals and back office support. I established an Ocean Tomo office in Houston, a new location for Ocean Tomo, and, with the firm’s assistance, located office space and added local staff. This was a much easier process with the support of Ocean Tomo. After establishing a local office, coordination of staffing and projects across Ocean Tomo remained valuable. Over time, working across offices has been made even easier as Ocean Tomo implements use of advances in technology. However, the best resource at Ocean Tomo remains the access to in-depth knowledge of all aspects of intellectual property.
Industry Transition
Alexander Clemons
Prior to joining Ocean Tomo, I worked as an Attorney, assisting clients in many aspects of both civil litigation and transactional matters. At Ocean Tomo I find that many of the skills I developed while practicing law are still critically important in the expert testimony practice, such as critical thinking, attention to detail, and strategy. Additionally, my existing familiarity with the court system and case law have helped me to better navigate the various legal requirements for our work, especially in unsettled and emerging areas of the law.
Senior Hire
Justin Lewis
Justin is an Expert Testimony Managing Director in our San Francisco office. He joined Ocean Tomo in 2007.
The two main reasons I chose Ocean Tomo are the people and the focus on intellectual property. During the interview process, I met a number of Ocean Tomo professionals, all of which impressed me with their knowledge of intellectual property as well as the litigation process. There is a clear focus and team mentality that was evident from the first interview. Ocean Tomo is the only place I know that has a primary focus on the financial aspects of intellectual property and for someone who knew he wanted to work in the IP litigation field it was a welcome change from the firms that try to specialize in multiple disciplines.
Sheryl Mikols
Sheryl is an Expert Testimony Managing Director in our Chicago office. She joined Ocean Tomo in 2003.
My decision to join Ocean Tomo was largely affected by my prior experience of working with the founding Managing Directors at a previous firm and knowing that they would create one of the preeminent firms in this field. At the end of the day, I know I can feel proud to be a part of that team.