Mike McKool

As a founder of McKool Smith, Mike McKool is largely responsible for creating what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” Since founding the firm in 1991, Mike’s leadership and courtroom achievements have helped McKool Smith grow from an 11-lawyer litigation boutique to a national litigation powerhouse with 185 trial lawyers across eight offices coast to coast. 

Mike’s rigorous case preparation and superlative courtroom skills have earned him a reputation as one of the country’s most prominent trial lawyers. Over the course of his 40-year career, he has tried more than 100 jury trials and developed an enhanced understanding of the psychology that governs how juries decide cases. His trial wins have secured substantial verdicts and settlements for clients, including major airlines, energy companies, telecommunications firms, investment banking houses, and industrial conglomerates, among others.

Mike's recent victories include serving as lead trial counsel for WiLAN in securing an $85 million verdict against Apple in a January 2020 patent damages trial concerning two WiLAN patents that cover voice over LTE ("VoLTE") wireless communication technology. He was previously recognized as The American Lawyer “Litigator of the Week” as a result of his success as lead trial counsel for WiLAN in securing an infringement verdict against Apple in August 2018. Mike also served as lead trial counsel in securing a $9.4 million jury verdict on behalf of legendary music producer Quincy Jones against the Michael Jackson estate in a breach of contract and royalty dispute. He was recognized as The American Lawyer "Litigator of the Week" as a result of his success at trial.

Mike was profiled in Law360’s “Trial Aces” special feature, which recognized his “reputation as one of the country’s top trial lawyers.” The article notes that he is “one of the best closers in the business” and “clients bring him in when a trial appears inevitable and they can't afford to lose." He is also described as having “unrelenting focus and preparation in the run-up to a trial, which is rare in its intensity.”

Mike is consistently recognized as one of the country’s leading trial lawyers by legal directories such as The Legal 500, Lawdragon, and Benchmark Litigation, among others. In Chambers USA, he is ranked among the nation's most elite trial lawyers and as a leading lawyer in both commercial and intellectual property litigation. In Chambers Global, he is again recognized among the nation's most esteemed trial lawyers and IP litigators. 

Chambers USA describes Mike as “simply one of the best,” stating that he is “extraordinarily focused and extremely quick on the uptake” and that “judges have the highest respect for him.” Chambers Global notes that he is “one of the leading lights of the trial bar.” Citing his “huge intellect and superb courtroom skills,” Best Lawyers in America lists Mike in several categories, including Bet-the-Company Litigation.

Mike has received a Texas Lawyer "Lifetime Achievement Award" for Professional Excellence. He is also included in Benchmark Litigation’s listing of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America" and Law360’s listing of the Top 50 U.S. trial lawyers. In 2015,  he received the “Outstanding Alumnus Award” from the University of Texas Law Alumni Association for outstanding contributions to the legal profession. He is also the recipient of the Texas Lawyer "Top Verdicts Hall of Fame" Lifetime Achievement Award and the Dallas Bar Association “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award. Mike is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been selected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to serve on the Federal Circuit Advisory Council.

