David S. Frist

I'll research this attorney before writing the summary.

Let me look deeper at his profile and the tracked cases.

David S. Frist — Partner, Alston & Bird LLP (Atlanta), Intellectual Property Litigation Group

Focus. Frist's practice is patent litigation and enforcement, with a technology center of gravity in telecommunications — cellular/wireless standards work spanning 2G through 4G/5G, chipsets, antenna design, speech coding and GSM, and base-station/network infrastructure — plus computer software, object-oriented software, and various mechanical devices (e.g., prelubricated cable). The Alston & Bird bio describes his practice as "all areas of intellectual property litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on patent litigation and enforcement," and also lists trade secrets and post-grant proceedings among his related services. His pre-law background is technical: he worked as a senior product engineer/software developer for companies building web-based retail applications, and holds a B.A. in computer science from Duke.

Side preference. He is predominantly a defense-side litigator for operating companies. Of his four tracked appearances, three are defendant-side (Cobblestone Wireless LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc. — lead counsel; K.Mizra LLC v. Ciena Corporation — local counsel; Pegasus Wireless Innovation LLC v. Unknown Defendant — counsel) and one is plaintiff-side (Nokia Of America Corp. v. Spada Innovations Inc. — counsel). That roughly 3:1 defense tilt is consistent with his broader reported docket, which is dominated by defending Nokia, Ericsson, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Diebold, NCR, SunTrust, and Volusion against NPE/PAE and competitor assertions. He is not exclusively a defender, however: he has represented patent owners/complainants in affirmative matters (Diebold as ITC complainant, Southwire as patent owner, and Nokia in ITC actions against Apple).

Firm context. All four tracked appearances are at Alston & Bird, where he is a partner in the IP Litigation Group; the record shows no prior law-firm employer, so his entire patent litigation career appears to be at this firm. He works out of the Atlanta office but appears regularly in the Eastern District of Texas and before the ITC, and is licensed to practice before the USPTO as a registered patent attorney (Reg. No. 60,511).

Notable matters and PTAB. Prominent tracked matters include Cobblestone Wireless, LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc. (E.D. Tex. lead case No. 2:22-cv-00477), an NPE campaign asserting four RAN-layer LTE/5G patents against T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, with Nokia and Ericsson intervening; the case was resolved by a joint dismissal in October 2024, with Cobblestone's claims dismissed with prejudice and no fees or costs awarded. He is also counsel on the Pegasus Wireless Innovation litigation against Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile (E.D. Tex.) and the related petitioner-side IPR2025-00083 (Ericsson, Nokia, AT&T, Verizon, Google, T-Mobile v. Pegasus/KT Corp.), in which the Board instituted review of U.S. Patent No. 10,638,463 in June 2025. He appears regularly in PTAB post-grant proceedings, serving as lead or backup counsel on IPRs and CBMs (e.g., Ericsson IPR2024-01008 as lead counsel; Nokia IPR2022-00725 and IPR2021-00038 as backup; Volusion CBM2013-00017/-18). His ITC Section 337 experience includes 337-TA-1098 (Nokia/Alcatel Submarine Networks), 337-TA-989 and -972 (Diebold), 337-TA-1038/-1039 and 337-TA-701/-704/-710 (Nokia v. Apple), and 337-TA-800/-868 (InterDigital). He has been ranked among the top defendant-side patent litigators in Patexia's 2025 and 2026 Patent Litigation Reports, ranked in IAM Patent 1000 (Georgia, Litigation — Bronze) in 2026, listed in Best Lawyers (Litigation–Patent and Litigation–IP) since 2020, and named a 2019 BTI "Client Service All-Star."

Bar / education. Admitted in Georgia (2007) and registered to practice before the USPTO; J.D., magna cum laude, University of Georgia School of Law (2007), notes editor of the Georgia Law Review and Order of the Coif; B.A., computer science, Duke University (2002).

Note on sourcing: the tracked case list is authoritative for his appearances; details on the newer matters (including Nokia of America Corp. v. Spada Innovations Inc. and K.Mizra LLC v. Ciena) are limited to docket-level information, and no verified verdicts, Federal Circuit rulings, or settlement terms specific to him were located beyond what is described above.