Susman Godfrey

Susman Godfrey: Patent Litigation Summary

Firm Overview:
Susman Godfrey LLP is a premier national litigation boutique founded in 1980 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm operates with approximately 200 lawyers across four offices in Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. Widely regarded as an elite trial firm, it consistently ranks as the top litigation boutique in the U.S. by Vault and has been recognized as a top-tier firm for patent litigation by The Legal 500. Susman Godfrey is structured as a high-stakes trial practice, representing clients in complex commercial disputes, often on a contingent-fee or other alternative-fee basis.

IP Litigation Specialty & Side Preference:
The firm's patent litigation practice is known for handling complex, high-value disputes across a range of technologies, including telecommunications, software, wireless standards, and medical devices. This expertise is demonstrated in the provided case list, with Fractus, S.A. v. TCL Communication concerning internal antenna technology for mobile devices and Visa USA Inc v. Cortex MCP Inc involving mobile wallet and payment tokenization patents. The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants, a balanced approach it promotes as a key strategic advantage. The tracked case data, showing two defense-side and one plaintiff-side appearance, reflects this versatility. The firm has a record of representing patent licensors as well as defending major operating companies.

Notable Cases & Outcomes:
Susman Godfrey has secured numerous significant trial victories and settlements in patent cases. The firm represented Fractus S.A. in its successful assertion of patents covering internal mobile phone antenna technology. While the provided data lists a case against TCL, a related matter against Samsung resulted in a $23 million jury verdict for Fractus, which was later settled. More recently, the firm served as lead counsel for Fractus in its infringement complaint against TCL. On the defense side, the firm is currently representing Visa against infringement claims brought by Cortex MCP concerning mobile payment technology; that case has been stayed pending the outcome of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

PTAB / IPR Practice:
The firm has an active practice before the PTAB, handling inter partes review (IPR) and Post-Grant Review (PGR) proceedings, as well as subsequent appeals to the Federal Circuit. Attorneys at the firm are registered to practice before the USPTO and have experience in all aspects of post-grant proceedings. While the firm has a record of successfully defending patents against IPR challenges and representing clients in PTAB trials, public reports do not suggest it is a high-volume filer on the scale of specialist PTAB-focused firms.

Key Partners:
The firm's patent litigation practice features several nationally recognized trial lawyers. Max L. Tribble, Jr., a member of the firm's Executive Committee, led the team in the Fractus litigation and has secured major verdicts and settlements in numerous high-profile IP cases. Kalpana Srinivasan, a managing partner of the firm, is a lead counsel in the Visa v. Cortex defense and is frequently recognized as one of the top IP and trial lawyers in the country. Joseph S. Grinstein is another key partner with extensive experience in high-tech patent and trade secret litigation, and was also counsel in the Fractus v. TCL case. Justin A. Nelson, who also worked on the Fractus cases, is a member of the Executive Committee with a practice that spans patent litigation and other high-stakes disputes.