ArentFox Schiff‘s patent prosecution group is led by Richard LaCava from New York who harnesses impressive expertise in the handling of the prosecution, procurement and enforcement of patents across a range of industry sectors. His team is well-regarded for its ‘first-class service and state of the art knowledge base’ and ably manages portfolios and related complex transactional matters. The team’s client list ranges from start-ups to multinational corporations and includes such well-known names as Mars and Microsoft. The team has presence on both the East and West Coast. Alongside LaCava in New York are Marylee Jenkins (extensive IP expertise); ‘fantastic attorney’ Paul Maier and IP specialist Michael Scarpati (biotech, pharma and diagnostics focus). ‘Standout partner’ Craig Gelfound splits his time between the firm’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. Attorneys to note in Washington DC include Richard Berman who is equipped to handle litigation, transactions and prosecution in the chemical, pharma and biotech spheres; James Bindseil who assists on both domestic and international IP matters; Wilburn Chesser; January 2024-promoted partner Brian Stevens; and Anna Lloyd who has experience handling PTAB cases. John K. Hsu departed from the DC office in March 2023 to an in-house role.

Fenwick & West LLP‘s patents team has a strong reputation for its impressive capabilities handling the gamut of work; one client remarked that it was 'successful in getting us patents issued that we never thought were possible'. The practice has Michael Farn and Rajiv Patel, described by clients as ‘the best’, at its helm, both work from the firm’s Silicon Valley hub. At the same office is Daniel Becker who has noteworthy expertise representing both biotech and pharma company clients in particular on the array of patent counseling matters, and Antonia Sequeira who focuses on biotech, high tech and device-related life sciences work. The ‘very thoughtful and creative’ San Francisco-based Hayan Yoon was promoted to partnership in January 2024. The team is well-equipped to handle lifecycle management, portfolio development, restructuring, post-issuance proceedings, due diligence matters and litigation, which are specialisms of New York’s Daniel Brownstone, while Carl Morales at the same office has experience handling pending or FDA-approved products’ patent portfolios and related prosecution cases. Also with strong abilities in diligence matters in relation to the IP aspects of M&A and financing transactions especially, is Silicon Valley’s ‘gem’ Robert Hulse who is noted as being ‘one of the smartest and most creative patent attorneys’. Meta and Instacart are examples of the international clients the group assists.

The patent prosecution group at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP is well-regarded for its provision of ‘outstanding, commercially-focused legal advice’, which includes the establishment, preparation, filing and management of patent portfolios; inventions and foreign protection issues, as well as the handling of reissues; re-examinations, IPRs, PGRs, and the scope of work that may arise from range of patent transactions, all of which the group handles for such renowned clients as FedEx Corporation, Toshiba Corporation and Google. The team is headed up by specialist Jeffrey Jacobstein and Cory Bell who leads the PTAB sub-team, both are based at the Boston office. Bell and Jacobstein lead alongside Boston-based managing partner Erika Harmon Arner who has a focus on PTAB and federal-level appeal cases and Anand Sharma who splits her time between both Boston and Reston. Among the team are an array of IP and tech experts, with attorneys to note in DC being Adriana Burgy who is experienced handling litigation in the chemical, pharma and biotech industry sectors; ‘great mentor’ Aaron Parker, Mark Feldstein and associate Gracie Mills . On the West Coast, Aaron Capron in Palo Alto has expertise handling post-grant proceedings pertaining to electronics, telecoms and software-based tech. Arpita Bhattacharyya stands out at the same office. Senior counsel Thomas Irving retired in March 2023.

Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP houses a patent prosecution team with impressive expertise across the remit of work which is highly regarded for its ‘in-depth expertise and global experience’. At the helm of the practice are medical device specialists Salima Merani who is noted by clients as being ‘simply wonderful’ and Sabing Lee who harnesses deep experience handling the array of patent-related matters; both work from the firm’s Orange County hub. Establishing, managing, protecting and expanding innovative product inventions and related patent portfolios of value in the hundreds of millions of dollars makes up a large part of the team’s workload. Its life sciences, medical devices, biotech, engineering and telecom expertise in particular sees that the team assists clients across industry sectors which range from start-ups to well-established brands. Harnik Shukla at the Irvine hub has a specialism in IPRs and complex prosecution cases, San Diego’s Jason Jardine is noted for his ‘profound strategy insight’ while Maria Stout at the same office ‘invariably has her client’s success at the forefront of her mind’. PTAB matters are also a key focus for the team, with Irvine-based Terry Tullis having particular expertise in such work, as is post-grant work which is the focus of Shannon Lam also based in Irvine. Lori Yamato and Jon Gurka have left the firm.

An extensive team of specialists oversee Baker Botts L.L.P.‘s collective, which is noted for its ‘dedication to staying at the forefront of the legal landscape’. Christa Brown-Sanford, high-tech specialist Samir Bhavsar and Chad Walters at the Dallas office, life sciences specialist Sandra Lee and Jennifer Tempesta in the New York hub, and Eliot Williams who co-leads from Palo Alto. Walters and Williams are both on the PTAB board, while Lee and Bhavsar have a particular focus on the patent prosecution side of the practice. The team’s workload incorporates a notable number of PTAB trial cases, patent litigation cases, post-grant proceedings before the USPTO and portfolio management matters for its client roster which includes names such as Samsung, Mastercard and Bank of America. There is a range of IP expertise across the group and it is noted that ‘the team’s diversity contributes to a richness of perspectives’. The ‘exceptional’ Matthew Avery in San Francisco is noteworthy for his ‘deep expertise in navigating the intricacies of patent prosecution’, while David Wu in Palo Alto has a particular focus on assisting research and development investment clients in complex cases.

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton‘s patent prosecution practice has a strong reputation for its capabilities assisting its portfolio of clients on complex matters which span the array of industries, from tech and education to healthcare, medical devices and pharma. Vaibhav Kadaba is well-established as an expert in IP litigation and heads up the practice from the firm’s Atlanta office. The group is described as ‘able to understand client needs and translate them into a patent portfolio strategy’ and the establishment, management and protection of portfolios is a large part of its workload as well as related transactional cases; Seattle’s Jesse Bennett has a focus on such work in both national and international contexts, as does Walnut Creek-based Joseph Snyder who is noted as ‘an expert in filing and prosecuting patents as well as managing worldwide IP portfolios and patent life cycle management’. Further, the team is well-equipped to assist with post-grant proceedings, with experience representing clients in IPRs and PGRs before the PTAB. Justin Krieger in Denver has expertise in such PTAB matters in particular.

The ‘proactive, diligent and rigorous’ patent prosecution offering at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP assists its portfolio of clients in such matters as the management of worldwide patent estates, advising namely on establishment, management, protection and due diligence.In Philadelphia, Louis Beardell harnesses expertise advising life sciences, chemical and defense sector companies as well as venture capital and private equity funds on the array of IP work. Dion Bregman who works from the Silicon Valley hub is described as ‘second-to-none’ in patent matters. Bregman and Beardell co-lead the team. Also in Silicon Valley is Gary Williams who focuses his practice on patent prosecution, pre-litigation patent validity, and infringement investigations. ‘Top line’ attorney Stephen Altieri based in Boston is noted for his capabilities providing ‘insights both on the patent side and on the science’ to his clients, while the ‘excellent’ Silicon Valley-based Manita Rawat is noted for her ‘diligent and high-quality work’. In San Francisco, Christina MacDougall has a focus on life sciences, chemistry and healthcare-related matters. Deping Chai departed from the Philadelphia office to an in-house role in August 2023.

