Stephen R. Smith is a partner in Cooley's Litigation department and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation, ITC Section 337 Litigation, and Commercial Litigation practice groups. Mr. Smith is an adjunct professor at George Mason University, where he teaches a course on patent law. He joined the Firm in 2011 and is resident in the Washington, D.C. office.
Mr. Smith has nearly twenty years of experience litigating high-profile, complex disputes over a diverse range of industries. His expertise focuses on intellectual property litigation, including Section 337 investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
In 2013, Mr. Smith was named an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, earning the top ranking for his patent litigation work. Legal 500 also praised Mr. Smith's ITC Section 337 litigation experience.
Mr. Smith has tried cases for some of the most sophisticated technology and life sciences clients in the world in both the ITC and the district courts. For example, Mr. Smith has handled more than 30 Section 337 patent investigations. Over the past six years, he has tried eight ITC Section 337 trials, scoring multiple wins for large international consumer electronics companies.
In addition, Mr. Smith has acted as trial counsel in a number of district court patent infringement litigations, including a recent success for a leading consumer electronics company in a Northern District of California jury trial. His trial experience also includes favorable outcomes in the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of Illinois, and the Eastern District of Virginia.
Since joining Cooley in 2011, Mr. Smith has helped position Cooley as having one of the most sought out ITC Section 337 investigation practices in the country as was highlighted by Corporate Counsel's 2013 Section 337 Litigation survey. Prior to his private practice at the firm, Mr. Smith served as a senior investigative attorney with the ITC. During his time at the ITC, Mr. Smith served as lead government counsel in numerous high-stakes trials impacting hundreds of millions of dollars of commerce.
Upon graduating from law school, Mr. Smith clerked for Justice Florence K. Murray of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, followed by a clerkship for Judge Robert W. Lovegreen of the U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island.
Mr. Smith received his JD, cum laude, from George Washington University Law School in 1994, and his BA, summa cum laude, from Villanova University in 1991, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Maryland and District of Columbia. In addition, Mr. Smith is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Seventh and Federal Circuits.
Mr. Smith is currently a member of the Executive Board for the ITC Trial Lawyers Association.
