Taft welcomes three patent litigation attorneys to the firm’s growing Washington, DC office. 

Brian Seal, Thomas Southard, and Shaun Gregory bring significant experience handling high stakes patent litigation throughout the U.S., including popular jurisdictions such as Virginia and Texas, and before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The trio litigate patents across multiple industries including telecommunications, wireless networking, electronics, lighting, automotive parts, and medical devices.

Brian Seal joins Taft as a partner and brings significant experience in all aspects of intellectual property litigation, including jury trials, bench trials, and appeals. He litigates complex cases, including high-stakes intellectual property litigation and business disputes before federal district and appellate courts across the U.S. Seal’s litigation experience includes a wide range of technologies and products, with a focus on telecommunications and electronics. He also has significant experience at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Seal received a juris doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law and a bachelor of arts from the University of Virginia.

Thomas Southard also joins Taft as a partner. He is a commercial litigator focusing on high stakes patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright matters, including appeals. Southard received a juris doctor from the Catholic University of America School of Law and a bachelor of arts from Syracuse University. Previously the head of Butzel Long’s DC office, Southard has more than 20 years of experience handling complex intellectual property disputes across a wide range of technologies.

Shaun Gregory is a patent attorney and assists clients with developing and enforcing their intellectual property (IP) rights. With a particular focus working with companies in the electronics, financial services, and computer industries, he has significant experience with patent prosecution, patent litigation, post-grant review work, opinion, freedom-to-operate, invalidity, licensing, and IP rights analysis. Prior to and during law school, Gregory spent five years as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Technology Center 2400. Before beginning his legal career, he spent over 15 years in the telecommunications and wireless networking industries. Gregory received a juris doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law, a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix, and a bachelor of science from Charter Oak State College. 

“We are excited to join Taft and look forward to expanding the firm’s profile in DC,” said Southard. “We chose Taft because of its national IP practice, deep bench of patent litigators, and commitment to helping clients monetize and enforce their IP rights,” he added. “Taft is a firm on the rise and presents the right cultural fit.”

“Brian, Tom, and Shaun are outstanding lawyers and IP practitioners and bring significant experience to Taft. We look forward to leveraging their skills and experience to continue serving our clients with quality services,” said Lacy Johnson, partner-in-charge, Washington, DC.

Taft expanded into the DC market in February 2021 with a lead focus on governmental relations. The firm has since added six accomplished professionals in public affairs and intellectual property litigation and continues to attract and retain top talent as part of its aggressive recruiting strategy. Since 2017, Taft has grown from approximately 400 attorneys to 625 today. Taft’s IP group includes nearly 90 attorneys and is the third largest practice group in the firm.