Williams & Connolly has a long-standing reputation as one of the nation’s premier litigation firms, with a cadre of top-tier trial lawyers. The firm is regularly recognized as a leader in lifesciences, intellectual property, and products liability by Managing IP, LMG Life Sciences, and Chambers USA, among others. Recent recognitions include The National Law Journal’s 2017 “Washington Litigation Department of the Year” for Products Liability, and one of the top four patent litigation practices nationally for 2017 by IAM Patent 1000 - The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.
Patent litigation and licensing disputes. Williams & Connolly is the “go-to” intellectual property litigation firm for many of the biggest companies and most important cases. The patent litigation group marries the experience of seasoned firstchair trial lawyers with that of a team of scientifically trained lawyers, including ten former Federal Circuit clerks and thirteen members of the patent bar. Their collective strength is in mastering the technical and scientific issues raised by patent disputes, providing a nuanced understanding of the relevant legal issues, and describing them in ways that both judges and juries easily can understand.
Williams & Connolly represents both U.S. and international market leaders, large and small, in a wide range of sectors for which patent litigation is a critical and essential component of the company’s asset-protection strategy. In the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Genentech/Roche, AstraZeneca, and its division MedImmune, Bayer, and Novartis and its division Alcon entrust critical patent litigation to the firm.
The firm has represented both patentees and alleged infringers in litigation and post-grant review proceedings spanning a wide range of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, electronics, and software. Williams & Connolly’s patent lawyers are outside counsel of choice for many leading corporations in the life sciences arena in matters including:
• Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical litigation against generic companies • Wide-ranging patent, licensing, and trade secret litigation for biotechnology companies
• Patent and licensing disputes on behalf of medical device manufacturers
• Representing petitioners and patent owners in inter partes review proceedings
• Representing major law firms in professional responsibility claims of malpractice rising from their patent litigation or prosecution work
Recent practice highlights include:
• Successful representation of Pfizer and several of its subsidiaries at trial and on appeal against a generic manufacturer attempting to sell a version of a Pfizer anticancer drug.
• Successful representation as lead counsel for Bayer in several Hatch-Waxman cases relating to Bayer’s erectile dysfunction drug products
Levitra® and Staxyn®.
• Successful defense of Eli Lilly in two bench trials over the validity and infringement of a Lilly patent protecting its blockbuster anticancer drug Alimta®, which has annual U.S. sales of over $1 billion.
• Successful representation of Mirowski Family Ventures in a jury trial that returned a $309 million verdict against Boston Scientific Corporation for breach of contract and patent licensing issues related to its implantable cardioverter defibrillator and won on appeal.
Products liability
Williams & Connolly is also a recognized force in the products liability arena, and is home to some of the most successful products trial lawyers in the country. The team has extensive experience representing pharmaceutical and medical device makers and distributors in all aspects of national and international litigation as lead trial counsel, national or global coordinating counsel, “endgame”/resolution counsel, and appellate counsel. With several dozen attorneys who spend more than half their time on products litigation, the firm regularly represents many of the world’s leading companies in highstakes litigation in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia.
Recent practice highlights include:
• Representation of Bayer, Genentech, Stryker, Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, Medtronic, and Endo Pharmaceuticals in products litigation
• Several recent trial victories for life sciences clients, including jury trial wins for Alcon and for Pfizer/Wyeth
• Several recent appellate victories on the issue of “innovator liability”
• Multiple defeats of class certification
• Serving as lead national counsel in diabetes products litigation, national counsel on Viagra- melanoma litigation, resolution counsel on two major litigations (each involving thousands of cases), and trial counsel in multiple drug and device litigations
Commercial Litigation
Williams & Connolly lawyers handle virtually every kind of complex commercial litigation imaginable for businesses in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, with a particular emphasis on preparing and taking cases to trial.
Recent practice highlights include:
• Defended Alcon Research against $400+ million in contract and trade secret claims: 2017 jury trial defense verdict on contract claims, and defense summary judgment on trade secret claims.
• Represented Pfizer in $100+ million commercial dispute: 2017 arbitration award on all claims before the AAA’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR).
• Representation of Eli Lilly, Cardinal Health, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Omnicare, and Bristol- Myers Squibb in a range of complex cases.
Antitrust, white collar and government investigations
Life sciences clients, including those in the pharmaceutical and other healthcare sectors, also look to Williams & Connolly in the face of significant and complex antitrust, white collar and government investigation matters.
Recent practice highlights include:
• Representation of many significant life sciences and healthcare companies navigating government investigations including Pfizer, Wyeth, CVS Health, Medco Health Solutions, Express Scripts, Cardinal Health, Emerge Medical, Liberty Health Care, Omnicare, and Sunrise Senior Living.
• Successfully defending AstraZeneca in landmark antitrust litigation seeking $60 billion in alleged damages.
