The Firm: MoFo is celebrated for its superb general commercial litigators and its experience in the hi-tech sector, a happy combination that guarantees it a leading position in IP circles. ``One of the oldest, largest and deepest`` general IP practices in the country, with expertise in all areas of the field, the firm was enthusiastically praised by clients for ``the solid base of offices around the country,`` combined with its lawyers` ``superior perspective and awareness.`` Clients were particularly impressed by the ``high number of first chair trial lawyers and famous academics`` in this team and the quality of service they provide. As one put it, they are ``high energy, responsive and thoughtful - they aren`t delicate, but are really in the mix.`` Recent successes include representing Syntron Bioresearch in a patent suit brought by Abbott Laboratories alleging that Syntron`s test kits infringed patents Abbott had purchased from Bio-Metric Systems. It also advised Novell in SCO v Novell, which forms part of the long-running dispute over whether Linux violates IP rights.

The Lawyers: ``Tenacious`` Michael Jacobs ``always prepares his cases as if they are going to trial.`` He deals with highly intricate patent cases in the area of biotech and life sciences.

Harold McElhinny is a ``trial authority`` clients

keep returning to because he ``always seems to triumph in court.`` Peers, meanwhile, acknowledge him as ``a superb commercial lawyer.`` His recent highlights include representing EchoStar in TiVo v EchoStar. This case concerned allegations by TiVo that EchoStar had infringed a patent for the process of recording and replaying TV signals. He also recently acted for Nikon in Nikon v ASML. ASML and Carl Zeiss SMT eventually paid Nikon $146 million to settle this patent litigation in the USA, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Clients value ``likable`` Gerald Dodson for his ``good political connections`` and his track record in high-profile cases. These have recently included University of Rochester v Pfizer.

The Clients: The team acted for BEA in Software AG v BEA, a patent case currently pending in the federal district court in Delaware. It represented Australian biotech company Peptech in a dispute with Johnson & Johnson/Centocor relating to patents in TNF-alpha. Other clients include: Kaiser Permanente; Kumon Institute; Toshiba and Yahoo!

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP