By Erin Geiger Smith

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Michelle Lee, Google's former deputy general counsel and head of patent strategy, has been selected to lead the new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Silicon Valley.

Lee, who was attending a conference at Santa Clara University Friday, confirmed that she accepted the position.

At Google, Lee oversaw patent related matters including overall strategy, prosecution and acquisitions. During her tenure, she also called for reforms of the current patent system.

Lee started her new job on November 5. Prior to that, she served on the agency's Patent Public Advisory Committee, which is made up of non-Patent Office employees and reviews the policies and performance of the agency.

Lee "understands the critical importance patents and trademarks play in our global economy and in spurring innovation," said David Kappos, the director of the Patent and Trademark Office.

The Patent and Trade Office announced in July that it would open regional offices in the Silicon Valley, Dallas, Denver and Detroit. It was the first time the agency expanded its operations outside Washington.

The regional offices "will work closely with entrepreneurs to process patent applications, reduce the backlog of unexamined patents, and speed up the overall process, allowing businesses to move their innovation to market more quickly, and giving them more room to create new jobs," the agency said.

Earlier this week, Lee's former Google colleague Nicole Wong joined Twitter's legal department, where she will report to another former Google attorney, Twitter general counsel Alex Macgillivray. Wong was a deputy general counsel at Google until 2011.

(Additional reporting by Dan Levine)

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