McKool Smith announced the return of highly skilled patent litigator Erik Fountain. Rejoining as a Principal, Erik will continue to focus on patent, trade secret, and licensing disputes in a variety of fields, including software, cellular, oil & gas, automotive, and medical device.
“I gained invaluable experience during my years as an Associate at McKool Smith working alongside some of the country’s finest attorneys and am excited to be back where I started my career,” said Mr. Fountain.
Mr. Fountain represented industry leaders such as Ericsson in a long-running licensing dispute related to unpaid royalties and breach-of-FRAND allegations, as well as numerous ITC investigations, among other matters. Erik has also represented clients including Halliburton, Rovi/TiVo, Nevro, and Freddie Mac in significant commercial and IP disputes.
“We look forward to welcoming Erik back to firm,” said McKool Smith Managing Principal and Chairman David Sochia. “He is a talented lawyer and has a wealth of experience in complex IP disputes, including FRAND matters. Our clients will benefit from his skills and capabilities.”
Prior to joining McKool Smith, Mr. Fountain served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Rodney Gilstrap in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. He was also a law clerk in the Civil Litigation Division in the United States Attorney's Office while attending law school.
With 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America's leading trial firms. The firm has secured 14 nine-figure jury verdicts and 15 eight-figure jury verdicts, obtaining more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal "Top 100 Verdicts" than any other law firm. These courtroom successes 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.