Fish & Richardson Principals Honored as 2022 Attorneys of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer

Fish & Richardson is pleased to announce that Principals Joe Herriges, Craig Deutsch, Dorothy Whelan, Grace Kim, and Jennifer Huang have been honored as 2022 Attorneys of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer for their defense of General Motors in LKQ Corp., et al. v. GM Global Technology Operations LLC and related matters before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Led by Herriges, the team of Fish attorneys defended GM in 25 post-grant matters — including inter partes review, post-grant review, and ex parte reexamination — when LKQ Corporation, a manufacturer of generic auto parts, challenged the validity of auto part design patents belonging to GM. Fifteen of those matters were denied institution by the PTAB or dropped by LKQ altogether after GM’s preliminary arguments, ensuring a quick resolution to the majority of the claims. Of the five IPRs that went to final decision at the PTAB, including two that are currently on appeal, GM won three, in addition to winning all five of the ex parte reexamination proceedings. The end result was an outstanding 92% win rate for GM.

By demonstrating GM’s design patent strength, Herriges and his team set the precedent for future challenges, saved millions of dollars, and validated GM’s significant financial investment in initial design and development. In light of this case’s size, scope, and potential repercussions for not only GM and LKQ but also the entire spare parts industry, the results represented a monumental success for the Fish team and their client.

Minnesota Lawyer’s Attorneys of the Year event honors individuals and groups for their work in procuring a successful result in an important case or business transaction, leadership in professional associations, participating in newsworthy events in the legal community, performing significant public services, or excellence in providing in-house legal services. The winners will be honored at an awards gala in Minneapolis on February 15.