McKool Smith Adds ITC Trial Lawyer Kent Stevens

Washington, D.C., May 29, 2012 - McKool Smith, one of America’s leading trial firms, is announcing that veteran ITC trial lawyer Kent R. Stevens has joined the firm as a Principal in its Washington, DC office. Mr. Stevens has more than 20 years of experience in intellectual property (IP) litigation and specializes in handling Section 337 investigations before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). He also focuses on proceedings relating to ITC investigations before the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

"Clients are turning to the ITC for relief against the importation of products that infringe upon their patents,” said Mike McKool, co-Founder and Chairman of McKool Smith. ”Kent is an expert in ITC litigation and a very well-respected trial lawyer. His expertise will be a valuable asset to our clients and our national IP litigation practice. I am pleased to welcome him to the firm."

“I have always had a great deal of respect for McKool Smith and the firm’s track record, particularly in intellectual property litigation,” said Mr. Stevens. “When you think of McKool Smith, you associate the firm with first rate trial lawyers and big courtroom verdicts. I am thrilled to have joined such a distinguished group."

Mr. Stevens served as both an Investigative Attorney and Senior Investigative Attorney for the ITC’s Office of Unfair Import Investigations. During his ten years of service, he handled cases involving petitions for temporary relief, gray market cases, and numerous patent cases involving pharmaceutical, electronic, and other technologies. He has participated in trials before six ITC Administrative Law Judges and has been in private practice representing complainants, respondents, and third parties since 1998. He also served as a law clerk for the Hon. John J. Mathias in the ITC's Office of Administrative Law Judges. Mr. Stevens is a former President of the ITC Trial Lawyers Association and a frequent speaker on international trade issues relating to intellectual property litigation. He is listed in the US Legal 500 and Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine’s “IAM 250” listing of leading intellectual property strategists.

Mr. Stevens earned his B.A., M.P.A., and J.D. from Drake University and an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center.

McKool Smith recently announced the opening of an office in Silicon Valley, marking the firm’s eighth office and second in California. In September 2011, the members of Hennigan Dorman, a Los Angeles-based trial firm, joined McKool Smith. This added 35 trial lawyers to McKool Smith’s roster and expanded the firm’s intellectual property litigation and commercial litigation practices to the West Coast.

With more than 170 litigators across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. The firm has won more National Law Journal and VerdictSearch “Top 100 Verdicts” over the last five years than any other law firm. In 2012, the firm was named intellectual property “Firm of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and previously was recognized as “IP Firm of the Year” by Law360.  McKool Smith represents leading clients across a broad range of practice areas, including complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense.