Kevin Hardy

Kevin Hardy is a highly experienced trial lawyer specializing in intellectual property disputes, particularly patent litigation, patent license and royalty disputes, and antitrust cases involving intellectual property components. His practice frequently involves the licensing and enforcement of standard essential patents (SEPs), including complex multi-jurisdictional litigations. He handles a broad array of technologies, including smartphones, tablets, computer networks, semiconductors, optical transport networks, search and video algorithms, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Hardy also has experience with Hatch-Waxman litigation, representing pharmaceutical clients in "pay for delay" cases.

Hardy primarily represents defendants, typically large operating companies. His tracked case appearances are all on the defendant side, consistent with his firm profile which lists major technology clients such as Google, Samsung Electronics, MediaTek, Verizon, Avaya, and Celgene. He has a strong record of defending clients against patent infringement claims, often securing favorable outcomes.

He is currently a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, having joined the firm in July 2020. Prior to Quinn Emanuel, Hardy was a partner at Williams & Connolly, where he co-chaired the firm's Patent Litigation practice from 1999 to 2020.

Among his notable achievements, Hardy served as trial counsel for Samsung Electronics in a 2023 jury trial in Marshall, Texas, securing a complete defense verdict in a case concerning patents declared essential to the 4G/LTE standard. In the same year, he helped lead a team to a summary judgment victory in a licensing dispute involving the H.265/HEVC video compression standard. He was also co-lead trial counsel in a significant commercial IP arbitration between Samsung and Nokia, resolving a multi-billion dollar SEP licensing dispute for cellular phones and tablets. His experience extends to representing clients before the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Hardy earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1999, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also served as a law clerk for Judge Walter K. Stapleton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.