Lawrence R. Jarvis
Principal – Fish & Richardson
Description of field of expertise
Lawrence Jarvis focuses his practice on patent litigation in U.S. District Courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. His technical prowess is vast, encompassing set-top box technologies, video coding and processing, cellular and wireless technologies, networking and network management technologies, consumer electronics, information security technologies, database and cloud computing technologies, payment and transaction processing, semiconductor fabrication and layout, chip level power management, and home security systems.
His litigation experience includes managing discovery; assisting technical experts with opening and rebuttal reports; taking and defending depositions of fact and expert witnesses; drafting and arguing claim construction positions and dispositive and non-dispositive motions; managing pretrial disclosures, including preparing deposition designations, counter designations, and objections; and examining witnesses at trial.
As a registered patent attorney, Lawrence also practices before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, often assisting clients with patent prosecution, patent due diligence, and other non-litigation patent matters.
Prior to joining Fish & Richardson, Lawrence worked for several years as a software engineer for a Fortune 100 corporation, where he gained substantial technical experience developing software for high-technology applications.
In addition to his work as a patent attorney, Lawrence devotes significant time to pro bono work, including handling cases for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Georgia Justice Project. Lawrence also performs pro bono work with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty to assist with its efforts to combat attempts to criminalize homelessness.
What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?
My advice for new attorneys interested in patent litigation would be to pursue it whole-heartedly and remain confident in yourself. I would also encourage any new attorneys to not let your technical background or lack thereof deter you from pursuing this field. I have many colleagues and friends in this industry who lack any technical background but have found success in this field. I would also advise any new attorneys to be prepared to learn on the fly as the technologies at issue in each litigation can be vastly different. At the outset of your career, I recommend that you attempt to locate a mentor or two in the field of patent litigation in addition to joining a professional organization, such as the NBA’s IP Section. Being a patent litigator is a rewarding career and it is certainly one in need of more diversity of perspectives and backgrounds.
Final thoughts…
Lawrence was also recently named to the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” list for Intellectual Property law. In addition, Lawrence is a member of the NBA’s IP section and previously served as the section’s Treasurer, Communications Chair, and other roles as a board member for the section in past years.