Vinson & Elkins

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Vinson & Elkins LLP — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Firm overview. Vinson & Elkins LLP is a Houston-headquartered full-service firm founded in 1917, with roughly 13–14 offices worldwide (firm fact sheet, Jan. 2026; recent press releases say 14). Its footprint is anchored in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin) with additional U.S. offices including New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Palo Alto, plus international offices in London, Dubai, Riyadh, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei. It is a BigLaw generalist rather than an IP boutique: ALM/NLJ data place it at roughly 681 lawyers and about $1.05 billion in 2024 gross revenue, ranking 58th on the 2025 Am Law 200 and 77th on the NLJ 500. Chambers USA 2025 recognized the firm in 67 practice areas and ranked 167 lawyers.

IP litigation specialty. The firm's IP & Technology Litigation group describes itself as focused on patent litigation in federal district courts, the Federal Circuit, the PTAB and the ITC. Its own practice page states that almost all of its patent litigators hold technical degrees and nearly one-third hold advanced degrees (aerospace, chemical and electrical engineering, biosciences), and lists experience across biotechnology, computers, software, energy/oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, medical devices, chemical compounds, clean energy, digital media, internet services and semiconductors. The tracked docket reflects that mix — semiconductors and memory (Netlist, Micron, MediaTek), solar and clean energy (Maxeon, Canadian Solar), displays and consumer electronics (Delaware Display Group, VIZIO, Lenovo), telecom/networking (Realtime Data, Array Networks) and automotive (Volkswagen). Chambers USA (2026) ranks the firm's Texas IP practice at Band 6, noting an active Eastern District of Texas caseload.

Side preference. V&E works both sides but skews defense. Across the 18 tracked appearances, 13 are defendant-side and 5 plaintiff-side — consistent with a firm that primarily defends operating companies against NPE/PAE and competitor suits (Gaea v. Dell, Autonavigare v. Volkswagen, Delaware Display Group v. VIZIO/Lenovo, Redstone Logics v. MediaTek, Light Guide Innovations v. Walmart) while also asserting patents for clients in targeted campaigns (Maxeon Solar, Netlist) and Samsung in a declaratory posture (Samsung v. Massively Broadband). Several appearances are local- or co-counsel roles in Delaware and Texas, which is common for a generalist firm's IP bench.

Notable cases and outcomes. The most prominent tracked matters are Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd. v. REC Solar Holdings AS (E.D. Tex.), where Hilary Preston led for Maxeon; the case was dismissed without prejudice by joint motion in June 2025, commonly read as a negotiated resolution, while parallel Maxeon v. Canadian Solar litigation saw the PTAB invalidate Maxeon's asserted TOPCon claims in January 2026. V&E is tracked as counsel to Netlist in Netlist, Inc. v. Micron Technology, Inc. (E.D. Tex.), the case in which a jury returned a $445 million willful-infringement verdict upheld on post-trial motions in June 2025 — though public reporting attributes trial conduct to other lead counsel, so V&E's specific contribution is not documented in the sources reviewed. Eric Klein led the defense in Canadian Solar v. Maxeon and the Delaware Display Group v. Lenovo matters; Frederick Williams also served as lead counsel in the Lenovo/VIZIO display litigation. Firm marketing cites defense wins including a noninfringement jury verdict for a leading smartphone maker in E.D. Tex. and a Federal Circuit-affirmed judgment invalidating patents in district-processor litigation for internet companies.

PTAB / IPR practice. V&E maintains a dedicated Patent Post Grant Proceedings group and states that it has 15 lawyers plus one patent agent registered before the USPTO and has handled 45 AIA proceedings since 2011 (43 IPRs), representing both petitioners and patent owners. Public PTAB filings confirm V&E as counsel in IPRs for clients including Maxeon (as patent owner, though the firm withdrew from those IPRs in early 2025) and Choirock. The firm also publishes PTAB practice commentary, including analysis of the post-Fintiv discretionary-denial framework. This is a credible mid-sized post-grant practice rather than a high-volume IPR filer.

Key partners. Hilary Preston is co-head of the IP & Technology Litigation practice and a firm Vice Chair, ranked Band 4 in Chambers USA Texas IP. Eric Klein is co-head of the practice, ranked Band 6 in Chambers USA Texas IP and focused on patent and trade secret matters in energy and technology. Steven (Steve) Moore joined in January 2026 from Kilpatrick Townsend as co-head of IP litigation; he is Chambers-ranked for Patent Litigation in California and IAM Patent 1000-listed. Jeffrey Han is a registered practitioner with Federal Circuit, ITC and PTAB experience, and Michael Jay joined the Los Angeles office in June 2026 as a first-chair patent and trade secret litigator.

Note: firm office counts and attorney headcount differ slightly across the firm's own fact sheet, press releases and AmLaw/NLJ data; figures above reflect the most recent sourcing available and should be verified against the firm's current materials.