Benchmark Litigation Ranks Finnegan a Tier 1 Firm and Recognizes Eight Partners as Litigation Stars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC-The 2025 Benchmark Litigation rankings are live, and Finnegan is pleased to announce the firm has earned a Tier 1 ranking for Intellectual Property in the United States National and listed as a "Recommended" firm for Dispute Resolution in Washington, DC. Eight partners were recognized as Litigation Stars, two of which were also honored as National Practice Area Stars in Intellectual Property.

Finnegan's comprehensive approach to clients' IP needs and the firm's mega-boutique size underpins its year-to-year, decade-to-decade pre-eminence in IP litigation across all industries and tribunals. The firm is comprised of over 250 litigators, including career trial attorneys, who have propelled Finnegan to achieve impressive and impactful victories for our clients in district court litigation, including Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation, ITC investigations; and trademark, copyright, trade dress, and advertising matters. Since being involved in the very first ANDA litigation, Finnegan has been a leading firm representing innovative pharmaceutical companies before federal district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. When it comes to ITC litigation, Finnegan is a pioneer of litigating IP cases at the ITC. In the past five years, Finnegan attorneys have been involved in more than 10 percent of Section 337 cases, with over 150 of the firm's attorneys having litigated at the ITC. Finnegan's trademark litigation practice spans numerous industries and covers all types of trademark rights. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, our lawyers have decades of experience litigating both large and small trademark cases before courts throughout the country and regularly appear before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and its Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the federal circuit courts of appeal, district courts, and other tribunals. Meet the eight Litigation Stars who have contributed to Finnegan's litigation and dispute resolution success below.

Paul W. Browning, Ph.D., is a first chair litigator focusing on patent litigation and appeals, primarily in the chemical and pharmaceutical areas, including Hatch-Waxman (ANDA) litigation. He has tried cases before judges in various U.S. district courts and has handled arbitrations and mediations. He also advises on patent portfolio strategy with an eye toward success in litigation. Paul's broad litigation experience includes taking and cross-examining witnesses at trial, briefing and arguing dispositive motions, drafting appellate briefs, and arguing cases on appeal. He has also managed day-to-day litigation activities in actions involving multiple parties. In addition to his litigation practice, Paul advises clients on a variety of patent matters, including strategic development of their patent portfolios and coordination of prosecution and U.S. and foreign litigation strategy and related proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Virginia L. Carron practices patent and trademark litigation and counseling. Her broad client base includes a large food and beverage company; a company involved in refining chemicals and biofuels, forest and consumer products, fertilizers, polymers and fibers, pollution control and glass; an international manufacturer of hand-made cigars; and numerous international clients in various fields. Virginia has been recognized as one of WIPR's Top 100 Most Influential Women in IP, an IP Star Top 250 Women in IP and a patent and trademark IP Star in Georgia by Managing Intellectual Property, as well as a leader in Georgia in private practice by Intellectual Asset Management 1000 and as an IAM Global Leader. Virginia's litigation experience includes numerous U.S. district court trials, trials before the U.S. International Trade Commission, and appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Virginia counsels clients on intellectual property licensing and related transactional matters in both patents and trademarks for several Fortune 500 companies, including serving as the primary outside counsel to a large multinational corporation and its worldwide subsidiaries for all intellectual property matters. Her practice also includes inter partes review procedures before the PTAB.

Gerald (Jerry) F. Ivey has extensive experience in the areas of civil litigation and trial advocacy, having tried 79 cases to juries in federal and state courts. He concentrates his practice primarily on jury trial patent cases involving Internet, computer software and hardware issues, biotechnology, medical devices, and mechanical products. He also has extensive experience and expertise with trade secrets litigation and counseling. Jerry is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Jerry has acted as lead trial counsel in jury cases involving an array of technologies, including: computer software; optical character recognition technology; parental controls; hardware and software boot-up security; graphic user interface technologies; VOIP technologies; semiconductors; automated key duplication machinery; cases involving self-balancing vehicles; wind and jet engine turbines; cases for biomechanical devices including cardiovascular stents; diagnostic test kits; and pharmaceutical products, such as glaucoma, arthritis, and autoimmune medications. Jerry has been recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for patent litigation and voted by his peers for inclusion in the Top IP Lawyers by Washingtonian Magazine. He received the Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr. Award for Outstanding Trial Advocacy Skills.

