Melissa S. Smith

I'll research this attorney and the tracked case before drafting.

Let me verify the tracked case and dig into notable outcomes.

Let me check PTAB/IPR activity and the Lemko docket for her appearance.

Identity note: The tracked record lists "Melissa S. Smith" of Gillam & Smith. The attorney who matches that firm, role, and case is Melissa R. (Richards) Smith, a partner at Gillam & Smith, LLP in Marshall, Texas (State Bar No. 24001351). I could not independently confirm her appearance in the Lemko docket from public sources, and the middle-initial discrepancy is unexplained; the summary below assumes the match but should be treated as probable rather than verified.

Firm context and role. Smith is a partner in Gillam & Smith, LLP, a Marshall, Texas litigation boutique. Per the firm's Super Lawyers profile, she has practiced with her partner since 1997 and the two formed the partnership in 2004; no prior firm history surfaced in public records. Her practice is essentially the classic Eastern District of Texas local-counsel model — she enters appearances alongside out-of-state lead counsel (WilmerHale, Fish & Richardson, Kramer Levin, Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley) in Marshall- and Tyler-division patent cases.

Technology focus. Her patent docket is concentrated in wireless and telecommunications standards (4G/LTE and cellular/network infrastructure), plus consumer electronics, software, and life-sciences/automotive matters. Tracked and publicly reported examples include Optis Wireless v. Apple (LTE standard-essential patents), ASUS Technology Licensing and Headwater Research v. Samsung, Lemko v. AT&T (private 5G edge networks), Patent Armory v. Microsoft, Pantech wireless cases, a Valeo matter, and the Canadian Solar/Maxeon dispute. The tracked Lemko Corp. v. AT&T Inc. (E.D. Tex. 2:25-cv-00305, Judge Gilstrap) asserts seven Lemko NFV/mobile-edge patents against AT&T's Private 5G Edge platform; Kramer Levin led for Lemko.

Side preference. The tracked data shows one plaintiff-side appearance and zero defendant-side, but that single-case snapshot understates a genuinely two-sided practice: public filings show her most often as local counsel for operating-company defendants (Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, DISH, Pantech), with occasional plaintiff-side engagements (Lemko; Rare Breed Triggers). She is best described as side-neutral local counsel rather than an NPE/PAE-focused plaintiffs' lawyer.

Notable outcomes. The most prominent is Optis Wireless v. Apple: after a $506M verdict (2020) and a $300M damages retrial (2021) were vacated (the Federal Circuit reversed on the verdict form), Smith was part of the trial team that won a jury defense verdict of no infringement of all five asserted 4G LTE patents in February 2026 — coverage named her alongside WilmerHale's Mueller and Selwyn as AmLaw "Litigators of the Week." She also appeared in the PTAB as counsel for patent owner Pantech in LG Electronics v. Pantech (IPR2023-01267 et al.), among other IPR/CBM proceedings — typically as local/district-court counsel rather than as a registered patent practitioner.

Bar/education. Admitted in Texas (1997); also admitted in the E.D., N.D., S.D., and W.D. of Texas, the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. B.A., University of Texas (1994); J.D., Baylor University (Martindale lists 1997; a Super Lawyers profile says 1996 — sources conflict). Board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a director of the National Board of Patent Litigation.