Kelly C. Hunsaker

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Kelly C. Hunsaker — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Specialty / focus. Hunsaker is a patent and IP trial lawyer whose practice centers on high‑tech patent litigation. Her Winston & Strawn bio and press coverage describe work spanning computer software and hardware, cloud computing and virtualization, networking (including 802.11/Wi‑Fi and software‑defined networking), network security and encryption, digital‑rights management, microprocessors and semiconductors, mobile devices/consumer electronics, database and graphics software, fintech/payment systems, and LCD/display and optical‑laser technology. She also lists experience in mechanical devices, methods of manufacturing, material sciences, pharmaceuticals, and sporting goods. Her tracked docket is consistent with the high‑tech focus (telecom infrastructure, operating‑system/software defendants, and a semiconductor/antitrust matter). She is a frequent writer/speaker on AI‑and‑IP issues and patent damages.

Side preference. Her tracked appearances skew heavily to the defense side — 4 defendant roles versus 1 plaintiff role — and that matches her public practice description, which is built around representing large operating companies as defendants (e.g., Microsoft/Affirmed Networks, AT&T, Snap, NVIDIA). The single plaintiff‑side appearance corresponds to representation of a privately held laser design/manufacturer as plaintiff in a laser‑alignment case, i.e., a practicing company rather than an NPE/PAE monetization model. Net: primarily a defense‑side litigator for technology operating companies, not a frequent NPE/PAE plaintiff's counsel.

Firm context. Hunsaker is a partner at Winston & Strawn and, since June 2022, managing partner of the firm's Silicon Valley office (she succeeded Kathi Vidal in that role). She joined Winston in July 2021 from Fish & Richardson, where she was a principal in the Silicon Valley office; press coverage describes her arrival at Winston as coming directly from Fish. Reported prior‑firm dates for her Fish tenure (one aggregator shows ~1998–2016, with an unexplained gap before 2021) conflict with that coverage, so the exact end date at Fish is not reliably sourced; her earlier years were as an associate at Ropers Majeski.

Notable cases / outcomes and PTAB. The most prominent tracked matter is Lemko Corp. v. Microsoft Corp. and Affirmed Networks (N.D. Tex.), where she was lead counsel for the defendants: the court granted in part the defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion and dismissed Lemko's direct and indirect infringement claims (Sept. 2023), and Microsoft prevailed in the parallel IPRs (IPR2023‑00530/‑00531) — with the Federal Circuit affirming the PTAB's invalidity finding on appeal No. 24‑2336 (Rule 36 judgment, Apr. 10, 2026; argued for appellees by a Winston colleague). She is also credited by IAM and by Am Law Litigation Daily (Litigator of the Week, Sept. 2024) as central to a "no‑damages" summary‑judgment win for Microsoft in a patent case (Judge Pitman, W.D. Tex.). Other tracked matters include Xockets, Inc. v. NVIDIA (W.D. Tex., antitrust/patent), Sterling Computers v. Microsoft, QuickVault v. AutoNation, and Ask Sydney, LLC v. Snap Inc. (Fed. Cir. appellee). Her PTAB/ITC work is recurring: her firm bio expressly covers PTAB proceedings and ITC investigations, and she has appeared in IPR matters (e.g., an early Microsoft‑side IPR) and on the appellate side of PTAB appeals.

Bar / education. Admitted to the California bar (Dec. 14, 1993); J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1993); B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin (1990). She was a judicial extern to Justice Carl West Anderson, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District.