The patent prosecution practice at Boston-based IP-focused firm Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., the attorneys of which are highly regarded for their ‘skill, intelligence, expertise and experience’, is headed up by Ed Gates. Its impressive client portfolio includes such names as Pfizer, Sony and Google. Its prosecution work includes advising such clients on all aspects of large-scale patent portfolios and handling protection, management and due diligence as well as FDA-related issues. The team also has well-established post-grant proceedings capabilities and is adept at handling IPRs before the PTAB, which is the area of particular focus of Richard Giunta. This side of the team’s practice was bolstered in July 2023 with the arrival of post-grant expert and ‘thought-leader’ Scott McKeown from Ropes & Gray LLP to its newly established Washington DC hub. Patrick Waller heads the biotech practice and is experienced assisting with life sciences-related patent strategy matters as is experienced attorney Hunter Baker. Heather DiPietrantonio specializes in strategic counseling and life cycle management of IP rights relating to life sciences, which is also an area of focus of Oona Johnstone; both are equipped to advise on matters with international scope. All practitioners noted are based in Boston unless stated otherwise.

Bookoff McAndrews‘ cohort is housed in its Washington DC hub. The team has significant experience handling the range of matters relating to patent prosecution, counseling and IP transactions on which it advises its client roster, formed of companies from start-ups to the Fortune500 listed. Computer and internet specialist and managing partner Christopher Agrawal leads the team in collaboration with Sangwoo Ahn, ‘exceedingly good’ attorney Jessica Winchester, patent counseling specialist Les Bookoff, Aaron Johnson who is equipped to advise international and domestic clients, tech-focused Kirsten Johnson, patent strategist advisor Jameson Ma, Roland McAndrews whose practice incorporates portfolio analysis in large part, which is an area of expertise shared by Dinesh Melwani and Elizabeth Shah who also co-head the practice. The group is highlighted for its ‘tangible commitment to diversity, particularly with respect to up-and-coming attorneys’. In January 2024 the team saw Ankit Aggarwal and Arash Hamidi promoted to partnership.

The patent prosecution group of ‘trusted partners’ at Cooley LLP is led from New York by Ivor Elrifi who is experienced handling work in both domestic and international contexts and chairs the firm’s global patent counseling and prosecution practice. Advising on worldwide portfolio development and strategy forms a substantial portion of the group’s workload; it is well-regarded for its ‘unwavering commitment to success’. The team has national coverage; in Palo Alto, Mika Reiner Mayer is a standout for her experience handling matters pertaining to patent due diligence reviews in connection with venture financing, IPOs and acquisitions. Patent acquisition and strategic counseling is an area of expertise of Boston’s Heidi Elracher. At the firm’s Seattle office, Bill Christiansen has capabilities across the remit of patent portfolio cases, while Washington DC's Chris Holly has particular expertise in life sciences-related patent matters. Amy Baker-Mandragouras departed from the Boston office to join Foley Hoag LLP in August 2023.

The collective at DLA Piper LLP (US) has been significantly bolstered by the arrival to the West Coast offices of a 30-lawyer IP team from Dentons which includes well-known names in patent prosecution; Peter Yim who has impressive experience handling IPR, PGR and re-examination work arrived to the San Diego office; team lead at his former firm Brian Ho, alongside Randy Omid and Parker Kuhl to San Francisco; Christopher Eide to Palo Alto; and Michael Swett to Seattle. Another key name in San Diego is Lisa Haile who has particular expertise in tech-related cases. Biopharma, life sciences and manufacturing are all industry sectors the team’s workload covers; its cases frequently include assisting with the key elements of the granting of worldwide patents, managing and establishing portfolios and representing clients in the array of patent prosecution as well as litigation matters. Sean Cunningham in San Diego, San Francisco-based Gina Durham and Larissa Bifano who works from the firm’s Boston hub collectively oversee the practice.

Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.‘s ‘incredibly knowledgeable’ patent prosecution collective is led by Andrew Lowes and David O’Dell from Plano alongside Jeffrey Wolfson who has strong capabilities advising the range of companies on patent strategy matters in particular, from Washington DC. Also in Plano is David McCombs who has impressive experience representing clients in complex trial matters. Clients the team assists include such names at Twitter and Paypal. It is experienced representing clients in administrative matters at the USPTO, namely IPRs, CBMs and PGRs before the PTAB; such work is the focus of Austin-based Raghav Bajaj. Further, it ably handles patent prosecution and transactional matters, filing, enforcing and developing well-known clients’ design rights as well as managing their portfolios. Alan Wang departed from the Dallas office in July 2023 to an in-house role.

Global head of the IP practice group William Gaede who splits his time between Silicon Valley and San Franciso, and global head of the patent prosecution group and ‘well-recognized thought leader’ Ahsan Shaikh who splits his time between Silicon Valley and Chicago, oversee the practice at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. The team is highlighted for its ‘distinctive ability to focus on their client’s key value drivers’. The design and implementation of patent filing strategies and the management of portfolios forms a predominant portion of the team’s workload; it notably works on patent application drafting and examination strategies for Meta Platforms. Life sciences and tech are the focus areas for the group. Team changes include the departures of Michael Fogarty, Tokashi Saito, Tomoki Tanida, Jenny Chen, and Michael Siekman.

The life sciences, food and agribusiness, and high-tech industries are focus areas for Morrison Foerster‘s ‘fantastic’ patent prosecution group which is equipped to handle high-value and often cross-jurisdictional work. Michael Ward who works between Boston and San Francisco oversees the practice and harnesses a niche specialism in crop protection and plant IP work, as well as impressive experience handling patent portfolios and securing protection for new plant varieties. Also standouts in San Francisco are Jie Zhou and Anita Choi. Biopharma and tech are areas of particular focus in an IP context for Catherine Polizzi in Palo Alto. In San Diego, Karen Potter is focused on assisting companies with patent preparation, prosecution, and strategic counselling. Potter and Polizzi, along with San Francisco-based Jie Zhou, are described as ‘exceptional patent practitioners’. Boston-based Jonathan Bockman leads the practice on the East Coast; Bockman has noteworthy capabilities handling domestic and international level portfolio management, prosecution, due diligence and validity determination cases, as well as related litigation.

Arnold & Porter‘s patent prosecution cohort is co-led from Washington DC by experienced trial lawyer Matthew Wolf and from Chicago by Dina Hayes. The team frequently acts as counsel in defense of its client’s patent portfolios against post-grant challenges and in appeals and re-examinations; the team is experienced defending IPR and PGR challenges before the PTAB. The industry sectors the practice’s client list spans include pharma and biotech. David Marsh is a key name in DC whose expertise is in IP counseling, inter partes and ex parte cases, Hatch-Waxman Act-related issues and patent procurement work. Senior associate Alice Ho is a name to note at the same office for her work across the biotech, medical devices, pharma and life sciences industry sectors.

‘Seasoned partner in patent prosecution’ Richard Wells who is based in Washington DC, is a key name to note in Baker McKenzie LLP‘s patent prosecution team, which has IP litigation specialist John Flaim at its helm. At the same base, Mackenzie Martin is focused on litigation, counseling, licensing and portfolio strategy matters while Vas Vedantam has particular expertise assisting in patent procurement relating to software and hardware tech. Jessica Greenwald, also in Dallas, is experienced managing and strategizing portfolios with international scope. The practice’s caseload features matters involving prosecuting patent applications to issuance, assisting in USPTO proceedings, and securing and safeguarding invention rights.

BakerHostetler‘s patent prosecution group is noted for its ‘integrated approach of highly skilled professionals in multiple practice areas’. Its workload consists of patent prosecution and portfolio management often for longstanding clients spanning sectors including pharma, higher education, manufacturing and tech. The cases the team handles are frequently cross-jurisdictional in nature. Mark Tidman oversees the group from Washington DC. Names to note include Denver-based Timothy Worrall who is ‘well-versed in strategic patent strategy and patent development’, the ‘wonderful’ Brendan Clark who works from Cleveland, the ‘exceptional’ Mark Krietzman and Mark Itri, both based in Costa Mesa, and Ronald Kern and Felicity Groth who are both based in Philadelphia and well-regarded for their provision of ‘expert legal guidance’.