• WiLAN. Lead trial counsel for WiLAN in securing an $85 million damages verdict against Apple in a January 2020 patent damages trial concerning two WiLAN patents that cover voice over LTE ("VoLTE") wireless communication technology. He was previously recognized as The American Lawyer "Litigator of the Week" as a result of his success as lead trial counsel for WiLAN in securing an infringement verdict against Apple in August 2018.
• Quincy Jones. Lead trial counsel in securing a $9.4 million jury verdict on behalf of legendary music producer Quincy Jones against the Michael Jackson estate in a breach of contract and royalty dispute. Mike was recognized as The American Lawyer's "Litigator of the Week" as a result of his success in the case.
• Alcoa. Lead counsel for Alcoa Power and Gas Inc. in defense of a case brought by the state of North Carolina concerning ownership rights to North Carolina's second-largest river system and the right to control hydroelectric power in the Yadkin Valley.
• Freddie Mac. Lead counsel for Freddie Mac in litigation against Deloitte in which Freddie Mac is alleging more than $1 billion in damages resulting from Deloitte’s flawed audits of Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), which was the largest independent mortgage lender in the United States that collapsed into bankruptcy in 2009.
• Versata. Represented Versata as lead counsel in successfully defending its significant patent infringement judgment against SAP before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Ericsson. Represented Ericsson as lead counsel in its patent infringement dispute against Samsung. The matter included two ITC actions and district court litigation regarding a number of standard essential and implementation patents related to LTE, WCDMA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and 802.11 wireless technology.
• Lockheed Martin. Represented Lockheed Martin in an antitrust lawsuit filed by L-3 Communications in the Northern District of Texas.
• Affiliated Computer Services. Represented Affiliated Computer Services in a suit by JPMorgan Chase regarding patented technology of processing child support payments. The suit was pending in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
• American Airlines. Represented American Airlines as lead counsel in a patent suit filed by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing alleging infringement of patents coving interactive voice applications relating to American Airlines call centers. The U.S. District Court judge in California entered a final judgment in favor of American Airlines.
• Highland Capital. Served as lead counsel in a case filed by James Cable alleging tortious interference with a contract and civil conspiracy. All causes of action against Mike's client were dismissed.
• Toll Brothers. Represented Toll Brothers and five other national home builders in a case brought by Wachovia Bank, N.A. in the Southern District of New York. The suit alleges that the home builders breached completion guaranties that were executed in connection with a 1,700-acre tract of property that was purchased from the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management for more than $500 million in 2005.
• Medtronic Vascular Inc. Board of Regents, University of Texas System v. Setagon, Inc. et al. Represented Medtronic in a dispute involving patent applications for stent devices with porous layers for eluting therapeutic agents. The University of Texas alleged breach of contract, fraud, conversion, misappropriation of trade secrets, misjoinder of inventors, and correction of inventors. The case settled favorably for Medtronic, including the dismissal of all of the University of Texas's claims.
• Ericsson. Represented Ericsson in Ericsson v. Interdigital Communications, a defense of patent infringement action involving mobile telephones, and in Ericsson v. Qualcomm, litigation involving digital wireless communications patents.
• EDS. Represented Electronic Data Systems, EDS, in some of its most significant litigation, including EDS v. Xerox, a breach of contract matter involving a $3 billion outsourcing contract. In EDS v. Computer Associates, represented EDS in case involving its right to use CA software for its outsourcing clients. In both cases, Mike negotiated settlements and licensing agreements that benefited both parties.
• Excel Communications. Successfully represented Excel in landmark software patent litigation.
• BTG International Inc. Represented BTG against Samsung, Apple, Dell, and others in a patent infringement action before the International Trade Commission regarding MLC flash memory devices and products used in MP3 players, cameras, and laptops.
• Eolas Technologies Inc. Represents internet technology provider Eolas in a patent infringement suit against Adobe Systems and others regarding advanced browser technology that allows websites to add fully interactive, embedded applications to their online offerings.
• Hall Phoenix/Inwood Ltd. et al. v. The Hallwood Group Incorporated, et al. Represented Hall/Phoenix/Inwood Ltd. and Hall Performance Energy Partner 4 in this suit in Dallas County District Court regarding investments made in a limited partnership engaged in the business of drilling for and producing natural gas in West Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
• National Instruments. National Instruments Corp. v. The MathWorks, Inc. Represented National Instruments in patent infringement action involving software technology. Jury verdict in favor of National Instruments was upheld on appeal.
• Parental Guide. Represented plaintiff Parental Guide in patent infringement action involving V-Chip technology. Case settled favorably for client. Parental Guide v. Funai.
• Holly Corporation. Served as lead trial counsel for Holly Corporation in Frontier Oil Company v. Holly Corporation. The suit alleged that Holly wrongfully failed to perform under an agreement to merge the two companies when it invoked a material adverse change. The case was tried in the Delaware Chancery Court in February 2004, resulting in Mike's client being absolved of all wrongdoing.

