September 5, 2008 10:50 AM

Litigator of the Week: Bill Lee of WilmerHale

Posted by Dimitra Kessenides

 
Like just about every other litigator we know, Bill Lee was on vacation last week. (His August sanctuary is a place on Martha's Vineyard.) But we don't know of any other lawyer who racked up so many wins on his week off. Let's review: On Monday, he learned that an administrative law judge had recommended that the ITC bar certain global positioning system products--made by a company Lee's client Broadcom had sued for patent infringement--from entering the U.S. On Thursday, Broadcom scored another victory when Santa Ana federal district court judge James Selna ruled that its arch-nemesis--Qualcomm--was in contempt of an injunction against using Broadcom wireless technology. Then on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a $49 million judgment against Lee's client Targus Information, which had been sued by competitor 800 Adept for infringement and tortious interference. Not bad for a week at the beach.

And to top it all off, Lee's beloved Red Sox are on a roll. (Not that we consider the success of your chosen sports team a critical criterion for Litigator of the Week.) Lee told us yesterday that despite injuries to some of the team's best players--including J.D. Drew and Josh Beckett--the Sox have won 12 of their last 16 games. The ever-studious Lee has noticed that the team, which is composed mostly of under-25 players, has thrived since the departure of the controversial slugger Manny Ramirez. "They're fun to watch," Lee told us.

If you're an impartial observer, Lee can also be fun to watch in the courtroom. If you're on the other side, maybe not so much. Luckily for Lee's courtroom opponents, his schedule is easing up. In the last 18 months, he told us, he's tried 13 cases and argued 15 appeals. Next year, he has only a mere six trials scheduled. He won't even need a vacation!

--Andrew Longstreth

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