Irell & Manella

California-based Irell & Manella has a strong reputation in IP litigation, earning national recognition in patent contentious matters. The firm is also recommended for its practice focused on trademark litigation.

Key practitioners in the patent group are Morgan Chu and Jason Sheasby. Chu is an internationally recognized IP litigator with a successful track record in trials and appellate matters. Sheasby is viewed as the incoming generation at the firm with similar success as an IP trial lawyer.

In 2021, the firm was shortlisted for the Patent Contentious Firm of the Year award in the West by Managing IP.

Media and entertainment litigation group head Steve Marenberg recently departed the firm to join Paul Hastings’s Los Angeles office.

The firm saw recent success at the Supreme Court in the closely watched case Peter v NantKwest, an appeal which dealt with questions related to attorneys’ fees. Another notable life sciences dispute involved clients Sloan Kettering Institute and Juno Therapeutics in a high-profile battle against Kite Pharma, resulting in a nine-figure verdict.

Because of his recent work in the area, Morgan Chu was shortlisted for the Outstanding IP Litigator award in California as part of the 2021 Managing IP Awards.