WilmerHale Partner Tom Saunders has been recognized by Law360 as a 2015 Appellate MVP of the Year. The annual contest recognizes the most elite attorneys in a wide range of practices who have had the most impressive success in high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals and complex global matters. Saunders’ practice focuses on appellate, government and public policy litigation with a particular emphasis on intellectual property, and he has built a reputation as a leading advocate in high-stakes litigation.

As stated by Law360, Saunders is recognized for “a notable string of victories in the last year, including convincing the U.S. Supreme Court not to jettison a 50-year-old rule barring royalty agreements that continue beyond a patent’s expiration” in Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises.

“While they may have been considered an underdog in the [Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises] fight, Saunders and his team worked hard to put forth an argument — centered largely around the concept of stare decisis, or that courts should stick with their precedent — that they believed the justices would side with,” explained Law360.

“We put in place our strategy, emphasized the stare decisis overtures, and really stuck it out through a lot of criticism and pessimism from the larger public,” Saunders shared with Law360.

In addition to his successes before the Supreme Court, Saunders had a major intellectual property victory when the en banc Federal Circuit and a subsequent panel decision affirmed a $45.5 million patent infringement verdict that client Akamai Technologies Inc. had won against Limelight Networks Inc.

Saunders’ winning profile was published by Law360 on December 3, 2015