United States (National)

Firm overview

Stobbs advises and acts for clients across the whole life cycle of its IP, working closely with a wide variety of IP-intensive companies, spanning various industries, from brand strategy and development of filing programmes to protection and exploitation of those rights. Work includes IP commercial, dispute resolution (both pre-action and formal litigation), brand strategy, advisory, anti-counterfeiting, online brand enforcement, and portfolio management.

Firm overview

With 120 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 13 nine-figure jury verdicts and 15 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other US law firm. These courtroom successes have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.”

Its Patent Contentious practice comprises more than 60 attorneys representing plaintiffs and defendants against global tech giants including Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Samsung, Meta (Facebook), Tesla, Uber, Microsoft, and many others. Matters involve a broad range of technologies and industries including electronics, semiconductors, software, telecommunications, the internet, FDA-approved drugs and medical devices, chemical engineering and materials science, and media and entertainment.

The firm’s clients includes some of the world’s largest standard essential patent holders (e.g., Nokia and Ericsson), and it specializes in developing strategies to force unwilling licensees to agree to patent licenses on Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms. These strategies often including maximizing pressure on unwilling licensees via litigation in multiple jurisdictions and, when appropriate, through injunctions. It also defends standard essential patent holder clients against claims that their licensing practices are abusive and/or that their offered royalty rates are not FRAND. 

In addition to regularly appearing in district courts across the country, the firm has a robust DC practice with extensive experience before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission.

Firm overview

McAndrews, Held & Malloy is a premier, full-service intellectual property and technology law firm. From world-class patent portfolio development, trademark, and design protection to its exceptional record of litigation success against highly regarded law firms, McAndrews excels at all things IP. That is why the firm is relied upon by industry-leading companies, as well as businesses and innovators of all sizes and in virtually every technical field.

McAndrews is also uniquely positioned and structured to serve clients efficiently and effectively, providing exceptional lawyers, insights, service, and value. Clients appreciate the firm’s collaborative, team-based approach, as well as the extraordinarily high levels of hands-on senior-attorney attention its model affords. In addition, McAndrews’ IP-only focus delivers a competitive advantage to its clients in solving their IP challenges.

Firm overview

Founded in 1978 and based in Washington, DC, Sterne Kessler is a premier law firm dedicated to intellectual property, focusing on the full range of IP services globally, including litigation, patent and trademark prosecution, design patents, IP strategy, post-grant proceedings, opinions, and transactional support.

The firm works with some of the most innovative clients in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities. Whether prosecuting a patent or trademark, managing a worldwide portfolio, or litigating a bet-the-company case at trial, Sterne Kessler is committed to delivering practical solutions and excellent client service.

Sterne Kessler delivers innovative solutions that are tailored to its clients’ businesses. With deep technical knowledge and IP experience, the firm develops targeted and effective strategies to protect and enforce valuable IP assets. The team includes more than 200 lawyers, patent agents, and technical specialists who hold over 100 advanced degrees, including 60+ Ph.D.s, in science and engineering disciplines. The firm supports clients across a broad range of industries and technologies, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, electronics, artificial intelligence, software, innovative materials, consumer products, food & beverage, medical devices, automotive and heavy equipment, manufacturing, and industrial products, amongst many others.

In the last five years, Sterne Kessler has served as litigation counsel in 200+ patent cases across more than two dozen federal district courts. The firm is one of the top five most active firms for patent cases at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and among the top 10% of most active firms at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The firm is particularly skilled at coordinating across multiple venues, representing clients in patent litigation in district court, before the ITC, and at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), pivoting between venues to efficiently and favorably resolve disputes.

The PTAB Trials team has been a leader since the inception of the PTAB and continues to be a dominant force in the industry today. Sterne Kessler has been counsel in more than 1,300 proceedings and counting, and its results are among the very best. Patexia consistently ranks the firm among the top 10 most active overall and the top 25 best performing firm overall in its PTAB Intelligence Report.
FIRM ACCOLADES:
• Band 1, Patent Prosecution, Washington, D.C., Chambers USA (2025)
• Tier 1, Patent Prosecution, PTAB Litigation, and Life Sciences IP, and Tier 3 ITC Litigation, National, Managing IP’s IP Stars (2025)
• “Highly Recommended” Patent Prosecution and Patent Disputes and “Recommended” Trademark Prosecution, District of Columbia, Managing IP’s IP Stars (2025)
• Tier 1, IP Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law, and Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice (D.C.), U.S. News – Best Lawyers – “Best Law Firms” (2025)
• Highly Recommended, Patent Prosecution and Transactions, IAM Patent 1000 (2025)
• Recognized for Trademark Prosecution & Strategy and Enforcement & Litigation, DC Metro Area, World Trademark 1000 (2025)
• 12 Years in a Row - Top Workplaces Recognition, The Washington Post (2025)