Smith Anderson

Smith Anderson is a full-service business and litigation law firm headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is recognized as the largest law firm in the Research Triangle region. The firm operates from a single Raleigh office, serving a diverse client base that includes regional, national, and international companies across 40 countries and 49 U.S. states. With over 170 attorneys, Smith Anderson is ranked on the Law360 400 list (287th largest in 2024 by headcount) and consistently receives recognition in Chambers USA, including for its Intellectual Property practice, and Best Law Firms (47 practice area rankings in the 2026 edition).

The firm's IP litigation practice boasts experience across a broad spectrum of technologies. This includes software, artificial intelligence, financial systems, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, distributed networking, wearable devices, and manufacturing. Smith Anderson represents clients in high-stakes patent disputes in federal courts nationwide, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Based on available case data, Smith Anderson primarily represents defendants in patent infringement matters, as exemplified by its role as counsel for Cisco Systems, Inc. in Quicker Connections LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. While the firm also advises patentees on strategic patent enforcement programs, its published experience highlights a strong track record of successfully defending major corporations against infringement claims, obtaining outcomes such as summary judgments of non-infringement and favorable negotiated resolutions.

Smith Anderson maintains an active PTAB practice, representing clients in post-grant proceedings such as inter partes reviews (IPR), post-grant reviews (PGR), covered business method (CBM) reviews, and ex parte reexaminations. This capability is supported by a team that includes seasoned trial lawyers with extensive patent litigation experience. Key partners in the firm's patent litigation group include Jonathan V. Lewis, who practices before district courts, the ITC, and the PTAB, and Kelsey Nix, who serves as Co-Chair of the IP Litigation practice.