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 |
| Jones Day |
| Kirkland & Ellis |
| Mayer Brown |
| O'Melveny & Myers |
| 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 | Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation, Patent Strategy & Management, General Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Blatt, Lisa | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Butswinkas, Dane | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Antitrust, Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Gaffney, Paul | Intellectual Property | General Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Genderson, Bruce R | Intellectual Property | Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation, General Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
| Heard, Lane | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Hubbard, Heidi | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Antitrust, White-Collar/Govt. Investigations, Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Mainigi, Enu | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | White-Collar/Govt. Investigations | Washington, D.C. |
| Petrosinelli, Joseph | Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement | Product Liability | Washington, D.C. |
| Selby, Thomas H L | Intellectual Property | Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation, General Patent Litigation | Washington, D.C. |
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Intellectual Property
Williams & Connolly
DC litigation boutique Williams & Connolly is highly ranked across litigation areas, including general patent litigation and Hatch-Waxman disputes. A peer calls the firm "absolutely tier-one" in patent litigation. "I think they have one of the best practices in this area." Another peer says, "Williams & Connolly is a preeminent general patent litigation firm." The firm frequently represents branded pharmaceutical makers and is one of the leading practices for biologics disputes.
Patent litigation practice founder Bruce Genderson is "really superb" according to a peer, and is one of the firm's acclaimed trial lawyers focused on Hatch-Waxman disputes. He recently acted for Bayer in a significant matter involving anticoagulant drug Xarelto. The case concluded when a District of Delaware judge upheld the validity of the client's patent, rejecting the generic opponents' claims. Genderson was awarded Branded Hatch-Waxman Litigator of the Year by LMG Life Sciences in 2019, and the firm was similarly awarded Firm of the Year in this area.
In the large molecule space, partner David Berl is a go-to litigator for biologics cases. He currently represents AstraZeneca against Bristol-Myers Squibb in a dispute related to immunotherapy drug Imfinzi. "David Berl deserves the accolades he gets," a peer says. "He's one of the best lawyers I've seen working in this space." Another peer describes Berl as a "fierce adversary" and someone who "operates at a high level." Paul Gaffney is acting for Genentech in a biosimilar challenge against Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim and Hospira. The disputes, which involve IPRs and district court proceedings, are currently pending.
Non-IP Litigation & Enforcement
Williams & Connolly
As a purely litigation-based shop, Washington DC's Williams & Connolly is routinely engaged on the front lines of virtually any litigation matter. An appreciative client cheers the firm's "outstanding work and success record," addressing the firm as being "brilliant both strategically and in terms of technical/scientific work-up and understanding of the cases." 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.
In the product liability capacity, widely championed trial lawyers Heidi Hubbard and Joseph Petrosinelli continue to garner nearly unanimous plaudits from their peers in the pharmaceutical and medical device arena. The firm also got a significant augmentation in the appellate capacity when Lisa Blattrejoined the firm after the lengthy stint at Arnold & Porter. "Lisa Blatt really has a 'hot hand' in those appeals for pharma industry players," observes a peer, "and she brought clients back with her, such as Bayer and GSK, back to Williams & Connolly with her. She actually won a big case in the Seventh Circuit regarding Paxil." Enu Mainigi, a noted white-collar and enforcement and antitrust partner, has doubled down on her dedication to the life sciences field through her representation of Cardinal Health and CVS in the massive and unprecedented opioid litigation.