Russell Binns is chief executive officer of Allied Security Trust (AST), a first-of-its-kind cooperative of global high-tech companies founded in 2007 to minimise risk of patent assertions and litigations by proactively acquiring patent rights. AST monitors and identifies high-tech patents on the market, and pools member funds to acquire or license the patents. Russell has over twenty-five years of experience in intellectual property, including serving as chief IP counsel for Avaya overseeing its worldwide intellectual property operations. He has been recognised as a top 40 IAM IP Market Maker since 2016. Previously, he worked as an IP litigator and licensing attorney at Goodwin Procter in New York and Boston, and Weingarten, Schurgin, Gagnebin & Hayes in Boston. Russell is based in New Jersey.