Two teams led by Partner Mark Fleming were recognized as “Litigators of the Week” by The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily for securing two major appellate victories in the span of just two business days—overturning more than $500 million in damages in high-stakes patent cases for clients Apple and PNC Bank.

On June 12, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of PNC Bank, reversing nearly $223 million in jury verdicts awarded to USAA. The court found that the asserted patents were directed to abstract ideas and lacked an inventive concept, rendering them ineligible under Section 101.

Just four days later, on June 16, the Federal Circuit handed down another win—this time for Apple—vacating a $300 million infringement verdict secured by Optis Cellular Technology. The court’s decision addressed critical issues surrounding standard-essential patents and damages admissibility.

In both cases, Fleming, co-chair of WilmerHale’s Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice, led the appellate strategy and worked closely with the firm’s trial teams to ensure seamless coordination from trial through appeal. 

“These appeals were tremendous team efforts,” said Fleming. “While only one person gets to stand up at oral argument, the results are a testament to the amazing work of everyone on our trial and appellate teams who worked on these matters for years.”

The WilmerHale teams included a deep bench of attorneys across multiple offices, including Gregory Lantier, Andrew Danford, Brittany Amadi, David Cavanaugh, Joseph Mueller, Mark Selwyn, Timothy Syrett, Heath Brooks, Ravi Deol, Derek Gosma, Makenzi Herbst, Greg Israelsen, Amy Mahan, Joey Meyer, Alex Nemtzow, Jerry Salvatore, Hannah Santasawatkul and Allison Schultz. The firm also collaborated with co-counsel at Gillam & Smith and Munger, Tolles & Olson, and was guided throughout by the strategic insights of the clients’ in-house legal teams.

Read Fleming’s full Q&A with Litigation Daily.