Stephen Payne

Age: 35

Law Firm: Irell & Manella

Practice Area: Intellectual Property

Title: Partner

Location: Newport Beach, Calif.

Law School: University of Chicago Law School

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.

In 2023 and 2024, I was a core member of the trial team that secured three jury verdicts for Netlist finding that Samsung and Micron willfully infringed Netlist patents related to computer memory technology, and collectively awarding over $800 million in damages, and a bench trial verdict that Netlist’s patents were not unenforceable. The cases were significant not only because they validated Netlist’s technology, but also because our team was able to conduct and prevail in these trials in a compact time frame.

In 2023, I represented DePuy Synthes in a patent infringement trial against VOI and Fidelio Capital. The case was significant because it involved the sale of knock-off devices harming our client’s business. It also involved complex legal issues related to the vicarious liability of Fidelio, the owner of VOI, which I argued at trial.

We secured a jury verdict that VOI willfully infringed, that Fidelio was liable, and damages of $59 million. We subsequently obtained a permanent injunction. When evidence emerged that defendants had conducted a fire sale to attempt to evade the injunction, we filed a motion for contempt. After the first day of the contempt hearing, defendants settled for more than the jury’s damages award.

Read more at Bloomberg Law