Michael Dockterman

Michael Dockterman is a seasoned trial lawyer with extensive experience in high-stakes intellectual property litigation, particularly in software, mobile, and web-design technologies. His practice encompasses both plaintiff and defendant representation in complex commercial disputes. He is currently a partner at McDermott Will & Schulte, having previously been a partner at Steptoe & Johnson (now Steptoe).

Dockterman has handled significant patent cases, notably serving as co-counsel for Express Mobile, Inc. in its litigation against GoDaddy.com, LLC. This matter, centering on foundational web-design patents, resulted in a $170 million jury verdict for Express Mobile in November 2025. The case also involved a Federal Circuit appeal in April 2025, which saw a split ruling, and subsequent inter partes review (IPR) proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that confirmed the patentability of the asserted claims in June 2026. He also represented Express Mobile, Inc. as counsel for the defendant against Adobe Inc. and X.Commerce Inc. Further, he was lead trial counsel for Toys "R" Us in a successful litigation against Amazon.com Inc. over website control, which resulted in a $51 million settlement. His experience also includes representing Publicis Groupe in a dispute over banner-ad software and American Axle in a multi-patent infringement suit involving automotive drive line noise and vibration technology.

His practice includes substantial experience in post-grant proceedings, including Inter Partes Review (IPR), as evidenced by his involvement in the Express Mobile patent challenges and his representation of Panduit in numerous IPR proceedings.

Dockterman earned his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Yale University in 1975 and his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1978. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1978.