Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Fish & Richardson P.C.
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Fish & Richardson
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 359
- Gross Revenues: $401,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $1,115,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,485,000
- Year Over Year Change: 3
Law, like life, offers no sure things. Yet every year it’s a pretty safe bet that Fish & Richardson will handle more patent litigation in the United States than any other firm. Indeed, in 2010, Fish handled 128 patent cases in federal district court, nearly twice as many as its closest competitor. That workload saw the firm named 2011’s most used patent litigation firm by The American Lawyer’s sister publication, Corporate Counsel—a designation Fish had gotten used to, having earned it the preceding seven years as well.
Founded in Boston in 1878, Fish has represented a dream team of technology giants over the years, from Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright Brothers in its early decades, to Microsoft Corporation today. (Fish’s success reversing $2 billion in damages awards against the software giant was a key factor in its selection as a finalist as The American Lawyer’s IP Litigation Department of the Year in 2010.) Fish’s lawyers, of whom more than 65 hold Ph.D.s, have also proven adept at turning revenue into profits. While Fish ranked an admirable fourth (of 84 firms) on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index—growing its revenues and profits per partner between 2007 and 2009—it embraced a leaner staffing model during the crisis and suffered two rounds of attorney (and staff) layoffs in 2009. Fish’s approximately 360 lawyers today represents a 100–attorney decrease from its 2008 head count.
Fish lawyers may not be out to save the world—the firm ranked 101st of 200 firms on The American Lawyer’s 2011 pro bono survey—but postrecession (and not coincidentally, postlayoffs) they’re a relatively happy lot, with the firm scoring twenty–fourth of 126 firms on the 2011 Midlevel Associates Survey (it was thirty–fourth of 137 firms in 2010).
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 72 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 72 | 3 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 123 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 41 | 8 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 101 | 30 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 38 | 2 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 24 | no change | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 76 | 56 | Summer programs |
In the News
Justices Rule for Monsanto in Case Over Seed Patent
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 15, 2013
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that is often skeptical of patents embraced a key seed patent on Monday in the case of a Monsanto Co. soybean variety that was being replicated by savvy farmers.
K&L Gates, Fish & Richardson Face Sanctions Bid in HP Patent Row
Jan Wolfe : The American Lawyer : May 15, 2013
A patent licensing company called U.S. Ethernet Innovations LLC has moved for sanctions against Hewlett-Packard Co. and two of its outside law firms, arguing that they improperly made payments to a potential vital fact witness.
K&L Gates, Fish & Richardson Face Sanctions Bid in HP Patent Row
Jan Wolfe : The Litigation Daily : May 14, 2013
Kasowitz Makes Silicon Valley Hire
Julia Love : The Recorder : May 14, 2013
Patent litigator Steven Carlson is leaving Fish & Richardson to lead the Silicon Valley office of Kasowitz, arriving as the firm rebuilds in the Valley. Earlier this month, the head of the office, Douglas Lumish, jumped to Latham & Watkins with two other Silicon Valley-based partners and a New York-based partner.
K&L Gates, Fish Face Sanctions Bid in HP Patent Row
Jan Wolfe : The Litigation Daily : May 14, 2013
Genetically Modified Seed Patent Embraced
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 14, 2013
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that is often skeptical of patents yesterday embraced a key seed patent in the case of a Monsanto Co. soybean variety that was being replicated by savvy farmers.
Supreme Court Sides with Monsanto in Seed Patent Case
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 14, 2013
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that is often skeptical of patents embraced a key seed patent on Monday in the case of a Monsanto Co. soybean variety that was being replicated by savvy farmers.
Supreme Court Sides With Monsanto in Seed Patent Case
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 13, 2013
Supreme Court Sides with Monsanto in Seed Patent Case
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 13, 2013
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that is often skeptical of patents embraced a key seed patent on Monday in the case of a Monsanto Co. soybean variety that was being replicated by savvy farmers.
High Court Embrace For Seed Patent
Tony Mauro : The National Law Journal : May 13, 2013
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court that is often skeptical of patents embraced a key seed patent on Monday in the case of a Monsanto Co. soybean variety that was being replicated by savvy farmers.
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