Stephen D. Smerek

Subject: Stephen D. Smerek, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice

Date: 2026-05-01

Status: Active

Stephen D. Smerek is an experienced trial attorney who has handled complex intellectual property and commercial litigation. In 2021, he joined the Antitrust Law Section of the California Department of Justice as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General. His current work includes leading the State of California's antitrust case against Amazon. This follows a long career in private practice, most recently as a partner in the intellectual property group at Foley & Lardner, which he joined in late 2019.

Prior to his government service, Smerek's practice focused on defending established companies in patent and commercial disputes. The tracked case, Thales DIS France SA v. Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd, reflects this, with Smerek serving as lead counsel for the defendant. His experience includes significant work in the life sciences sector, particularly pharmaceutical (Hatch-Waxman) and medical device patent litigation. While at his prior firm, Winston & Strawn, a university biography notes he played a lead role on damages issues in a patent jury trial that resulted in a one-billion-dollar verdict for his client. His broader commercial litigation experience also includes class action defense.

Before joining Foley & Lardner, Smerek was a partner at Winston & Strawn and began his career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. No significant record of appearances in IPR or other PTAB proceedings has been found in publicly available sources.

Mr. Smerek is a member of the State Bar of California. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston University School of Law in 1993, where he was an editor of the Law Review, and subsequently clerked for the Hon. Joseph L. Tauro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.