Daily Journal Names Fish & Richardson Principal Juanita Brooks to Top 100 List

The Daily Journal recognized Juanita Brooks, a litigator and principal at Fish & Richardson's Southern California office, among the "Top 100 Lawyers" in California for 2016. The honor is annually bestowed on attorneys whose practice has changed industry, society or the law.

Brooks, a leading trial and appellate lawyer specializing in complex intellectual property, was distinguished amongst the field for her skilled pharmaceutical and technology case work that recently saw a $200 million verdict against client Gilead Sciences, Inc. nullified.

At the crux of the lawsuit were the multibillion dollar hepatitis C drugs, Harvoni and Sovaldi. Three months after a jury awarded Merck & Co. the multimillion dollar verdict damages just 1/10th of what Merck demanded thanks to Brooks' team Brooks and the trial team convinced a U.S. District Court judge to render the patents unenforceable after proving Merck's counsel deliberately fabricated testimony to cover up misconduct during deposition and trial. The judge agreed and found Merck guilty of "unclean hands."

"We were thrilled when the [judge] handed down her order finding Merck's patents unenforceable against Gilead due to Merck's business and litigation misconduct," Brooks said in the interview. She went on to say the team feels "good about the record on appeal" because of the judge's meticulousness in detailing Merck's wrongdoing in the 65-page opinion.

To further illustrate Brooks' courtroom expertise, the publication highlighted Brooks' success in defending Microsoft's popular Xbox gaming products and services against infringement claims involving three patents for detached sensors as well as learning and computing methods. A federal judge invalidated the claims finding the patents to be abstract and not containing anything inventive.

In both cases, the Daily Journal noted, Brooks' collaboration with junior Fish attorneys in which she supported a younger partner and associate in taking on larger roles in the cases.

"One of the problems with being involved in cases where the stakes are always high, it is rare for younger lawyers to get a chance to handle significant motions, witnesses or arguments," Brooks said in the feature.

"However, I am fortunate to work with so many talented young lawyers and at the same time work with courageous in-house counsel who are willing to trust me when I tell them that a particular lawyer will not only be up to the task, but is the best fit for that task," Brooks added.

The special report was published in both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal.