James Pickens

James Pickens is a partner at Russ August & Kabat. His practice focuses on high technology patent and intellectual property litigation.

Mr. Pickens excels at trial advocacy. Mr. Pickens has performed the direct and rebuttal examinations for the expert witnesses on patent infringement in three jury trials. Each jury returned a verdict of infringement, in favor of RAK’s clients:

• In 2016, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a jury verdict of willful patent infringement, representing the plaintiff in Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. LG Electronics, Inc. et. al. (E.D. Tex.). The jury awarded $2.28 Million for past damages and a running royalty through 2028, and the Court also awarded enhanced damages resulting from LG’s willful infringement.
• Also in 2016, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a verdict of patent infringement against Apple, Inc. in the Northern District of California in Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. Apple, Inc. (N.D. Cal.). The jury awarded the lump sum amount of $7.3 Million.
• In 2017, Mr. Pickens assisted the RAK team in obtaining a verdict of patent infringement with respect to data compression technology protected by U.S. Patent No. 8,643,513 in Realtime Data LLC d/b/a IXO v. Riverbed Technology, Inc. (E.D. Tex.). The jury awarded the lump sum amount of $4.32 million.

Mr. Pickens was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2024 Edition) for Litigation – Intellectual Property.

Prior to joining Russ August & Kabat, Mr. Pickens was an attorney at Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s Complex Litigation Group. He has experience drafting and negotiating agreements on behalf of clients in the media, entertainment, and real estate industries, including clients specializing in virtual reality and augmented reality applications. He also has experience arbitrating motion picture distribution fee disputes and negotiating the acquisition of an entertainment company.

Mr. Pickens earned his law degree from UCLA School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif (i.e., in the top 10% of his Class) and as a Fred & Mary Leydorf Scholar. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society and graduated magna cum laude.