Williams & Connolly
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 life
sciences, 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.
For more information, please visit www.wc.com, or contact our practice co-chairs:
Patent
Adam Perlman (202-434-5244; aperlman@wc.com)
Tom Selby (202-434-5066; tselby@wc.com)
Products Liability
Heidi Hubbard (202-434-5451; hhubbard@wc.com)
Joe Petrosinelli (202-434-5547; jpetrosinelli@wc.com)
Antitrust
John Schmidtlein (202-434-5901; jschmidtlein@wc.com)
Jonathan Pitt (202-434-5341; jpitt@wc.com)
White Collar/Government Investigations
David Zinn (202-434-5880; dzinn@wc.com)
Joe Petrosinelli (202-434-5547; jpetrosinelli@wc.com)
725 Twelfth Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
20005
Tel: +1 (202) 434-5000
US
General Patent Litigation
Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Branded)
| Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Branded) — Highly recommended |
|---|
| Covington & Burling |
| Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner |
| Fish & Richardson |
| Paul Hastings |
| Sidley Austin |
| Venable |
| Williams & Connolly |
| WilmerHale |
| Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Branded) — Recommended |
|---|
| Arnold & Porter |
| Bartlit Beck |
| Dechert |
| Goodwin Procter |
| Jones Day |
| Kirkland & Ellis |
| Mayer Brown |
| Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan |
Product Liability
| Lawyer | Section | Practice Area | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berl, David I | Intellectual Property | Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Berniker, Jessamyn S | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation, Patent Strategy & Management, Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Blatt, Lisa | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Butswinkas, Dane | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability, Antitrust | Washington, D.C. |
| Cooper, Richard M | Regulatory | FDA: Pharmaceutical | Washington, D.C. |
| Gaffney, Paul | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Genderson, Bruce R | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation, Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Heard, Lane | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Hubbard, Heidi | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability, Antitrust, White-Collar/Govt. Investigations | Washington, D.C. |
| Mainigi, Enu | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | White-Collar/Govt. Investigations | Washington, D.C. |
| Perlman, Adam L | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation, Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Petrosinelli, Joseph | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Selby, Thomas H L | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation, Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
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Intellectual Property
Williams & Connolly
DC firm Williams & Connolly receives top rankings in all areas of patent litigation in the life sciences industry. The firm is well known for its capabilities in Hatch-Waxman disputes, and for its position as a leading practice in biosimilars litigations. "Williams & Connolly has been on an absolute tear," a peer says. "I don't know what they're doing, but their name is everywhere." Another competitor says: "That's a firm that's always impressed. They have a longstanding tradition of doing outstanding litigation work."
The firm's Hatch-Waxman group is regarded by a competitor as the "cream of the crop" on the branded side. Bruce Genderson is a mainstay in the practice area, carrying a national reputation for his work representing high-profile clients like Bayer, Eli Lilly, Alcon, and others in patent disputes. He is currently defending Bayer in a multibillion-dollar patent infringement suit brought by Biogen related to the client's Betaseron product. Adam Perlman, described as "smart" and "confident" by a competitor, is another top ANDA litigator at the firm and co-chair of the patent litigation group. He recently represented Alcon in a Hatch-Waxman dispute that upheld the validity of the company's patent covering ophthalmic drug Pazeo.
David Berl and Jessamyn Berniker are helming some of the firm's significant biosimilars litigations, including a patent licensing suit for AstraZeneca entity MedImmune against AbbVie. The team was successful in dismissing AbbVie's case with prejudice, which was later affirmed on appeal at the Federal Circuit. A peer says the firm's biopharma litigators are "very aggressive" and a "good adversary." Berl is described by a competitor as a "real, outstanding life sciences litigator."
Paul Gaffney made the stars list this year for his meaningful work in biosimilars disputes. He currently represents Genentech in two biopharma suits, including a challenge made by Amgen related to antibody drug Avastin. Also of note is Thomas Fletcher, an up-and-coming patent practitioner who received recognition this year as Intellectual Property Rising Star at the LMG Life Sciences Awards.
Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement
Williams & Connolly
As a purely litigation-based shop, Washington DC's Williams & Connolly is revered as a "crown jewel" of the dispute resolution world, with many of its practitioners regularly called upon to actually go to trial. While the firm's individual and collective trial prowess extends well beyond the life sciences industry, Williams & Connolly has seen some particularly noteworthy successes in this arena.
The firm's product liability capacity in particular has seen a nearly uninterrupted streak of wins, with practitioners Joseph Petrosinelli, addressed by peers as "their real 'stud' over there now," and Heidi Hubbard being the most prominent personalities. Hubbard, a noted specialist in the pharmaceutical and medical device field, secured another triumph in June 2017, when a Delaware jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of Alcon in a $400 million matter. Enu Mainigi, a specialist in white-collar, fraud and False Claims Act matters, represents CVS Health and CVS Pharmacy in a putative class action relating to its Health Savings Pass generic discount drug program.
All-purpose trial ace Dane Butswinkas leads a team that was retained to represent Celgene in two significant antitrust cases that are being widely followed by the antitrust bar: Mylan v. Celgene, which involves allegations that Celgene delayed Mylan's development of generic versions of Thalomid and Revlimid by refusing to sell samples of branded product to Mylan for purposes of conducting bioequivalency testing; and In re: Thalomid & Revlimid Antitrust Litigation, putative class-action litigation on behalf of indirect purchasers of these drugs who allege that Celgene engaged in various conduct to delay development of generic versions of these drugs.