US > Intellectual property > Patent litigation: hi tech electronics and IT: National
Index of tables
Patent litigation: hi-tech electronics and IT
Leading lawyers
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- Brian Buruker, Hunton & Williams ‘Combination of deep experience and equally good negotiation skills’
- Morgan Chu, Irell & Manella LLP ‘Unique, likely to be the best trial lawyer in the country’
- John Feldhaus, Foley & Lardner ‘Great attention to detail, going about and beyond critical thinking’
- Joel Freed, McDermott Will & Emery LLP ‘Very good at protecting IP in a company and knowing how to avoid litigation’
- Robert Harrell, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP ‘Smart, attentive and incredibly organized’
- Jonathan Kagan, Irell & Manella LLP ‘Extraordinary trial skills and intellectual acumen’
- Michael Ladra, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati ‘Very sharp, a tremendous lawyer’
- William LaFuze, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. ‘Superb litigation and technical skills’
- Robert Van Nest, Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. ‘Excellent work and vigorous representation’
- John Keker, Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. ‘Respected for his tremendous litigation experience’
This table should be read in conjunction with the preceding ‘full coverage’ table for patent litigation. Firms listed in the ‘full coverage’ section are considered equally competent in the niche market of ‘hi-tech electronics and IT’ as well. The range of services offered by these firms may extend beyond this sector. Many of the leading firms are based in California, within easy reach of Silicon Valley.
PRACTICE: Irell & Manella LLP is a ‘true specialist’ in handling high-stakes contentious matters, comprehensively spanning the technology sector and ‘setting a trend in patent litigation’, comment clients.
From its two California offices, the firm provides intellectual property services to a broad range of international clients, such as research institutions, multinational companies and individuals.
Although it is relatively small, the practice does ‘top-class quality work’. Clients are impressed by the practice, saying that it is ‘top to bottom, the best patent litigation practice in the country. Its attorneys are consistently extraordinarily, from the beginning of a case until the end.’
The IP group litigates a large number of cases at any one time, typically acting for the defendant. In the field of home entertainment technology, the practice won a multimillion-dollar patent infringement case on behalf of TiVo against EchoStar Communications. Another matter involved a patent infringement case claiming $94m in damages brought by Microprocessor Enhancement against the practice’s client, Texas Instruments. The practice obtained summary judgement that Texas Instruments did not infringe the asserted patent and the claims were dismissed.
CLIENTS: AAC Acoustic Technologies, Activision, Juniper Networks, ASML Holdings, Tessera, AmberWave Systems, Agilent Technologies, Mattel, MTV Games, and Internet Services.
INDIVIDUALS: Clients regard Morgan Chu as ‘unique, likely to be the best trial lawyer in the country’. Clients also cannot praise Jonathan Kagan enough, commenting on his ‘extraordinary trial skills and intellectual acumen’, while Bruce Wessel is appreciated for his ‘wise judgement and attention to detail’. Jonathan Steinberg is ‘a master strategist and advisor’, say clients, while Benjamin Hattenbach is ‘an extraordinarily talented and strategic junior partner, who devotes himself fully to his clients’. Ellisen Turner is ‘a future superstar who is already capable of running a large patent case as an associate’. All of the recommended attorneys are based in Los Angeles.
PRACTICE: Located in San Francisco, specialist litigation boutique Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. handles big-ticket contentious matters across the spectrum of industry sectors, thriving in the electronics and IT arena in particular. Half of the firm’s 64 attorneys focus their practice on IP litigation. Despite its small size, the practice has tried an impressively large number of patent cases around the country, many of them in the busy Eastern District of Texas.
Clients commented that Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P.’s attorneys have a ‘reputation for excellent work and vigorous representations, meeting expectations in all respects’.
Among recent work, the practice successfully obtained a judgement of non-infringement on behalf of defendant Comcast in a patent action brought by Caritas Technologies relating to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
In another matter, the practice won an ITC patent dispute on behalf of Broadcom against Qualcomm relating to semiconductor chips. The ITC decision blocked the importation of unapproved cell-phones and other wireless devices that utilize and infringe Qualcomm’s semiconductor chips.
CLIENTS: The group represents blue-chip companies such as Google, Intel, Genentech, Comcast Cable and Ticketmaster.
