Law360 has named Partner Bill Lee a Trial Ace, recognizing his talents and victories in the highly technical world of intellectual property law. The 50 attorneys selected to Law360’s inaugural list of Trial Aces have first-chaired hundreds of successful high-stakes trials and set new precedents with their arguments. The winners were selected based on the number of high-stakes trials they've worked on, the role they played at trial and the trial outcome.
As stated by Law360, “the attorneys selected are champions in the courtroom, leaders in the their law firms and heroes to their clients. They’re the lawyers to call when losing is not an option.”
During his 35-year career—spent entirely with WilmerHale—Lee has tried 200 cases to verdict, winning 181 times, and represents a variety of technology-focused companies primarily in intellectual property and commercial litigation.
While it is nearly impossible to capture all of his accomplishments, Law360 mentions some of his most significant work, including his continuous representation of Apple in its ongoing litigation against Samsung in the Federal Circuit “smartphone war,” and his success in representing a major automotive manufacturer during the largest patent litigation in its history. Other victorious trials include work done for clients Pfizer, Broadcom Corporation and GlaxoSmithKline.
Lee credits his colleagues at WilmerHale for building a premier Intellectual Property Practice. According to those same colleagues, he has been pivotal in expanding the business.
As quoted by Law360, “I work with extraordinary people,” Lee said. “We've built great teams, and I've taken victory laps on behalf of the team more than I should have.”
Lee’s longtime colleague and WilmerHale Partner Bill McElwain shared, “Bill really founded this practice, and he has literally been a mentor to every single partner in it.”
Lee was also recently honored as a Distinguished Law Firm Leader by The American Lawyer for his exemplary management of the successful merger and formation of WilmerHale; as a leading practitioner in patent law by IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners; to the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50 list, which recognizes Boston’s most influential business people; and is consistently named an Intellectual Property MVP by Law360.