Charles E. Lipsey focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, particularly patent infringement litigation. He has handled cases covering a diverse spectrum of mechanical, chemical, and electrical technologies, with an emphasis on cases involving biotechnology and pharmaceutical chemistry. Since joining Finnegan in 1978, Charles has amassed a wealth of experience in patent infringement litigation, patent arbitration proceedings, and patent interferences. He is a Fellow of American College of Trial Lawyers. The Legal 500 U.S. has recognized Charles's distinguished career over the years, naming him one of the leading lawyers in patent litigation and inducting him into the patent litigation Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized by Intellectual Asset Management as a leading patent litigator in the D.C. area, and for his practice before the Federal Circuit. Charles was also inducted into LMG Life Sciences' Hall of Fame and recognized as "Hatch-Waxman (Branded) Litigator of the Year," at the LMG Life Sciences Awards in 2013 and again in 2018. He has been ranked among top U.S. patent lawyers in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Patent Law Practitioners since 2011, and the World IP Review has recognized him as a WIPR Leader for patents in the United States. Charles is one of two Finnegan partners recognized this year by Benchmark Litigation as a 2025 National Practice Area Star.

John D. Livingstone is a nationally recognized first-chair trial lawyer focusing on complex pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology patent litigation before U.S. district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also serves as lead counsel in post-grant proceedings before the PTAB. John has been recognized as an IP Star in Georgia by Managing Intellectual Property since 2013. He has ranked among the top U.S. patent lawyers in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Patent Law Practitioners since 2016. John is recognized by LMG Life Sciences as General Patent Litigator of the Year South, as an Intellectual Property: Life Sciences Star, and for his contributions to "Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation". He also led the litigation teams responsible for the firm's appellate victory in Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Bausch Health Care v. Andrei Iancu and district court win in AstraZeneca AB v. Aurobindo Ltd et al., both of which were selected as Impact Cases of the Year at the LMG Life Sciences Awards.

James B. Monroe is a leading patent litigator with extensive ANDA litigation experience involving the Hatch-Waxman Act governing the approval of pharmaceutical products. He focuses on U.S. district court and appellate litigation and has been lead counsel for numerous matters involving U.S. patent rights. James's practice is focused on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device arts, but he also has represented clients in a wide array of technologies, including industrial chemicals, beverage compositions, food products, packaging materials, photochemistry, petroleum processing, biofuels, alloys, paper products and glass making. He has presented cases before courts, mediators, and arbitrators. He counsels domestic and international clients regarding U.S. intellectual property law by providing infringement, validity, enforceability and clearance opinions, and by advising them in licensing, antitrust, due diligence, and IP portfolio matters. James has been recognized as a leading patent litigator by various publications, including Intellectual Asset Management, LMG Life Sciences, which recognized him as the 2023 Hatch-Waxman Litigator of the Year for Branded Products.

William (Bill) B. Raich, Ph.D., former leader of Finnegan's biotechnology and pharmaceutical practice group, represents innovative companies developing biologics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics. As a patent lawyer with a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology, he focuses his practice on patent litigation, pre-litigation counseling, and contentious proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, applying his technical expertise and courtroom insight to develop simple, persuasive positions for clients. Bill has substantial experience with traditional patent litigation in district court and arbitrations, as well as litigating under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act and litigating Abbreviated New Drug Application cases. He also represents clients before the PTAB, appearing as lead counsel in numerous proceedings. He has been recognized by LMG Life Sciences as General Patent Litigator of the Year in the DC area, as an Intellectual Property: Life Sciences Star, and honored for his contributions in the field of "General Patent Litigation." Bill was also named as a DC IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property and a Leading Patent Litigator in the DC area by Intellectual Asset Management.

Douglas (Chip) A. Rettew is frequently touted as one of the nation's top trademark lawyers, having established himself as a litigator who knows how to efficiently and effectively try the cases that go the distance-before judges and juries alike. Chip has first-chair jury and bench trial and appellate experience and has argued appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Second, Fourth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits. He also litigates before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Chip has significant experience in obtaining (and defeating) temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, including those involving counterfeiting and ex parte seizures. Chip has been recognized in World Trademark Review WTR 1000 as "[o]ne of the best litigators in the country with an unbelievable success rate," "a go-to litigation lead for world-famous consumer brands," and "a bigwig in the IP arena" whose "shrewd litigation and trial skills are unmatched." He was named "Litigator of the Year - DC Metro" at the 2023 Managing IP Americas awards. Chip is the second Finnegan partner recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a 2025 National Practice Area Star.

Benchmark Litigation rankings are determined through extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists and their clients to identify the leading litigators and firms. The interviews explore recent casework handled by firms and encourage individual litigators to provide their professional opinions on peers and practitioners within their practice area and jurisdiction.

Read more about the rankings here.

Contacts

Erika H. Arner, Managing Partner
[email protected]

Anand K. Sharma, Chair
[email protected]

About Finnegan
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Munich, Palo Alto, Reston, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, DC, the firm practices European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law. In addition to services related to all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation, Finnegan provides counseling and litigation services in advertising, privacy, and a wide spectrum of additional IP-adjacent commercial matters, including trade secrets, international trade, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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