Debevoise & Plimpton

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is an international white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City at 66 Hudson Boulevard. The firm maintains a global presence with additional offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Consistently ranked among the world's most profitable large law firms, Debevoise was listed as No. 9 on The American Lawyer's 2022 A-List and #33 on the Am Law 200 (2025) by revenue, employing approximately 900 lawyers worldwide.

The firm's Intellectual Property Litigation practice is known for handling complex disputes across a diverse range of technology areas and industries. While the firm handles a wide array of IP matters, including trademark, trade dress, copyright, and trade secret cases, its patent litigation experience, as evidenced by tracked cases, includes technology sectors such as cybersecurity, software, and artificial intelligence. For example, the firm is representing Fortinet, Inc., a cybersecurity company, in Skysong Innovations, LLC v. Fortinet, Inc., a patent infringement case involving technologies like data-driven cyber threat mitigation and software vulnerability prediction. Debevoise's IP group is also recognized by Chambers USA 2025 for its capabilities in Artificial Intelligence.

Debevoise & Plimpton primarily defends operating companies in patent litigation. The firm's tracked cases show appearances exclusively on the defendant side (3 out of 3 total appearances), aligning with its reputation for representing leading global enterprises and financial institutions. Beyond patent matters, the firm has achieved notable outcomes in other IP areas, including securing a trial victory for Snap Inc. in a trademark genericness case and obtaining a preliminary injunction for WEX Inc. against HP Inc. concerning a trademark dispute. The firm also successfully advised Casa Azul Spirits LLC in a trademark infringement, unfair competition, and dilution lawsuit.

While the firm's general IP litigation practice is robust, its public profile does not prominently feature a high-volume inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR) practice at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Although the Skysong Innovations v. Fortinet case has related IPRs initiated by a third party (CrowdStrike Inc.) against Skysong's patents, specific firm involvement as counsel in a high volume of PTAB proceedings is not explicitly highlighted in available reports.

Key partners in the Intellectual Property Litigation group include David Bernstein, who chairs the practice and is recognized as a preeminent trademark lawyer and a "2025 Trademark Star." Megan Bannigan is also a prominent partner with extensive experience in copyright, trade dress, and emerging technologies, and has been named a "2025 Trademark Star" and "Trademark Litigator of the Year (Northeast)." John M. Neukom (also referred to as Jay Neukom), who has made two appearances in tracked cases, is recognized as a "2025 Patent Star" for his experience in complex patent, copyright, and trade secret disputes. Lindsay Cooper Hayman is also a contact for the Intellectual Property practice and served as Lead Counsel in one of the firm's tracked patent cases.