On July 31st, Weil announced a milestone expansion of its IP, Technology & Science Litigation practice with the addition of three nationally recognized first-chair trial partners, who joined the Firm together: Doug Lumish, Jeff Homrig and Gabe Gross. Doug and Jeff have been named Co-Heads of this practice and will anchor the Firm’s growing nationwide intellectual property, technology and science litigation capabilities. Doug and Gabe will reside in our Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices, and Jeff will be based in Texas.

Doug and Jeff are returning to Weil after beginning their legal careers here. They had each been resident in Weil’s Silicon Valley office for more than a decade, as integral members of the Firm’s renowned Patent and IP Litigation team. They are also the latest in a long line of returning partners: since January 2023, an astounding 13 former Weil lawyers have rejoined the Firm.

Doug and Jeff sat down for a conversation with Barry Wolf about their return and their plans for the future of the IP, Technology & Science Litigation practice.

Barry: Doug and Jeff, it is so good to have you back at Weil. And we’re delighted to welcome Gabe to the Firm as well. What does this homecoming mean to you?

Doug: Thanks Barry. Speaking for Jeff, Gabe and myself, we could not be more excited to be part of the strategic nationwide build Weil has launched in recent months. This is equal parts a homecoming and a new beginning for us. Jeff and I spent our formative years as lawyers here, and we are delighted to rejoin so many of our former colleagues and friends. Together with Gabe, who has been our partner for over 13 years now, this is an opportunity to be on the ground floor of something very special. We can feel the momentum and are loving being back.

Jeff: I will add that returning made so much sense because Weil has such an elite IP litigation platform. So many of the world’s most innovative companies turn to Weil for high-stakes patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark and related commercial disputes with strategic implications for their bottom line. We are excited to join Weil’s sterling practices in these areas.

Barry: You know, you are the 12^th and 13^th partners who have returned to the Firm since the start of 2023. Do you think there is something special about Weil?

Doug: For sure. There is something intangible about having been a Weil lawyer. Lots of firms talk about being a “family,” but it is real here. The fact that over a dozen partners have come home to Weil really says something special about the Weil culture and platform. Weil has a uniquely collaborative environment, where attorneys across disciplines and offices work together, and not in competition with each other, to develop creative solutions to complex matters. When we were here the first time, we saw a lot of this cross-practice teamwork to an extent that was unusual in the market, and we can see it is even more true today. Everyone is laser-focused on doing whatever it takes to get the best results for the client, as opposed to maximizing credit metrics for themselves. And that is the kind of culture we thrive in, and that we think is key to establishing cohesive teams and rich and meaningful client relationships.

Barry: Tell me a little bit about your practice.

Jeff: Sure, all three of us are first-chair trial lawyers who excel at protecting our clients’ most important technology, IP and products at the heart of their businesses. We bring deep experience across the science and technology sectors – including in high tech, biotechnology, life sciences, medical devices, and AI – as well as the ability to handle any IP matter at any phase of litigation and in any venue. Our team has decades of experience handling high-stakes patent, trade secret, and other disputes across the technology and life sciences industries. And we have an exceptional record of winning at all stages of litigation, including jury and bench trials, arbitrations, and on appeal.

We like to think of our practice as a full service, one-stop operation, on both sides of the “v.” We litigate and try patent disputes before the U.S. federal district courts, the ITC, the PTAB, the Federal Circuit and even customs regulators. We try fast-paced trade secrets litigations in state and federal trial and appellate courts around the country. Our expertise also encompasses licensing, trademark, copyright, contract breach, interference, fraud, unfair competition and related commercial claims, which is essential to our ability to advance our clients’ business and IP needs. Together, we bring decades of counseling and courtroom advocacy expertise together for our clients.

Barry: At Weil, you have an opportunity to grow the IP, Technology & Science Litigation practice together. What’s your focus and what are your thoughts on building out this practice nationally from Silicon Valley and Texas?

Doug: Our mission is to build the best IP team in the world, and to have fun doing it. As Jeff noted earlier, we go beyond the conventional “IP” label to help clients with a variety of challenges faced by tech and life sciences companies today, including claims we often see combined with patent and trade secret claims such as fraud, interference, breach and the like.  We are builders, and not coming to Weil simply to maintain our current practice and client base, but rather to harness the platform and grow something new and different.

The Firm has made tremendous investments into its nationwide expansion, and we are very excited to be a part of this effort and contribute to the ongoing growth in a significant way. We also know, first-hand, Weil’s singular legacy and historic excellence in the field of IP litigation, and we are fired up to be a part of the next chapter in that story.

Barry: How do you judge the opportunity in technology and science litigation right now?

Jeff: There is no more exciting time than the present for navigating and trying complex, high-stakes technology and life sciences cases. Obviously, sophisticated technology has been ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives for generations now. But the day-to-day advances in AI are exceptional, and we are at an inflection point akin to those we saw with the advent of the web, the smartphone and the internet of things. Beyond AI, tech is advancing at a head-spinning rate in batteries, data centers, clean energy, blockchain, enterprise software, semiconductors, ad-tech, and med-tech. On the life sciences side, the advancements in pharmaceuticals, prosthetics and treating disease and aging, are simply staggering. We can expect even more intense investment, joint ventures, and other business relationships around these areas will continue to drive business and IP disputes, as well as other opportunities to collaborate. Our team is perfectly positioned to help clients with their most difficult legal challenges in all of these spaces.

Barry: How do Silicon Valley and Texas compare with respect to patent litigation?

Doug: Silicon Valley and Texas are two of the most important regions for technology litigation today, particularly given how many technology companies are based in those regions and how familiar and adept those courts are with quickly and efficiently adjudicating the intricate issues and technology involved. Many of the largest companies have suits pending in both jurisdictions at any given time. 

Jeff:  There are, of course, also important differences in approach, procedure and jury pools between the two regions, and the types of strategic advantages they present for litigants. Regardless of where a practitioner is based, it is imperative to understand what each venue has to offer, in addition to other popular jurisdictions for IP litigation across the country. Doug, Gabe, and I all practice fluently in courts in both jurisdictions, of course, and we try cases anywhere our clients need us.

Barry: What’s your vision for the practice over the next 3 to 5 years?

Jeff: We fully expect to see the Firm continue to grow this already top-tier practice and to enhance its stature as a destination firm for the world’s top technology and life sciences companies. Importantly, our team and this practice, like so many other groups in Weil Litigation, will integrate and collaborate with other teams to help drive new business and develop cohesive strategies for our clients to manage risk and create opportunities.

Barry: What should our clients be thinking about right now and as they look into the future?

Doug: I tell clients to buckle up: the landscape will continue to evolve quickly. Change is the only constant. It is an understatement to say that AI is going to continue to disrupt IP law both in the disputes that erupt between businesses developing and using AI, and the way lawyers leverage AI to be more efficient for clients. Disputes about who owns AI-generated material will extend in all directions: computer code, publications, scripts, artwork, designs, inventions, and the list goes on. The explosion of trade secret cases, either together with patent claims or as a substitute for them, will continue as more and more companies see the huge verdicts and the evolving patent landscape as motivators to use trade secret law to protect their technologies. And disputes continue to be more global with claims often brought simultaneously in district court, state court, the PTAB, the UPC and in other foreign venues.  Our clients will need lawyers who are prepared to fight for them across all of these different fronts.