Overview

Christopher Dillon is a first-chair trial lawyer who specializes in complex patent and intellectual property litigation and is the managing group leader of Fish & Richardson's 200+-lawyer Litigation Practice Group. He has successfully represented clients in federal and state courts throughout the country, in post-grant proceedings, and in investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

His practice focuses on advising clients regarding IP issues, assisting clients in licensing their patents to competitors, and defending patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation brought by competitors. Chris is adept at litigating a variety of IP and commercial disputes across a wide range of industries, including solid-state lighting, software, semiconductors, optical storage, medical devices, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, insurance, and financial services.

Chris represents U.S. companies, as well as many international clients involved in U.S. litigation. Chris’s approach to litigation involves a deep understanding of clients’ business goals, early identification of the key issues that will win the case, and a relentless focus on winning those key issues.

Before joining Fish, Chris was a special assistant district attorney at the Middlesex County district attorney’s office, where he was the lead trial attorney for 15 trials. He also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward F. Harrington of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Before law school, Chris served for seven years as a captain in the U.S. Air Force (1988-1995), where he managed the development of leading-edge technology programs, including bistatic radars, signal processors, integrated databases, and information management systems.

Experience

MSC Software v. Altair Engineering:  lead trial counsel for defendants in trade secret dispute regarding multi-body dynamic solver software.

TOGGLED v. Philips:  lead trial counsel for plaintiff in five-patent infringement action regarding LED lighting.

Toshiba Corporation v. Imation et al.:  lead trial counsel for eight defendants in three-patent infringement action regarding recordable DVDs.

Flex Head:  lead trial counsel for licensing patent portfolio regarding flexible fire sprinklers.

TOGGLED:  lead counsel for licensing patent portfolio regarding LED lighting portfolio.

Professional associations

  • Federal Circuit Bar Association Global Fellows (2012-2013)
  • Adjunct Professor, New England Law, Patent Litigation (2012)

Pro bono activities

Named to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's Pro Bono Honor Roll for providing 50 or more pro bono hours in a single year (2022-2023).

Kids In Need of Defense (2009 – present)

Tahirih Justice Center (2021 – present)