Bernard J. "Barney" Cassidy is general counsel and executive vice president of Tessera. Cassidy joined Tessera as its general counsel and senior vice president in November 2008.

Before coming to Tessera, Cassidy served for more than nine years as general counsel and senior vice president for Tumbleweed Communications Corp., where he was responsible for corporate development and legal matters. Prior to Tumbleweed, he practiced law at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Cassidy also served as law clerk to the Honorable John T. Noonan, Jr., a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Cassidy holds a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass.; a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Loyola University, New Orleans, La. While at Harvard Law School, he was a research assistant to Professor Arthur R. Miller, focusing on federal civil practice and procedure, and served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.