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Nineteen Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys have been recognized by Intellectual Asset Management magazine in the IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners for 2022. In addition, the IAM Patent 1000 ranked Womble Bond Dickinson as a top patent firm in California, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Texas.

Firm attorneys ranked in the 2022 IAM Patent 1000 are: 

The following are IAM’s descriptions of WBD’s patent capabilities on a state level:

California

“Womble Bond Dickinson dispenses the full suite of patent services and acquits itself with distinction across the contentious/non-contentious divide. Its team in Silicon Valley dispatches prosecution and strategic counselling instructions with an assured hand and strengthens legal security for cutting-edge innovations in the computer hardware, software, networking, electronics and medical technology areas. The backbone of the team is formed by Dan Ovanezian, a leading strategist; Kevin Shao, who has extensive electrical engineering and software development and consulting industry experience; and James Scheller, who writes patents and manages portfolios with enforceability in mind. In January 2022, the firm unveiled trial lawyer Fabio Marino as its new signing. A master of the art of persuasion, he is regularly enlisted to bring and defend high-value claims.”

Delaware

“Womble Bond Dickinson is stacked with patent prosecution and litigation talent and has over 95 lawyers, 10 patent agents and two science advisers in its national group. The outfit has special expertise in the pharmaceutical sector and maintains a busy abbreviated new drug application litigation and counselling practice, central to which are Delaware attorneys Mary Bourke, Dana Severance, and Daniel Attaway. These lawyers have an enviable record of success, founded on their proficiency as advocates and their well-roundedness as patent strategists. Bourke leads the firm’s multi-disciplinary life sciences industry group.”

Georgia

“Womble Bond Dickinson maintains a truly diverse IP practice and represents market leaders in the manufacturing, energy and high-technology sectors, among others. Its IP group comprises well over 100 patent professionals and is expertly led by Atlanta-based James Vaughan, who kickstarted the firm’s IP activities back in 1998. He has nearly 40 years of experience as a strategist, prosecutor and portfolio developer and is a rock for patrons such as Graphic Packaging International, for which he implemented a privately developed internet-based patent portfolio management tool. His work goes directly to his clients’ bottom line. He has lead trial counsel experience and continues to engage in the litigation side in a behind-the-scenes and strategy-focused capacity. On the frontlines, meanwhile, is top advocate William Ragland Jr., another of the group’s confidence-inspiring veteran leaders. He coordinates and manages the group’s representation of Southern Company, one of the largest energy companies in the United States. Contentious matters are also the focus of Christine Dupriest and Preston Heard. Working in support of Baltimore-based partner Barry Herman, the pair recently won a precedent-setting case for DynaEnergetics before the USPTO’s Precedential Opinion Panel, shifting the scope of the duties of administrative patent judges in PTAB proceedings. Deepening the local prosecution bench, Scott Sudderth is also an anchor of a robust IP transactions offering; the versatile lawyer also leans into the litigation offering, and for names such as Card-Monroe Corp, a world leader in the field of tufting technology, he prosecutes patents and manages any litigation involving them.”

"Womble Bond Dickinson maintains a truly diverse IP practice and represents market leaders in the manufacturing, energy and high-technology sectors, among others."

IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners 2022

Massachusetts

“Newly added to the Massachusetts rankings this year, Womble Bond Dickinson’s Boston team has built up a head of steam and added significant new clients recently, including Honeywell and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. While this has diversified its clientele, the set remains thick with a host of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Its local capabilities are wide ranging and encompass prosecution, regulatory counselling, licensing and Hatch-Waxman litigation. Cristin Cowles sits in the driver’s seat. The specifics of her work cannot be disclosed for confidentiality reasons, but she has provided huge value to market-leading and early-stage companies looking to build up their portfolios and fortify their overall IP position.”

North Carolina

“One of the most active firms in the patent market, Womble Bond Dickinson undertakes extensive prosecution work and is constantly engaged in high-profile litigation and transactions, with excellent results across the board to show for its efforts. Right in the thick of it all, the team in North Carolina is motivated and inspired by the leadership of stellar attorneys Christopher Humphrey, Ryan Cagle, Kevin Lyn and John Morrow. Humphrey serves as leader of the patent prosecution and litigation group and is the driving force behind major patent counselling initiatives for a top tobacco company and a leading university. Taking the reins of the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology group, Cagle stands out for his global prosecution expertise. Lyn leads the mechanical patent team and is a commercially attuned patent strategist. Morrow is the immediate past chair of Womble’s IP litigation group and an experienced lead trial counsel. He recently netted a treble damages award for Nexus in a suit involving the theft of its patents, which were then used to sue the company.”

Texas

“Womble Bond Dickinson earns extended coverage in the IAM Patent 1000 for 2022 with the addition of Karthika Perumal to the Texas prosecution and transactions rankings. She takes the lead on important patent projects for healthcare and energy clients – including a number of research institutes and universities – and has a lot of momentum in the practice right now. Leader of the global IP energy practice and manager of the Houston office Jeffrey Whittle is also flying along; he takes advantage of more than 30 years of experience to guide technology and patent monetization and protection initiatives. Womble Bond Dickinson’s firm-wide IP group is steeped in all aspects of the patent practice; those who enlist Perumal and Whittle get easy access to a cavernous chest of resources at a national and global level.”

Click here to read the full IAM Patent 1000 report on Womble Bond Dickinson.

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