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Key contacts
Partner: David Berl
Partner: Jessamyn Berniker
Partner: Dov Grossman
Quick facts
Established

1967

Key practice areas
Life sciences IP
Intellectual property
Patent disputes
Trade mark
Patent
Dispute resolution
White collar crime
Product liability
Product liability and recall
Federal Circuit
Firm overview

Williams & Connolly’s reputation for handling “bet-the-company” civil litigation at the trial and appellate levels applies equally to the firm’s thriving Intellectual Property Practice. Major corporations including Google, AstraZeneca, Dropbox, Roche/Genentech, Samsung, Pfizer, Intel, Eli Lilly, and many others place their trust in Williams & Connolly litigators to handle major intellectual property matters, particularly in patent litigation and related licensing disputes.

About 50 Williams & Connolly attorneys devote a substantial portion of their practice to patent cases, including fourteen former clerks of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Many of our lawyers practicing in this area have science degrees, and thirteen have been admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

A major part of Williams & Connolly’s patent litigation practice is representing pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical patent litigation.

Williams & Connolly has handled over 100 IPR proceedings, including numerous concurrent with district court proceedings in Hatch-Waxman cases.

 

Practice Areas & Sector Specialisations

Practice Areas: Life sciences, Patent contentious, Patent litigation, Patent office proceedings, PTAB litigation

Sector Expertise: Biotechnology, Electronics, Technology hardware, Pharmaceutical, Medical device, Life sciences

Address:
680 Maine Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024
Tel:+1 202 434 5000 Fax:+1 202 434 5029 Web Address:https://www.wc.com/
2026 Edition
Federal Circuit
Tier 1
23 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Ashurst Perkins Coie
15 practice areas
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Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner
14 practice areas
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Fish & Richardson
12 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
13 practice areas
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Sidley Austin
18 practice areas
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Williams & Connolly
10 practice areas
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WilmerHale
15 practice areas
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Tier 2

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
14 practice areas
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Goodwin Procter
14 practice areas
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Jones Day
15 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
15 practice areas
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Morrison Foerster
14 practice areas
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Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
13 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
16 practice areas
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Tier 3

Arnold & Porter
12 practice areas
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Covington & Burling
9 practice areas
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Desmarais
9 practice areas
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Jenner & Block
5 practice areas
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Morgan Lewis & Bockius
12 practice areas
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Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
13 practice areas
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Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
12 practice areas
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Weil Gotshal & Manges
16 practice areas
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Life sciences IP
Tier 1
50 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner
14 practice areas
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Fish & Richardson
12 practice areas
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Goodwin Procter
14 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
13 practice areas
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Knobbe Martens
11 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
15 practice areas
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Morrison Foerster
14 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik
5 practice areas
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Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
12 practice areas
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Williams & Connolly
10 practice areas
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WilmerHale
15 practice areas
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Tier 2

Arnold & Porter
12 practice areas
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Ashurst Perkins Coie
15 practice areas
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Choate Hall & Stewart
9 practice areas
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Cooley
15 practice areas
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Covington & Burling
9 practice areas
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Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone
7 practice areas
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Irell & Manella
8 practice areas
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Jones Day
15 practice areas
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
16 practice areas
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Sidley Austin
18 practice areas
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Venable
12 practice areas
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Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
10 practice areas
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Tier 3

ArentFox Schiff
9 practice areas
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Dechert
11 practice areas
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Fenwick & West
12 practice areas
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Greenberg Traurig
13 practice areas
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Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
11 practice areas
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Marshall Gerstein & Borun
10 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
16 practice areas
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McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff
5 practice areas
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Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo
7 practice areas
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Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck
9 practice areas
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Winston Taylor
10 practice areas
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Wolf Greenfield & Sacks
10 practice areas
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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
7 practice areas
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Bookoff McAndrews
6 practice areas
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Desmarais
9 practice areas
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Foley & Lardner
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Foley Hoag
4 practice areas
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Katten Muchin Rosenman
8 practice areas
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Lathrop GPM
5 practice areas
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McAndrews Held & Malloy
9 practice areas
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McDermott Will & Schulte
10 practice areas
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Morgan Lewis & Bockius
12 practice areas
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O'Melveny & Myers
10 practice areas
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Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
13 practice areas
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Troutman Pepper Locke
5 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
4 practice areas
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Patent disputes
Tier 1
53 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Desmarais
9 practice areas
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Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner
14 practice areas
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Fish & Richardson
12 practice areas
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Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
14 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
13 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
15 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
16 practice areas
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Williams & Connolly
10 practice areas
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WilmerHale
15 practice areas
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Tier 2

Arnold & Porter
12 practice areas
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Covington & Burling
9 practice areas
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Goodwin Procter
14 practice areas
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Irell & Manella
8 practice areas
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Jones Day
15 practice areas
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Knobbe Martens
11 practice areas
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McKool Smith
5 practice areas
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Morrison Foerster
14 practice areas
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Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
13 practice areas
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Sidley Austin
18 practice areas
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Susman Godfrey
5 practice areas
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Tier 3

Alston & Bird
9 practice areas
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Ashurst Perkins Coie
15 practice areas
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Cooley
15 practice areas
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DLA Piper
9 practice areas
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Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone
7 practice areas
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Keker Van Nest & Peters
8 practice areas
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Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
11 practice areas
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King & Spalding
14 practice areas
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McDermott Will & Schulte
10 practice areas
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Morgan Lewis & Bockius
12 practice areas
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O'Melveny & Myers
10 practice areas
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Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg
7 practice areas
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Venable
12 practice areas
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Weil Gotshal & Manges
16 practice areas
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White & Case
7 practice areas
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Winston Taylor
10 practice areas
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Other Notable Firms

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
7 practice areas
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Baker Botts
5 practice areas
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Davis Polk & Wardwell
4 practice areas
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Dechert
11 practice areas
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Fenwick & West
12 practice areas
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Foley & Lardner
8 practice areas
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
9 practice areas
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Husch Blackwell
9 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
16 practice areas
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McAndrews Held & Malloy
9 practice areas
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Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo
7 practice areas
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Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik
5 practice areas
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Robins Kaplan
7 practice areas
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Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
8 practice areas
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Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
12 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
4 practice areas
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Overview

DC-based Williams & Connolly is recognized for its exceptional reputation in contentious IP matters. The firm offers a group of talented litigators who routinely represent some of the country’s leading companies in patent litigation, for which it is highly recommended. The firm is active across industry areas, most notably in the life sciences area.

Notable patent practitioners: David Berl, Paul Gaffney, Jessamyn Berniker, Thomas Selby, Stanley Fisher, Dov Grossman

Berl and Berniker, who both currently serve as co-chairs of the patent litigation practice, are well-versed in life sciences patent litigation, particularly in the biopharma area. Selby specializes in complex patent disputes for clients in several industry areas. He is former co-chair of the firm’s patent litigation practice group.

Testimonials

2026

"Best in the business; extremely experienced, smart and good judgment."

"Very thorough understanding of technologies and the law. Business-oriented mindset. Very reactive and approachable. Creative thinkers."

David Berl

"Encyclopedic knowledge of both patent law and the file."

Dov Grossman

"Very smart, knowledgeable and thoughtful. Holistic approach to problems."

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