Samuel Baird

Samuel Baird (Sam) is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst and Accredited in Business Valuation with over ten years of experience. He has been appointed as an intellectual property expert on multiple occasions.  

Sam has acted as an expert witness in standard essential patents (SEP) licensing cases, collaborating with top-tier law firms and economic consulting firms. He has assisted clients with IP data analytics, litigation financing, patent licensing, mergers and acquisitions, and valuations. 

Sam has experience in conducting financial analyses and constructing advanced valuation models, overseeing rigorous due diligence processes, and providing strategic counsel to clients on deal structures, timing, and negotiation strategies while guiding them through complex tax implications. Prior to joining HKA, he led a patent defensive aggregator’s patent analytics effort. He also led a boutique investment firm to exceptional growth, expanding its deal pipeline from $30 million to $250 million and closing more than $100 million in annual transactions. He orchestrated complex merger and acquisition transactions using sophisticated deal structures, including equity rollovers, seller notes, Section 338(h)(10) elections, F-reorganizations, and strategic use of drop-up/drop-down LLCs.  

Sam has expertise in economic models for F/RAND royalty calculations, impacting licensing negotiations with values of up to $2 billion, developing litigation prediction models for non-practicing entity (NPE) patent and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)-related lawsuits, and has led the development of machine learning (ML) based analytic tools for SEP portfolio analysis across video codecs (AVC, HEVC, VVC), wireless (LTE, 5G), and networking (Wi-Fi 6) technologies. He has delivered proprietary IP and financial models using ML, statistical analysis, and complex data analysis, along with influencing multi-million-dollar decisions in patent licensing, litigation strategy, and portfolio valuation. He has also been part of defensive patent licensing firm developing their SEP offerings and led patent licensing efforts at a university’s technology development office.  

Sam holds a juris doctor, a master’s in both intellectual property management and markets and quantitative business economics, along with a bachelor of communication studies. His professional certifications include Certified Mergers and Acquisition Advisor, financial modelling and valuation analyst, Nevada bar admission, and Nevada real estate broker. He has been recognized in the IAM Strategy 300 and as an M&A Advisors’ Emerging Leader.