INDIVIDUALS: Name-partner Robert Van Nest practices in the field of complex business litigation and has 30 years’ experience in cases involving patent infringement and other IP matters. Clients praise his ‘excellent work and vigorous representation’. Fellow name-partner John Keker is ‘respected’ by clients for his ‘tremendous litigation experience’. Brian Ferrall focuses on patent, trade secret and other intellectual property litigation, while clients have described Leo Lam and Ashok Ramani as ‘deserving the highest praise’. All the attorneys are based in San Francisco.
PRACTICE: Headquartered in Los Angeles, full-service firm Latham & Watkins LLP represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex patent disputes worldwide. During 2008, the group was successful in numerous patent infringement actions.
The practice boasts intellectual property lawyers with specialized degrees in such fields as electrical engineering, computer science, physics, biology and chemical engineering. Clients appreciate the attorneys for giving ‘business-centric, practical and easily understood advice’.
Recent highlights include a complete victory in a patent infringement action brought by O2Micro against the practice’s client, Monolithic Power Systems, claiming $160m in damages in relation to a patent for integrated circuitry. The suit threatened a large percentage of MPS product revenue and it followed a series of successes by O2Micro against other companies involving the same patent. Latham & Watkins LLP crafted a motion for summary judgement that exposed O2Micro’s basic methodology as unprincipled. The jury found that none of the six asserted patent claims was infringed and that all of the claims were invalid and can no longer be asserted against anyone.
CLIENTS: Latham & Watkins LLP represents numerous clients including Lucent Technologies, Electronic Integrated Systems, International Truck and Engine, Owens-Illinois, Qualcomm, Symantec and Roche Diagnostics.
INDIVIDUALS: Robert Steinberg divides his time between Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, and is the firm’s global chair of the intellectual property practice group. Perry Viscounty in Orange County co-chairs the IP and technology group and handles complex intellectual property litigation. David Schindler in Los Angeles handles intellectual property matters. Also recommended, David Nelson in Chicago specializes in patent infringement litigation, while Mark Flagel in Los Angeles deals with intellectual property contentious matters. Clients praise Daniel Schecter in Los Angeles for being ‘wonderful at working with engineers and helping them understand how the law works’.
PRACTICE: With over 200 intellectual property lawyers, McDermott Will & Emery LLP boasts a ‘top-notch’, full-service practice of ‘highly experienced and motivated attorneys’ that impress clients with their ‘professionalism in completing the task’. 135 members of this Chicago-headquartered intellectual property group hold technical or scientific degrees. Clients point out that ‘its lawyers understand how to present the law in front of the judge in a comprehensive manner’.
McDermott Will & Emery LLP is actively handling numerous cases in the hi-tech electronics and IT fields, wherein recent successes include a favorable resolution in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Lucent Technologies against the firm’s client Dell. A jury found that Dell did not infringe two of three patents at issue and that Dell’s liability for the third patent was just a fraction of the damages initially sought by Lucent.
CLIENTS: Among the firm’s clients are Amgen, Hitachi, Panasonic, Hynix, Blackboard, Extreme Networks, Linear Technology, Medrad, MKS Instruments, Research Corporation Technologies, Seagate Technology and Qualcomm.
INDIVIDUALS: Terrence McMahon in Silicon Valley heads the worldwide intellectual property, media and technology practices, while Joel Freed in Washington DC is ‘very good at protecting IP in a company and knowing how to avoid litigation’, comment clients.
Also in Washington DC, Raphael Lupo has vast trial and appellate experience in the federal courts and before the ITC. Astrid Spain in San Diego and Toby Kusmer in Boston are a ‘pleasure to work with’, say clients.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
PRACTICE: Headquartered in Palo Alto and with a total of eight national offices on the East and West Coast, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati employs a team of about 100 intellectual property litigators who are seen by clients as ‘exceptionally committed and professional’. The practice addresses all aspects of cutting-edge intellectual property protection, handling contentious matters for companies in the IT and electronics fields.
Among recent highlights, the firm is acting of behalf of LSI in a lawsuit brought by Freescale Semiconductor accusing LSI of infringing three separate patents relating to different aspects of integrated circuit design and manufacture.
In another recent matter, the practice reached a cross-licensing deal with PNY Technologies on behalf of SanDisk to settle patent infringement claims made before the ITC. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, SanDisk said PNY Technologies would pay royalties for previously unlicensed flash memory products.
CLIENTS: In addition to those mentioned above, the client roster includes Barracuda Networks, Crocs, Plumtree Software, Brocade and Broadcom.
