Tony Downs, a partner and the former chair of Goodwin’s IP Litigation practice, has more than 30 years of litigation experience. He joined Goodwin in 1988 after clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the U.S. Supreme Court. His practice is focused on intellectual property litigation, with specialization in patent matters. He also has experience in trade secret cases, antitrust and competition law, securities and other complex commercial litigation. Mr. Downs has been repeatedly listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and other publications, where clients have lauded him for being “outstanding at trial,” “greatly skilled in making complex technical arguments understandable,” “an excellent writer,” and thought of “highly” as a “strategist.” IAM Patent 1000 describes him as “a shrewd medical devices maestro.”
Mr. Downs has been lead trial counsel in federal courts throughout the country, including jury trials in the District of Massachusetts, the District of Delaware, the Eastern District of Texas, the District of New Jersey, and the Northern District of Alabama. He has also advised clients on trans-border disputes in cases across Asia and Europe. And he has appeared as lead counsel before the International Trade Commission and has participated in IPR proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In addition to his extensive trial experience, Mr. Downs has briefed and argued many appellate cases, including multiple cases in the Federal Circuit, the First, Second, Ninth and D.C. Circuits, and in the appellate courts in Massachusetts. He also regularly uses arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution procedures.