OCBA Members Deborah A. Gubernick, Partner at Snell & Wilmer; Elizabeth M. Weldon, Partner at Snell & Wilmer; and Samrah Mahmoud, Partner at Troutman Pepper LLP, have been selected as nominees for Los Angeles Times B2B Publishing 2022 Inspirational Women Leadership Awards. According to the publication, these awards will recognize female leaders from corporations or non-profit organizations throughout California who have demonstrated noteworthy success and accomplishments during the last 24 months in approximately 10 award categories. Winners will be announced on October 18 during the 2022 Inspirational Women: Trends, Updates, Forum, and Leadership Awards, a celebration of outstanding and inspirational women.

Gubernick is a partner in the firm's intellectual property and commercial litigation groups. She helps small and large clients protect and defend their brands and business in the U.S. and abroad. She has litigated cases in state and federal courts and has handled over 100 matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Gubernick routinely litigates trademark, copyright and trade secret cases, as well as cases involving false advertising, breach of contract, unfair competition and more. She has negotiated assignments, settlements, trademark co-existence agreements and licenses involving household brand names, high-end retailers, famous clothing brands, national sports leagues and more. Gubernick has provided IP diligence support on multi-million dollar and billion-dollar transactions and routinely provides strategic counseling and assistance for her clients’ global trademark portfolios. She received her J.D. from University of San Diego Law School and her B.A. from Bigham Young University.

Weldon is a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law, The State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. She concentrates her practice on business litigation and franchise litigation, at trial, judicial reference, and arbitration. Weldon represents both large and small businesses in commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract, tort, unfair competition, class action, commercial real estate, intellectual property disputes, such as patent, trademark, and trade dress claims, as well as other complex matters. Additionally, she represents franchisors in matters including breach of contract, trademark and trade name infringement, business competition torts, vicarious liability and joint employer issues, and franchise law claims. Weldon received her J.D. from William & Mary School of Law and her B.A. from University of Arizona.

Mahmoud is a commercial litigator who has successfully defended clients at all stages of a case, including at trial and on appeal. Samrah focuses her practice on litigating on behalf of health care companies and representing insurers in coverage and bad faith lawsuits. She also routinely defends companies against consumer class actions involving a variety of consumer protection statutes including, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, and California’s Unfair Competition law. She represents clients in both state and federal court, as well as at arbitrations. Samrah served as a law clerk to the Honorable Josephine L. Staton of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2012 to 2013. She was a member of the University of California, Irvine School of Law’s inaugural class and a senior editor of the UC Irvine Law Review. During law school, Samrah externed for the Honorable Richard M. Aronson, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three. Samrah graduated summa cum laude from Chapman University with a B.A. in psychology.