Conor McDonough

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Conor McDonough — patent litigation summary

Focus areas. McDonough's tracked patent work centers on biometric authentication and mobile-payment technology — the Proxense, LLC campaigns over personal-digital-key (PDK) and fingerprint-authentication patents. His published practice description (Gish PLLC biography) extends to wireless networking and LTE physical-layer radio hardware, FRAND/standard-essential patent disputes (Wi-Fi and video compression), non-volatile memory, and cybersecurity, along with life-sciences matters including BPCIA/biosimilar litigation and medical devices. He holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience, which is the stated basis for his work on biotechnology and antibody-analysis disputes; there is no mechanical-engineering or pharma small-molecule patent practice disclosed in the sources reviewed.

Side preference. He is predominantly plaintiff-side. Of four tracked appearances, three are plaintiff-side and all four are tied to Proxense's assertion campaigns in the Western District of Texas (Judge Alan Albright). Because the single "defendant" entry corresponds to the Samsung IPR proceedings in which Proxense was the respondent patent owner rather than the accused infringer, the plaintiff/NPE-facing tilt is stronger than the raw count suggests. Since moving firms in 2024, his publicly docketed work is defense- and petitioner-side (Ascend Elements against Duesenfeld; Zydex on Federal Circuit appeal), so his current practice is more balanced than the tracked Hecht-era record.

Firm context. All tracked cases were at Hecht Partners LLP, where he was listed as counsel alongside David L. Hecht, Maxim Price, and James Zak; earlier in his career he was at Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht (Hecht's predecessor), and before that an associate in the patent litigation groups at Ropes & Gray and Paul, Weiss. He withdrew from Hecht matters in March 2024 and is now a partner at Gish PLLC in New York. A third-party database (TheOrg) also lists a 2023 in-house role at Ixcela; I could not confirm that from a firm or court source and would treat it as unverified.

Notable matters and PTAB. In Proxense v. Samsung (W.D. Tex.), Samsung settled on the eve of trial in February 2023 — resolved by consent judgment and dismissal with prejudice, with no ruling on validity or infringement; the PTAB had declined institution on three of Samsung's five IPRs. Proxense v. Google was dropped by Proxense in January 2025 before trial, and Proxense v. Microsoft was also pending. Subsequent PTAB decisions (June–July 2025) invalidated several Proxense claims; those post-date his departure from Proxense's counsel team and should not be attributed to him. He does have regular post-grant experience: patent-owner-side work in the Samsung and Google IPRs (e.g., IPR2021-01438, IPR2024-00232/233/234) and petitioner-side work at Gish (Ascend Elements v. Duesenfeld, IPR2024-00948).

Bar and education. J.D., Fordham (2009); Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania (2006); A.B., Bowdoin (1999). Admitted in New York and Massachusetts, with admissions to the S.D.N.Y., D. Mass., and the First and Federal Circuits.