Derek Walter is an associate in the Patent Litigation practice in Weil’s Silicon Valley office.
Mr. Walter’s practice area focuses on technologies in the biological and chemical disciplines. He has worked on both the plaintiff and defense side in matters relating to DNA sequencing technology, noninvasive fetal diagnostic techniques, and laundry chemicals. Mr. Walter has participated in representing clients before the International Trade Commission and US District Courts in all phases of patent litigation encompassing a wide range of technical areas, including life sciences, software, data storage devices, Internet technologies, networking equipment, and microprocessor design. During the 2008-09 judicial term, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph J. Farnan Jr. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Mr. Walter began practicing law in 2006 after graduating Order of the Coif from Berkeley Law. While in law school, Mr. Walter served as an executive editor of the California Law Review. Prior to pursuing a legal career, Mr. Walter earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Derek is the author of over a dozen scientific publications in areas including bacterial genetics, gas phase ion chemistry, and computational chemistry.