How to Make an Alternative Fee Bid for Patent Litigation Work: The Essentials for Law Firm Attorneys

Patent litigation has been one of the last hold outs, but the trend away from the billable hour continues to erode the traditional law firm business model. Many law firms practicing IP law realize they need to be prepared to make alternative fee bids to win work. Yet in a poll taken during an IP Chat Channel webinar in November, nearly a quarter of the outside counsel responding said that their work on patent litigation using an alternative fee arrangement had been unprofitable or barely broke even. Clearly, alternative fee models make new demands on firms to collect and analyze data on their past experiences and to project future costs. This panel of experts includes a top consultant on law firm business, and two law firm attorneys, one with successful experience developing contingency fee arrangements, the other from a firm that has conducted an extensive data collection and analysis project aimed at developing profitable alternative fee work.

Speakers:

• Tim B. Corcoran, Altman Weil, Inc.
• David J.F. Gross, Faegre & Benson, LLP
• Jake Holdreith, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP
• Garret A. Leach, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP

How to Solicit an Alternative Fee Bid for Patent Litigation: The Essentials for In-house Counsel

The disadvantages of basing litigation legal fees on the billable hour have been discussed at much length. But coming up with a workable alternative – one that better aligns incentives for the client and the outside law firm - is hard work. This webinar features three speakers each of whom has hands on experience with that effort. An in-house legal procurement executive will share a detailed litigation proposal template developed at his company, based on cutting litigation into bite-sized “components.” The head of litigation at another company will share his cutting-edge experiments in alternative fees in patent litigation. And a consultant to in-house law departments will describe how and why in-house IP attorneys need to lose their wariness about alternative fee deals.

Speakers:

• Jeffrey N Myers, Pfizer Inc.
• Chandan Sarkar, Johnson & Johnson
• Jason Winmill, Argopoint

Trade Secret Remedies

What are the critical aspects of a crafting and proving trade secret damages?  How do trade secret damages differ from patent damages?  How do you reconcile the tension between trade secret damages and injunctive relief? 

The program will include a review of the creative remedies that courts have granted for trade secrets misappropriation, including remedies resembling reasonable royalties as well as disgorgement, and equitable relief. Topics include calibrating injunction relief to business concerns beyond a simple “non-use/non-disclosure” injunction; determining the appropriate length of “lead time” injunctions; monitoring, verifying, and reporting on the "misappropriator's" activity going forward; and transferring intellectual property rights gained through misappropriation.  Finally, the presentation will include the availability of criminal sanctions and remedies available under the Economic Espionage Act.

Speakers:

• Victoria Cundliff, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP