The Inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global IP Lawyers

Walter Davis of Blank Rome, Heidi Keefe of Cooley and Anand Sharma of Finnegan are among the honorees in this inaugural guide.

We’re honored to introduce The Lawdragon 500 Leading Global IP Lawyers.

This is the inaugural edition illuminating the rocket scientists, Ph.D.’s, military weapons experts, cancer researchers and engineers who turned their vision to the law. Today, they work with entrepreneurs to nurture patent portfolios, monetize and license them, protect trade secrets and engage in the highest profile litigation over technology, trademarks and other intellectual gold around which the world economy now revolves.

Cooley’s Heidi Keefe represented Facebook in its first patent trial, in 2011. She won. She went on to represent SpaceX in its 2014 bid to eliminate a rocket-landing patent held by Blue Origin. Starting out, she loved watching Star Trek with her Dad, and dreamed of a career in space. She studied astrophysics (and Spanish) at Wellesley College and was drawn to Santa Clara University School of Law because of its Space Law program. Undeterred by a then-required degree in hard sciences to sit for the patent bar, she secured a letter from Carl Sagan vouching for astrophysics as a hard science and blasted off, going where no [wo]man had ever gone before.

After earning his Electrical Engineering degree from Cornell, Blank Rome partner Walter D. Davis Jr. returned to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before enrolling at The George Washington University Law School. After graduation, he worked in several IP firms before joining Blank Rome, where his skills as a lead trial lawyer in patent, trade secret and other intellectual property litigation are on full display in courtrooms nationwide.

After earning his degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Anand K. Sharma joined NASA as a spacecraft engineer. He enrolled in New York Law School, and joined Finnegan, one of the nation’s leading IP firms, where he is now chair. He tries patent and IP cases throughout the country, while also managing billion-dollar patent portfolios. From data storage and software to telecom medical devices, polymer films and electronics, Sharma’s decades of experience shine.

We selected the 500 through our process combining journalistic research, robust submissions (thank you!) and vetting with experts. Members of our Lawdragon Hall of Fame are denoted with an asterisk.

Thanks for joining us as Lawdragon takes its own great leap forward offering greater coverage of intellectual property. The lawyers honored here – and the scores of others considered – inspired us with the kaleidoscope of skills they bring to their practice. While many bring technical skills, others followed less specialized paths. They all contribute to one of the most robust sectors of law practice, one which boasts remarkable expertise at many of the nation’s leading firms, as well as outstanding boutiques.