Nina Yablok

Nina Yablok joins Johnsen Law with a clear mission: to help technology-oriented businesses grow, make money, and protect the brilliant things they create. She is exceptionally good at what she does—efficient, practical, and respectful of both her time and her clients’ budgets.  She also possesses the rare professional superpower of knowing exactly when to send a client to someone more suitable for their specific needs.

​

Nina was born in New York City and lived there until 1976. Her favorite claim to fame is that she drove a taxi in NYC during law school, a detail that seems to both impress and alarm people in equal measure. She thrived in law school and ultimately served as Chief Justice of Moot Court, which she describes as the law school equivalent of being prom queen or captain of the football team.

​

After graduating, Nina moved to California and settled in Santa Clara just months after Apple was founded. She built her practice during the exhilarating rise of Silicon Valley, becoming one of the few solo or small-firm attorneys focused on technology clients. While opposing counsel often came from major firms or big-company legal departments, Nina became a natural fit for the small, hungry companies looking for counsel who understood innovation without the overhead of a corporate legal machine. Eventually, though, California lost its charm. Despite the lovely weather, Nina’s pro-business mindset often felt at odds with the culture. So in 2016, she and her husband packed up and moved to Nemo, Texas.

​

Nina expected to drift gracefully into retirement. Her clients had other ideas. Having long since decided that geography was irrelevant to her talent, they stayed with her. Over time, she realized not only that she wasn’t done practicing law, but that she wanted to focus on the parts she loves most—structuring win-win deals for commercializing Intellectual property with a process focused on strategic planning followed by drafting strong, clear contracts that actually help people do business. 

​

Now, after 49 years of practicing law independently, Nina has joined Johnsen Law. She jokes that Chris is about to find out whether it’s possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

​

Outside the office, Nina is married to the funniest, smartest person she knows—a journalist, voracious reader, unapologetic punster, and devoted amateur musician. They have no children and still genuinely enjoy spending time together after all these years. When they’re not together or working, he’s making music in his studio while Nina serves as an IP mentor at TechFW, volunteers with several organizations, and prepares to get back into SCUBA diving.

​

Nina loves hearing about people’s businesses—how they work, what excites them, and where they want to go next. Anyone curious about how she might help, or simply wanting to meet the newest attorney in the group, is warmly invited to reach out and say hi.