Nicole Imhof concentrates her practice on intellectual property and commercial litigation. She has experience with trademark prosecution and United States Patent and Trademark Office proceedings, including responding to Office Actions and advising clients on trademark registration strategies. Her intellectual property experience includes federal trademark infringement litigation, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, and matters involving copyright and patent disputes.
Nicole advises clients on trademark protection and enforcement strategies, intellectual property risk management, and dispute resolution. She has experience drafting settlement, coexistence, and licensing agreements, evaluating trademark conflicts, and representing clients in contested trademark proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
In her commercial litigation practice, Nicole has worked on matters involving fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, arbitration, and a variety of torts. She assists clients throughout all stages of litigation, from pre-suit investigations and pleadings through discovery, dispositive motion practice, trial preparation, and alternative dispute resolution. Her experience includes developing case strategy, drafting and responding to discovery, preparing summary judgment briefing, analyzing complex legal issues, and helping clients assess and mitigate litigation risk.
Nicole has contributed to the successful defense against preliminary injunctions in both state and federal court, including a Tennessee family business dispute and a federal trademark infringement action.
While in law school, Nicole served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Sarah K. Campbell of the Tennessee Supreme Court, where she researched legal issues and drafted memoranda regarding matters pending before the court. She also participated in the Vanderbilt Law School Intellectual Property and the Arts Clinic, assisting clients with trademark, copyright, and related intellectual property matters.