Goodwin partners Neel Chatterjee and Brett Schuman have once again been named to Daily Journal’s Top Intellectual Property Lawyers for 2024. The annual award recognizes the standout intellectual property lawyers in California based on their career accomplishments and major achievements in intellectual property law over the past year.
Based in Silicon Valley, Chatterjee is a partner in Goodwin’s Intellectual Property practice. An internationally recognized technology and trial lawyer, Chatterjee has a passion for representing entrepreneurs and companies at the cutting edge of new and disruptive technologies, and his cases often break new ground in undefined areas of the law. A key strategist on complex litigation spanning multiple venues, Chatterjee simplifies complex concepts to ensure that judges and juries understand the key issues in each case. He has substantial experience handling disputes related to patents, trade secrets, copyrights, internet law, and complex commercial technology issues.
Chatterjee has repeatedly been recognized by Daily Journal as a Top IP Lawyer for nearly two decades. This year’s issue noted his work representing “clients that range from innovative startups to global brands,” often in bet-the-company litigation. It highlighted his representation of HotSpot Therapeutics, Inc. in a case that revolved around trade secrets and breach of contract concerning "DNA encoded libraries” that are crucial for potential cancer treatment drug discovery, and representation of Smartcar in a case involving the evolving legal and regulatory landscape of car telematics and computer systems access.
Schuman is Co-Chair of Goodwin’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice, a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, the former Chair of the firm’s San Francisco office and the former head of the Litigation department for Goodwin’s California offices. Schuman also Co-Chairs Goodwin’s Cannabis practice. He serves as lead partner and lead trial counsel in patent infringement litigation matters involving mobile phone technology, broadband communications technology, semiconductor fabrication and circuitry, wearables, and other technologies. Schuman’s practice also comprises copyright and trade secret litigation, including trade secret litigation relating to employee mobility and trade secret litigation between competitors.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Schuman has been recognized as a Top IP Lawyer by Daily Journal. This year’s issue highlighted his more-than-a-decade-long defense of clients CommScope and its subsidiaries, including 2Wire, in patent litigation filed against them by TQ Delta LLC. It also noted his work in the cannabis sector, defending Kiva Brands in a trademark infringement lawsuit and leading the successful defense of Raw Garden in federal trademark infringement litigation.