Lionel Marks Lavenue

Lionel Marks Lavenue is a highly experienced patent trial lawyer and partner at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, where his practice emphasizes complex patent litigation and strategic patent portfolio management. He is recognized for his work defending technology-driven businesses against patent infringement assertions. Lavenue's technical focus spans a broad range of areas, including financial services, electrical systems, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data processing, automated decision-making technologies, business methods, software, and mechanical/electrical devices. He also counsels aviation and aerospace companies on intellectual property issues, particularly concerning UAV and rotorcraft technologies.

With extensive experience in over 220 patent cases, Lavenue has served as lead counsel in more than 60 district court litigations, notably in the Eastern District of Texas. His defense-oriented practice is marked by launching "multifront defense campaigns" for innovative companies, leading to the dismissal of high-value patent claims and significant cost savings for clients. He has a track record of handling nearly a dozen patent infringement matters before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and over a dozen Section 337 disputes at the U.S. International Trade Commission. He has also argued dozens of Markman hearings and numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Lavenue is particularly active and proficient in post-grant proceedings, having led the filing of nearly 200 inter partes review (IPR) and covered business method (CBM) petitions, including some of the earliest IPR challenges. He has also directed approximately 100 defensive patent reexaminations. His expertise in this area is further evidenced by his co-authorship of articles on PTAB joinder and IPR time-bar rulings.

Academically, Lavenue holds an M.S. in Information Systems from George Mason University (1997), an LL.M. in Patent Law and Government Procurement Law from George Washington University Law School (1994), a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law (1992), and a B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University (1988). He was also a Fulbright Scholar, studying international intellectual property law at the Max Planck Institute in Munich.