INDIVIDUALS: Michael Ladra in Palo Alto has over 20 years’ experience as a patent litigator and counselor, and has tried various cases before federal courts and the ITC. Clients describe him as ‘very sharp, a tremendous lawyer’.
Ron Shulman, also in Palo Alto, focuses on intellectual property litigation and is seen by clients as ‘honest and direct in his communications’.
PRACTICE: With just under 30 patent litigation partners working in ten national offices, DLA Piper is appreciated by clients for ‘its commitment to communication’, together with its ‘breadth of geographical representation, professionalism and hands-on approach’. One of the practice’s strengths lies in the hi-tech electronics and IT fields, in which DLA Piper’s attorneys provide ‘intelligent solutions for complex legal issues and make difficult paths easier to navigate’, according to clients.
In the computing arena, the intellectual property served as lead trial counsel in a patent litigation offensive brought by Hewlett-Packard against Acer Computer involving five lawsuits in three venues. The litigation was settled favorably for Hewlett-Packard.
CLIENTS: Clients include Gemological Institute of America, Cardinal Health 303, Insurance Services Network, Extreme Networks and Samsung.
INDIVIDUALS: Chair of the intellectual property group John Allock works from San Diego and Palo Alto, and ‘has a knack for knowing exactly what information to present to a judge, jury member or witness’, say clients. Dale Lazar in Reston, Virginia focuses on IP matters relating to electronic technology, computer hardware and software. Mark Fowler in East Palo Alto is experienced in patent infringement litigation. ‘His attention to detail is exemplary’, says one client.
PRACTICE: The 110-strong intellectual property group at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP boasts attorneys with ‘invaluable legal knowledge, willingness to work with the client, and enthusiasm’, say clients.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, and with 10 national offices, the practice’s strengths lie in litigation, with clients commenting that its intellectual property lawyers have ‘presence and skills in handling depositions and settlement talks’.
One of the highlights from 2008 includes obtaining a favorable settlement on behalf of QPSX Developments 5 in a patent infringement lawsuit involving technology that assists in alleviating traffic congestion in an ATM network.
CLIENTS: Other representations include Antor Media, Fenner Investments, ITT Corporation, Ipernica, WebTech Wireless, Introgen Therapeutics, Vanderbilt University, Invitrogen, Pilko & Associates, Total, AT&T and T-Mobile USA.
INDIVIDUALS: Clients describe Houston-based Robert Harrell as ‘smart, attentive and incredibly organized’. Linda Addison, also in Houston, is ‘extremely thoughtful and thorough’, while Terry Tottenham in Austin ‘always ensures that work is being handled impeccably’, say clients. Dan Davison in Dallas litigates on commercial and intellectual property matters in both state and federal courts. Joseph Zammit in New York is ‘simply brilliant’, comment clients.
PRACTICE: The full-service patent group at Hogan & Hartson LLP handles litigation and prosecution matters, offering service across geographical boundaries. About 40 IP attorneys focus on patent litigation and a significant share of their clients comes from the electronics, telecommunications, and computer hardware and software industries.
Clients praise the lawyers, saying that ‘they know how to manage a case within tight budgets and excel at customer service and responsiveness’. Regarding costs, clients comment that the ‘attorneys emphasize subject-matter expertise, which means one doesn’t see a lot of bills for wasteful research time’.
CLIENTS: Kyocera Wireless, Olympus, Sun Microsystems, Toshiba, Affymax, Fujifilm, Motorola and Symbol Technologies are some of the firm’s clients.
INDIVIDUALS: Raymond Kurz and Celine Crowson, both in Washington DC, ‘deliver great results on patent litigation matters’, say clients. William Kubida in Colorado Springs is an ‘expert in patent licensing’, while Eric Lobenfeld in New York litigates cases involving all sorts of intellectual property matters. Richard de Bodo in Los Angeles is also recommended.
PRACTICE: With nearly 240 IP attorneys, Foley & Lardner occupies a stable position in the intellectual property market, where it has particular expertise in patent litigation. Headquartered in Milwaukee, with 18 offices located across the US, the firm has expanded its IP and litigation groups with the hiring of ten attorneys and one patent specialist from the defunct law firm Heller Ehrman. A more recent string of high-profile additions between November 2008 and February 2009 includes Jon Dudas, a former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and former director of the USPTO.
Clients say that ‘they understand the client’s as well as the counterpart’s business and are creative in coming up with new ideas for the discussion and settlement’.
CLIENTS: Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Linear Technology, Lucent Technologies, AT&T, Motorola, Nvidia and Philips are some of the firm’s clients.
