The American Lawyer has once again named WilmerHale the winner of its IP Litigation Department of the Year contest. Following the legal publication's five-month-long extensive research into America's top law firm intellectual property litigation practices, WilmerHale stands out as the best in this fiercely contested biennial competition.
This is the second time that WilmerHale has been named a winner and a third time the firm has been named IP Litigation Department of the Year finalist since the contest inception in 2002. Several months ago, the nation's top-grossing law firms were invited to compete for the prestigious title of Litigation Department of the Year in one of three specialties: Intellectual Property, Securities and Antitrust. Nominees were judged based on their performance over the past two years.
Under the headline "iDefense Lawyers," the publication cited the firm's success on behalf of Apple in its global patent infringement battle with Samsung as one major reason for the honor. Working with Apple in-house counsel, WilmerHale lawyers coordinated with local counsel in courtrooms across four continents to fight Samsung's assertion of "standards essential patents" against Apple. "Wilmer's efforts have gone a long way toward ensuring that patent infringement claims don't come between consumers and their gadgets," reported The American Lawyer.
According to The American Lawyer, rounding out the long list of factors in the firm's IP Department of the Year win was the victory for Intel, Apple and HP in an ITC case in which X2Y sought to exclude Intel's microprocessors from the US market; a unanimous Supreme Court victory for Monsanto last summer; and the $2.15 billion settlement obtained for Pfizer in its battle with generic drug companies over their at-risk launches of generic Protonix in the United States.
The firm also fared well in The American Lawyer's Litigation Department of the Year competition, receiving an honorable mention as one of 10 standout firms among an illustrious field. In addition to its winning IP litigation performance, the firm won recognition for "critical victories in white-collar cases and in securities litigation related to the collapse of the commodities broker Refco." Also highlighted was our track record at the US Supreme Court, where, The American Lawyer reported, the firm's "top-caliber appellate advocates won over a majority of the justices on topics ranging from free speech to immigration rights and patent law."
As summarized by WilmerHale Partner and Co-Chair of the IP Litigation Practice Mark Selwyn: "[Apple v. Samsung] is probably a sign of things to come for how litigation will be fought. We're litigating around the clock, 24/7. The world is becoming a smaller place."
These cases and several others are highlighted in The American Lawyer's January 2014 issue. Read the full article about WilmerHale's recognition as the IP Litigation Department of the Year.