McKool Smith Records More Top 2008 Verdicts than Any U.S. Law Firm

Four verdicts in Top 100 ranks McKool Smith #1

DALLAS – The national law firm of McKool Smith has been recognized by The National Law Journal and Incisive Media’s VerdictSearch for winning four of the nation’s 100 top verdicts of 2008, the most for any law firm in the United States.

McKool Smith handles commercial litigation, white collar litigation and intellectual property claims for some of the world’s most prominent companies and individuals.  The trial wins profiled in The National Law Journal totaled $358 million in awards for McKool Smith’s clients.  The highlighted McKool Smith wins, which are listed at Nos. 12, 36, 74 and 100 on the VerdictSearch listing of the Top 100 Verdicts of 2008, include:

#12 - Medtronic Vascular Inc. v. Boston Scientific Scimed Inc.

In May 2008, McKool Smith obtained a $250 million verdict for Medtronic Inc. against Boston Scientific Corp. The patent infringement lawsuit covered a series of Medtronic catheters used in the surgical treatment of heart disease. The McKool Smith team included firm principals Sam Baxter, Kevin Burgess, Mark Mathie, Rosemary Snider and Ted Stevenson; senior counsel Tom Fasone; and associates Ada Brown, Josh Budwin, Brad Caldwell, Jason Cassady, and Geoff Smith.

#36 - Pioneer Corp. v. Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.

The firm won a $59 million verdict in October 2008 with co-counsel from Morrison & Foerster on behalf of Pioneer Corp. in a patent infringement case against Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. The case involved technology used to brighten and sharpen pictures on plasma televisions. The McKool Smith attorneys included Mr. Baxter and Ms. Snider, along with senior counsel Garret Chambers.

#74 - Adderley v. National Football League Players Association

Attorneys from McKool Smith and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips secured a $28.1 million verdict on behalf of more than 2,000 retired professional football players in a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty case in November 2008. The retired players successfully argued that the National Football League Players Association and its licensing and marketing division failed to provide players with proceeds from the sale of NFL-themed video games, jerseys and other merchandise. The McKool Smith team included principal Lew LeClair, senior counsel Jill Naylor, and associates Brett Charhon and Anthony Garza.

#100 - Anascape Ltd. v. Microsoft Corp.

In May 2008, the firm secured a $21 million patent infringement verdict for Anascape Ltd. against Nintendo of America Inc. After Microsoft settled before trial, jurors found that various video game controllers sold by Nintendo infringed Anascape’s patent. The McKool Smith attorneys included firm principal and lead counsel Doug Cawley, principals Mr. Baxter and Mr. Stevenson, and associates Mr. Garza, Chris Bovenkamp, Steven Callahan, Jason Cassady and Jamie Shouse.

The VerdictSearch Top 100 Verdicts of 2008 is included as a special section in the March 2, 2009, issue of The National Law Journal.

Additionally, McKool Smith was profiled in a companion article in The National Law Journal entitled “Minding their manners; McKool Smith finds that politeness is the way to a jury's heart,” which highlighted each of the firm’s four major victories.

McKool Smith has more than 100 attorneys in Dallas, Austin, Marshall, New York, and Washington DC, handling commercial, intellectual property and white collar litigation for national and international clients. The firm is recognized as one of the premier litigation law firms in the United States, having earned significant courtroom victories for clients such as American Airlines, Ericsson, Electronic Data Systems, Medtronic Inc., and Sony Ericsson.

For more information, please visit www.mckoolsmith.com or contact Bruce Vincent at 800-559-4534 or bruce@androvett.com.