District of Columbia

Firm overview

With more than 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. The Firm has secured 18 nine-figure jury verdicts and 16 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other law firm. McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance recovery, and white-collar defense matters.

Commercial litigation: McKool Smith specializes in complex commercial litigation. The firm litigates and regularly tries complex cases across a broad range of practice areas including antitrust, bankruptcy, entertainment, class action, contract, corporate governance, energy, fiduciary duty, insurance recovery, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, securities, and qui tam/whistleblower, among others. The firm’s attorneys also routinely appear in leading arbitral forums (e.g., JAMS and AAA) and appellate courts nationwide, including the US Supreme Court.

Intellectual property litigation: McKool Smith’s courtroom track record in intellectual property (IP) cases is unrivaled. Over the past 20 years, this distinguished trial team has won more patent litigation damages than any other firm (3 billion+). The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants in all aspects of IP litigation including patent litigation; ITC/Section 337 disputes and investigations; copyright, trademark, and false advertising litigation; and trade secret disputes. The firm’s attorneys also represent clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The IP practice has been recognized as the US “Plaintiff IP Firm of the Year” by Managing IP, “Intellectual Property Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and “IP Group of the Year” by Law360, among other honors.

Insurance recovery: McKool Smith’s litigators have more than 30 years of experience effectively leading clients through high-stakes coverage and liability disputes against their insurance providers. Collectively, the firm’s lawyers have obtained more than $5 billion in insurance-related recoveries for clients across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, chemical, entertainment, pharmaceutical, financial, education, and healthcare, among others.

White-collar defense: The firm’s white-collar defense practice is led by former federal prosecutors with experience in virtually every type of government investigation and prosecution. They defend alleged art, bank and securities fraud; insider trading; and antitrust, environmental, FCPA, OFAC, and tax violations, among other matters. The firm’s attorneys have also been appointed to monitorships and guided corporations, boards, and committees through internal investigations.

Bankruptcy: The firm’s bankruptcy practice focuses on complex disputes arising under bankruptcy and related state and federal laws, representing trustees, debtors, creditors’ committees, and other parties. The firm also handles complex reorganization proceedings and out-of-court restructurings.

Other Offices: Austin · Houston · Los Angeles · Marshall · New York · Washington, D.C

Firm overview

Husch Blackwell helps clients develop and preserve their intellectual property (IP) to maximize profits and secure a competitive edge. Our team has more than 100 intellectual property attorneys with tremendous experience in IP acquisition, maintenance, protection, enforcement, litigation and commercialization. We partner with universities, research facilities, companies of all sizes and individuals to turn their innovations into industry.

Our IP attorneys understand complex technologies, and they have prepared and prosecuted thousands of patents and trademarks across a wide range of industries. To accommodate clients’ need for global enforcement and protection, our team has assembled an international network of more than 300 associate firms in 120 countries. A Husch Blackwell attorney has worked directly and personally with every law firm in the network.

Firm overview

Leaders in intellectual property law for 100 years.

We are the trusted IP partner of choice for organizations around the world. We provide sound legal guidance and inventive IP solutions to power business—for start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, and everything in between.

Banner Witcoff’s Shared Values Statement

Banner Witcoff is a law firm dedicated to providing premier intellectual property services to clients of all sizes and across all sectors. We seek to create and enforce, and—in the process—enhance, the value of our clients’ IP assets. The firm believes that its clients, from marquee corporations to start-ups, all deserve creative and strategic guidance in developing and protecting the brand equity of their IP assets.

To achieve the goal of being the firm of choice for innovative companies that understand and seek to maximize the value of their intellectual property, Banner Witcoff commits to values that attract and foster attorneys and staff who share in clients’ quests for market leadership.

To that end, we are committed to:

• recruiting and empowering attorneys and staff of the highest caliber, who value diversity and inclusion for the expanded creative thinking and contributions those attributes foster;
• attracting self-starters seeking a meritocracy that rewards creativity and loyalty with opportunity and the support of collaborative, like-minded people, while encouraging participation in the life and culture of the firm beyond simply producing billable hours;
• delivering service that is satisfying, flexible and customized to its individual client’s needs;
• using appropriate technology to maximize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its service delivery processes; andmaintaining an open, transparent and participatory workplace, one to which attorneys and staff happily make career-long commitments.

PROTECTING IP. PROPELLING BUSINESS.

Our tagline is a direct reflection of our brand promise. We use our extensive knowledge of IP law to better our clients’ businesses, and we work in partnership with them, our success becoming theirs.

Leadership

Banner Witcoff is led by our board of directors made up of attorneys representing diverse backgrounds, practice areas and geography. Members of the board are elected by the shareholders and serve three year terms. The firm’s officers, including the president, are elected by the board on an annual basis. Led by the president, our board oversees the firm’s strategic direction. The day-to-day operations of the firm are overseen by the firm’s executive director and senior administrative leaders.

Firm overview

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is a leading IP law firm based in Washington DC and distinguished by the strong technical experience and knowledge of its team. Sterne Kessler has over 40 years’ experience helping companies to strategize, build and enforce worldwide IP portfolios, including inter partes matters (lawsuits, appeals, oppositions and post-grant proceedings such as inter partes review and covered business method patent review); preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the US and foreign patent offices; and advice on portfolio strategies (valuation, acquisition and due diligence).

Sterne Kessler launched its USPTO litigation service as a response to the implementation of the America Invents Act, beginning in 2012. The law ushered in a variety of ways to either challenge or strengthen patents at the PTAB of the USPTO, including inter partes review, post-grant review, covered business method patent review, derivations, interferences and re-examination.

Sterne Kessler attorneys and agents, including over 50 PhDs, are carefully recruited for their technical expertise and industry experience. Most have earned an advanced technical degree and have significant industry or academic experience across a wide spectrum of technical areas, including electronics, software, biotechnology, clean technology, pharmaceuticals, chemical products and processes, and consumer products. Many of the firm’s patent prosecution attorneys have previously worked as patent examiners and have unique insights into the inner workings of the USPTO.

Sterne Kessler lawyers are trained to evaluate intellectual property in the context of client business issues to ensure alignment with company goals. Strong patent claims constructed around strategic goals are invaluable as companies commercialize ideas or defend leadership positions against interferences, re-examinations and oppositions.

Sterne Kessler’s client base includes emerging and multi-national companies, venture capital firms, individual entrepreneurs, universities, and research institutions.

The firm’s primary service areas include utility and design patent prosecution; patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation (including District Court, Hatch-Waxman, ITC, PTAB, and appellate); IP due diligence; IP valuation; inventorship dispute resolutions; licensing; product lifecycle management; opinions; oppositions; and strategic counseling. Among the key industries serviced by the firm are: biosimilars, biotechnology, chemistry, clean technology, consumer products, electronics, food science and packaging, industrial products, medical devices, nanotechnology, software, pharmaceuticals and automotive.