Michael A. McKool, Jr.

I'll research this attorney before writing the summary.

Let me disambiguate the "Jr." and check for a distinct attorney record.

Let me verify his post-2023 firm status and PTAB involvement.

Michael A. McKool, Jr. — Patent Litigation Summary

Note on identity. "Michael A. McKool, Jr." (Texas Bar No. 13732100) is the McKool Smith co-founder and long-time chairman who practices professionally as Mike McKool; his father, Mike McKool Sr., was also a Texas trial lawyer. Court filings and firm materials use "Mike McKool" and "Michael A. McKool, Jr." interchangeably, and the profile below reflects that person.

Specialty / focus. McKool's patent work sits inside a broader high-stakes trial practice, with the docket concentrated in software and telecommunications: product-pricing software (Versata), document-processing/software patents (i4i), wireless and voice-over-LTE communications (WiLAN), digital wireless standards (Ericsson v. Qualcomm / v. InterDigital), semiconductor and computer hardware (Rambus), and medical devices (Medtronic stent patents). He also handled mechanical/consumer-electronics matters such as V-chip television technology (Parental Guide v. Funai). There is no pharma or life-sciences patent footprint in the sources reviewed. His practice descriptions emphasize that he tries cases across subject areas rather than specializing in one technology.

Side preference. The tracked list is one plaintiff-side and one defendant-side appearance with McKool Smith — too small a sample to be representative, and it likely under-reflects a docket that public reporting shows is far larger. Historically he worked both sides, with a heavier plaintiff emphasis: contingent-fee patent prosecution for technology owners (i4i, Versata, Rambus, WiLAN, Eolas, Excel Communications) alongside defense of operating companies, including American Airlines (Katz Technology Licensing IVR patents), Ericsson, Medtronic and Lockheed Martin. He is not an NPE/PAE-only practitioner and has publicly described the firm's substantial defense-side patent practice, which tends not to generate headlines.

Firm context. McKool spent essentially his entire career at McKool Smith, which he co-founded with Phillip N. Smith, Jr. in Dallas in 1991 and led as chairman/CEO; he stepped down as chairman in 2021, moved to emeritus shareholder status, and resigned from the firm in May 2023 to form a new firm so he could take on a client matter the firm was conflicted out of (client and firm not publicly identified). Before 1991 he was at Dallas's Hewett Johnson Swanson & Barbee (later Johnson & Gibbs), where he rose to head of litigation and co-managing partner. He has no in-house role; he is also a founding director of the private-equity firm Outlander Capital.

Notable results. i4i v. Microsoft — lead trial counsel; a $200M verdict augmented to roughly $290M, affirmed by the Federal Circuit and by the Supreme Court in Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership (2011). Versata v. SAP — a $138.6M Marshall, Texas verdict in 2009, replaced by a $345M verdict on retrial in 2011 that the Federal Circuit affirmed in 2013, one of the largest patent awards ever upheld on appeal; McKool argued the appeal himself. WiLAN v. Apple — $145.1M verdict in August 2018 in the Southern District of California over voice-over-LTE patents in iPhone 6/7 devices. His firm's Eolas litigation produced the well-known $500M+ Microsoft verdict (pre-dating his personal involvement). Note that several McKool Smith patent wins often attributed to the firm — e.g., the $303M Netlist v. Samsung verdict — were tried by other McKool Smith lawyers, not by him.

PTAB / IPR. PTAB activity appears limited relative to his district court trial practice; the documented instance is serving as pro hac vice back-up counsel to a petitioner in IPR2017-01884 (2018), alongside McKool Smith colleagues.

Bar / education. Admitted in Texas (1974); also admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court and the First, Fifth and Federal Circuits. B.A., magna cum laude, Notre Dame (1971); J.D., with honors, University of Texas School of Law (1974), Order of the Coif. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a past member of the Federal Circuit's advisory council, and served on the advisory board for the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide.

Sourcing caveat: the plaintiff/defendant and role counts above come from the tracked case list; the outcome descriptions come from contemporaneous reporting (The American Lawyer/Law.com, Texas Lawbook, Lawdragon, Law360, McKool Smith press releases) and court filings. Post-2023 details about his new firm remain unpublished in the sources reviewed.