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ATTORNEYS - Roger W. Hood

Practice Areas
Roger Hood, a shareholder in the firm, concentrates his practice in business law, intellectual property and technology law. He has developed a special focus on domestic and international licensing, often creating and negotiating intricate licensing agreements for clients involved in healthcare, life sciences, semi-conductors, financial services and other industries.

He advises clients on issues of open source technology, cloud computing, trademarks, software and other complex intellectual property matters. He also assists client with major employment issues, working with companies ranging from multi-nationals to family-owned businesses.

Work for Clients
Roger brings the perspective of three decades as a business lawyer to his clients' commercial transactions, often presenting alternate solutions that go beyond the immediate problem. He is known for his sound legal advice, innovative approach, and business acumen.

Roger represents, as outside general counsel, a number of public companies in diverse businesses, including optical components, semi-conductors, professional services and high-tech manufacturing. He negotiates multifaceted procurement and distribution agreements for licensing and sales.

With an eye on the total well-being of his corporate clients, he assists in employment disputes involving harassment, discrimination and retaliation as well as managing workplace risks through non-competes and other avenues designed to protect a company's intellectual property. He works pro-actively with clients to conduct workplace training and develop employee handbooks.

Roger joined Duffy & Sweeney after a seventeen-year legal career as senior counsel at global communications and electronics leader Motorola, Inc. He advised and represented the company in a wide array of intellectual property, commercial transactions and employment law matters.

Professional Activities
Roger has been named as a leading lawyer in the current editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, and Woodward/White's Best Lawyers in America. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Chief Executives Club's Rhode Island chapter, an exclusive group of top business leaders who share challenges, discover solutions, and interact with a wide variety of national thought-leaders.

Roger is active in the technology organizations forging innovation in our region including the Brown Forum for Enterprise, where the firm is a signatory member, and Tech Collective, a group dedicated to driving technology growth and innovation in Rhode Island.

He is a frequent speaker and moderator on topics at the intersection of business and technology including: licensing of ideas and inventions, negotiating licensing deals, protecting intellectual property using non-competes, cloud computing, and social networking in a corporate environment. He was interviewed by Providence Business News regarding the latest developments in technology and intellectual property law. He is a member of the ABA Sections on Intellectual Property and Employment Law.

Education
Northeastern University (B.S.B.A., 1970); Suffolk University (J.D., 1975).

Bar and Court Admissions
Massachusetts (1977); Texas (1998); Rhode Island (2000); United States District Court, District of Massachusetts (1978); United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit (1980).

rhood@duffysweeney.com