Federal Circuit appears unlikely to reverse order disqualifying company's entire legal department
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit doesn’t appear inclined to reverse a federal judge’s order disqualifying the entire in-house legal department at Acacia Research Corp., a company known in some circles as a patent troll or a “patent privateer.”
The Federal Circuit heard arguments last week on U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s order disqualifying the in-house lawyers and one of Acacia’s outside law firms, Law.com (sub. req.) reports. The Austin, Texas, judge had disqualified the lawyers because Acacia hired the in-house lawyer for intellectual property from Schlumberger Ltd. before suing Schlumberger for patent infringement.
Acacia had argued that the in-house hire from Schlumberger, Charlotte Rutherford, had been walled off from the litigation. But evidence suggested she had approved the recommendation to sue, according to the Law.com coverage.
Schlumberger’s lawyer, Maximilian Grant of Latham & Watkins, asked the Federal Circuit to adopt a blanket rule to prevent such conduct in the 5th Circuit.
According to Law.com, Acacia appeared to be on the losing side during the arguments. “Acacia Research Corp. should have brought shovels to court Wednesday, given the hole it kept digging before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,” the article said.
