Melissa Richards Smith

Melissa Richards Smith is a partner at Gillam & Smith, LLP, specializing in patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Her practice is heavily focused on defending large technology companies. Based on her case history, she frequently litigates matters involving software, wireless communications standards, consumer electronics, and semiconductors. As noted in a 2025 litigation report, Ms. Smith was the single most active attorney in the U.S. representing defendants in patent cases from 2022 to 2024, underscoring her role as sought-after local counsel in a high-volume patent venue.

The provided data shows Ms. Smith has appeared exclusively for defendants, serving as local counsel for major operating companies. Her clients include prominent technology corporations such as Samsung, Amazon, T-Mobile, and Adobe. She has defended these companies against patent assertion entities and other plaintiffs in numerous cases, including Topwire LLC v. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, Atlas Global Technologies LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., and Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Adobe Systems Inc. While her firm handles cases for both plaintiffs and defendants, her practice is most notable for its extensive defense-side local counsel work.

Ms. Smith has spent her career at the Marshall, Texas-based firm Gillam & Smith. There is no public record of her regularly appearing as counsel in IPR or other PTAB proceedings, as her practice is centered on district court litigation.

Ms. Smith earned her J.D. from Baylor University School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1997.