• Recognized in the guide to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2022
• Named as a IAM Global Leader 2023
• Inducted into the Lawdragon 500 Hall of Fame, 2021-2022
• Named as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America by Benchmark Litigation (2020)
• Recognized as The American Lawyer's "Litigator of the Week" following his success as lead trial counsel for WiLAN in securing a $145 million patent infringement verdict  against Apple. (August 2018)
• Awarded Benchmark Litigation's 2018 "National Impact Case Award" for successful representation of Quincy Jones against the Michael Jackson estate.
• Recognized as The American Lawyer's "Litigator of the Week" following his success as lead counsel for legendary music producer Quincy Jones in securing a $9.4 million jury verdict against the Michael Jackson estate in a breach of contract and royalty dispute. (July 2017)
• Awarded the 2017 Benchmark Litigation "Lifetime Achievement Award" for outstanding achievements in the practice of law.
• Recognized as an "Icon of IP" by Law360 (2016). The publication’s IP Icon series honors the top 25 lawyers in the country who have shaped today’s IP landscape.
• Ranked in Chambers USA as a leading national Trial Lawyer (Band 2), a leading Texas Trial Lawyer (Spotlight Table), as well as a leading lawyer for Intellectual Property (Band 2) and Commercial Litigation (Band 1). The 2022 edition notes that "Mike McKool is seasoned and exceptional IP litigator with an incredible understanding of juries and what it takes to be successful in a case."
• Recognized among Lawdragon's 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers (2019-2021)
• Recognized as a leading patent litigator in the United States by The Legal 500. Mike has "a terrific reputation" and is "a consummate professional with tremendous trial skills." (2020)
• Recognized as a "Lion of the Texas Bar" by Texas Lawbook in a special profile on the "Top 50" lawyers in Texas. (2016)
• Received the Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award for "Professional Excellence." (2015)
• Recognized as one of the top 50 trial lawyers in the nation in Law360’s 2015 special feature on “Trial Aces."
• Recognized as a leading U.S. patent litigator in World Intellectual Property Review’s (WIPR) directory of “World IP Leaders." (2016-2020)
• Named an Outstanding Alumnus by the University of Texas Law Alumni Association. (2015)
• Recognized in Benchmark Litigation as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer; a national IP litigation star, and a Commercial Litigation and IP Star in Texas. (2010-2022)
• Recognized as one of the top 50 lawyers in Texas in Texas Lawbook’s feature on the "Lions of the Texas Bar." (2015)
• Received the Texas Lawyer "Top Verdicts Hall of Fame" Lifetime Achievement Award. (2014)
• Named the "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by the Dallas Bar Association. (2012)
• Ranked in Chambers Global as a leading trial lawyer in the United States and a leading lawyer for Intellectual Property – Patent Litigation. (2012-2020)
• Named an "IP Star" by Managing IP. (2013-2022)
• Named Best Lawyers Dallas "Lawyer of the Year" for Bet the Company Litigation (2015), M&A Litigation (2013) and Banking/Finance Litigation (2012).
• Awarded the Anti-Defamation League's 2010 Larry Schoenbrun Jurisprudence Award.
• Named a "National IP Litigation Star" and "Texas Litigation Star" by Benchmark Plaintiff.
• Recognized in Best Lawyers as a leading lawyer in Commercial Litigation every year since 1993 and in Bet-the-Company Litigation every year since 2006. Also ranked as a leading lawyer in Litigation: Banking & Finance, Intellectual Property, M&A, Patent, and Securities.
• Received Gold Star ranking for Texas Patent Litigation by IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners. (2020-2022)
• Named Best Lawyer in Dallas five different times by D Magazine.
• Named by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the five Top Business Trial Lawyers in the DFW Metroplex.
• Named to the Lawdragon 500 list of “Leading Lawyers in America” each year since its inception.

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Member, Advisory Council of the Federal Circuit
• Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates
• ABA Advisory Panel
• Advisory Board for the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide to promote improvements in judicial administration for all federal courts in the United States
• Executive Committee, University of Texas Law School Alumni Association