INDIVIDUALS: John Feldhaus in Washington DC focuses his practice on patent litigation relating to electronic and computer technologies. Clients admire his ‘great attention to detail, going about and beyond critical thinking’.
Former executive assistant to the commissioner of patents and trademarks Barry Grossman, based in Milwaukee, is experienced in all IP areas, from licensing to litigation and asset management. Sharon Barner in Chicago has been representing clients in a vast range of technologies over the course of her 20-year career.
PRACTICE: The IP group at Hunton & Williams comprises about 100 attorneys, many of whom have highly specialized legal backgrounds as well as technical and scientific qualifications.
Clients praise the firm’s attorneys for being ‘creative in their thinking and for their top-level use of resources, combined with remarkable knowledge of intellectual property matters’.
Among its highlights, the practice obtained a $35m jury award for client MercExchange in a patent litigation case brought against eBay in February 2008 over its ‘buy it now’ option on auction items. Following this lawsuit, the firm’s client concluded a seven-year battle when eBay agreed to buy three patents from MercExchange.
CLIENTS: The practice’s clients include Bank of America, Encomm, TXU, Capital One and Smith & Nephew.
INDIVIDUALS: Brian Buroker heads the intellectual property practice, and is admired by clients for ‘his combination of deep experience and equally good negotiation skills’. Additionally ‘his responsiveness is very good, as is his attention to detail and his substantive analysis’. Tyler Maddry ‘excels’ in all aspects of patent law. Both lawyers are based in Washington DC.
Esther Steinhauer, in New York, and Robert King, in Atlanta, are recommended as ‘professional and smart’.
PRACTICE: Nixon & Vanderhye PC is a ‘well-respected’ intellectual property boutique with ‘strong capabilities’, and with a team of 43 practitioners focusing entirely on such matters. Larger firms often call on the practice to work on complex patent litigation matters. The group successfully obtained a settlement agreement between client Derek Webb and plaintiff Progressive Gaming International. Under the agreement, Webb will receive $20m in damages and $4.7m in attorney fees.
CLIENTS: Toshiba, Sharp, Nintendo, General Electric, SmartDisk, and Fuji Photo Film USA have all sought the firm for advice.
INDIVIDUALS: Robert Faris, Duane Byers, Robert Rowan, Joseph Presta and Larry Nixon are all praised for their courtroom experience. All the lawyers are based in Arlington, Virginia.
Townsend and Townsend and Crew
PRACTICE: Intellectual property and antitrust specialist Townsend and Townsend and Crew saw a recent expansion of its San Francisco office, including the promotion of four associates to partner in its intellectual property department.
In addition to litigation, the IP practice is particularly strong on the prosecution side.
Among recent successes in the patent litigation arena, the practice acted on behalf of Intergraph, obtaining a very significant settlement for the infringement of its patents by another company.
CLIENTS: Clients include Electronic Data Systems, Mosel Vitalec, Etak, Tandy, Komag, Xilinx, Catalyst Enterprises, Integrated Circuit Systems and Franklin Electronic Publishers.
INDIVIDUALS: James Gilliland in San Francisco focuses his practice on complex commercial and IP litigation, and has represented numerous hi-tech technology companies in federal and state trial and appellate courts around the US. Daniel Furniss in Palo Alto represents both plaintiffs and defendants in patent infringement cases involving software, semiconductors and computer design.
PRACTICE: With just under 30 IP litigators, Texas-based Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. boasts particular expertise in computer hardware and software, electronics, internet systems and processes.
Among the practice’s highlights the intellectual property group won a judgement in a patent infringement case on behalf of defendants Reach Financial and Merchant Money Tree in the Eastern District of Texas. After hearing the evidence, the judge found that all claims brought by the plaintiff AdvanceMe’s patent were invalid as anticipated and obvious.
CLIENTS: Advanced Micro Devices, ProstaLund, Motorola, Shell, Dow Chemical, Prodigy Comm-unications, Chesapeake Energy and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company.
INDIVIDUALS: William Schuurman in Austin is noted as being ‘very successful’ in handling federal appeals. Also recommended are Dallas-based Scott Breedlove, who represents clients in trial courts and before the ITC, and William Sims, who has over 30 years’ litigation experience. William LaFuze in Houston focuses his practice on patent litigation in the electronics, oilfield equipment and computer-related areas. Clients praise his ‘superb litigation and technical skills’.