From the firm’s Boston base, pharma research specialist Kristen Buteau and Brian Reese co-lead Choate, Hall & Stewart‘s patent prosecution group which is noted as making ‘everything so easy for the client’. The team has a focus on life sciences-related work in particular; expert in the sector Brenda Herschbach Jarrell is a standout member of the cohort, who is highlighted as being ‘particularly creative with her IP solutions for many prosecution, diligence and other matters’. The ‘truly exceptional’ Charles Lyon is equipped to assist investors and life sciences companies in their IP matters, while Stephanie Schonewald has particular expertise handling potentially contentious cases for biotech and pharma companies. Attorney John Rearick departed to Dechert LLP in July 2023.

Dechert LLP‘s Boston-based patent prosecution team is well-known for its capabilities in all patent prosecution matters as well as in portfolio management for its clients. The team’s workload includes advising on IP due diligence and negotiations, and on the sale and acquisition of patent portfolios. The cases are often of considerable value and vary between domestic and international in scope. The life sciences industry is the team’s key focus area and it also has an increasing focus on biologics. The team heads Andrea Reid and Andrew Wilkins are described as being ‘very experienced, engaged and responsive lead partners’, with key attorney to note in the team being Chad Davis.

At the helm of Eversheds Sutherland‘s patent prosecution team are multiple specialists, being Kevin King and Peter Pappas who are both based in Atlanta and have experience representing clients in global IP matters, San Diego’s Christopher Bolten and Nash Zogaib who works from the Austin office. Managing patent portfolios and providing strategic and technical advice therein for its client list which spans industry sectors including manufacturing, telecoms, medical devices and tech, makes up a large portion of the team’s caseload. Further, the team is equipped to handle PTAB-related work. Umar Bakhsh is a name to note in Atlanta for his specialism handling IP procurement, enforcement, and transactional matters.

Greenberg Traurig‘s ‘top-notch’ team has strong national coverage of the US with co-heads of the practice Barry Schindler, Melissa Hunter-Ensor and Heath Briggs working from the firm’s New Jersey, Boston and Denver offices respectively; the three also co-chair the firm’s global patent prosecution group. The Atlanta team was bolstered in August 2023 with the arrival of patent specialist Trenton Ward from Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP. The team is equipped to advise clients from start-ups to such well-known companies as Yahoo and Capital One on the array of patent matters. In Boston, ‘very well-respected attorney’ Chinh Pham has experience representing start-ups, while the ‘brilliant’ David Dykeman has notable expertise in life sciences and medical tech work.

Norton Rose Fulbright‘s patent prosecution practice is well-equipped to handle the gamut of matters, including filing and prosecuting patent and design applications; performing due diligence and infringement studies; and handling post-grant proceedings. Key team members at the practice include ‘go-to’ attorney Eagle Robinson who is based in Austin. At the same office, Gina Shishima who also spends time at the New York hub, stands out for her biotech/pharma specialism. Tim Kenny in Minneapolis is another name to note. In San Francisco, Jason Novak and Roger Kuan are key practitioners. Robinson and Kenny co-head.

Paul Hastings LLP‘s patent prosecution practice has Washington DC-based Naveen Modi at its head. Modi leads the team in collaboration with Bruce Wexler and Eric Dittmann  who both work from the firm’s New York office. Post-grant proceedings matters are a fundamental aspect of the team’s workload, including representing its clients in IPR, PGR and CBM review cases before the PTAB. In DC alongside Modi are key attorneys Joseph Palys who has a particular focus on leading PTAB trials across a wide-range of technologies and Phillip Citroën who has experience representing clients before the PTAB, district courts, Federal circuit, and the ITC.