Washington, D.C.—McKool Smith, one of the nation's leading trial firms, has announced that patent trial star Alan Whitehurst has joined the firm as a principal in its Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Whitehurst focuses on intellectual property and unfair competition litigation and specializes in telecom-related disputes.
Mr. Whitehurst will join the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, which recently announced the arrival of Nicholas Matich, former Acting General Counsel of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
A veteran of the “smartphone wars,” Mr. Whitehurst has a deep understanding of 5G, LTE, WCDMA, CDMA, Wi-Fi, speech coding, video compression, and other complex technologies. He has used his technical background to successfully litigate more than 30 telecom cases over the last two decades. He has also litigated numerous matters involving microprocessors, semiconductors, software, e-commerce, and the life sciences. Mr. Whitehurst regularly advises clients about patent portfolios, IP monetization, damages, and licensing, and has extensive experience leveraging patent portfolios to develop additional revenue for both large and small companies. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and has successfully argued numerous inter partes reviews (IPRs).
“Alan has decades of experience guiding industry-leading companies through a broad range of complex patent disputes involving cutting-edge technologies in and outside of the telecom sector,” said David Sochia, McKool Smith’s Managing Principal. “Our clients will benefit significantly from his technical skills and deep trial experience. We are very happy to have him on board.”
“As a patent trial lawyer, I’ve always had a significant amount of respect for McKool Smith,” said Mr. Whitehurst. “I have seen many of the firm’s lawyers in the courtroom and know first-hand the technical expertise and trial prowess that they bring to every case. When you consider these attributes along with the firm’s reputation and track record of success in high-stakes patent disputes, particularly in the telecom sector, it provides the perfect platform for me to continue growing my practice.”
Mr. Whitehurst is a graduate of Duke University School of Law. He earned a B.S in electrical engineering and an M.S in electrical and computer engineering from Duke University. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the International Trade Commission Trial Lawyers Association.
With 135 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, and New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. Since 2006, the firm has secured 12 nine-figure jury verdicts and 14 eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” than any other law firm in the country. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, insurance recovery, and white collar defense matters.