William L. "Bill" LaFuze

William L. "Bill" LaFuze


McKool Smith PC

Recognized since 1991

Houston, Texas

Practice Areas

Litigation - Intellectual Property

Litigation - Patent

Trade Secrets Law

Send William L. "Bill" LaFuze an email at wlafuze@mckoolsmith.com Navigate to map location for William L. "Bill" LaFuze
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Bill practices in substantially all areas of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on patent litigation in the electronics, oilfield equipment, the internet, and computer-related fields. In particular Bill has successfully represented computer manufacturers, computer component manufacturers, mobile phone handset manufacturers, software developers, original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and financial institutions in patent litigation in the district courts and arbitration proceedings, and also cases appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Bill has also served as arbitrator and mediator in several intellectual property cases, having completed the course for lawyers on Arbitration and Mediation at the Harvard Law School. Also, Bill has substantial experience in licensing, IP monetization and IP strategic planning.

Bill has been listed every year since inception as the top Intellectual Property Lawyer in Texas (tied with a few others) in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in intellectual property law, has been listed in Chambers Global for many years (band 2), and has been rated highly in many other similar peer review publications. Bill is a former President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, Chair of the Section on Intellectual Property of the American Bar Association, and head or former head of many other national and regional professional associations. Bill currently serves as an officer and council member of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law and is a member of the ABA House of Delegates.

Location
  • 600 Travis Street, Suite 7000
    Houston, TX 77002
Education
  • Southern Methodist University, MS, graduated 1971
  • The University of Texas, BS, graduated 1969
Bar Admissions
  • Texas, State Bar of Texas
  • District of Columbia, Federal Circuit Bar
  • District of Columbia, DC Court of Appeals
Affiliations
  • American Bar Association - Member, House of Delegates for Texas
  • American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law - Past Chair, Officer, and Council Member
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association - Past President and Founding Fellow
  • Houston Intellectual Property Inn of Court - Founding President
  • Houston Intellectual Property Law Association - Past President and Member
  • Houston Technology Center - Advisory Director
  • National Council of Patent Law Associations - Past President
  • National Inventors Hall of Fame - Past President
  • Patent Public Advisory Committee, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce, 2002-2005 - Member (appointed by the Secretary of Commerce)
  • Presidential Transition Team for Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office Matters 2000-2001 - Member (Only two IP attorneys were appointed to the transition team)

McKool Smith PC
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas

21 The Best Lawyers in America® awards

17 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards

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Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 for work in:
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Litigation - Patent
  • Trade Secrets Law
Awards:
  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in intellectual property law (Band 1), 2003 - 2014
  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business in intellectual property law (Band 2), 2006 - 2014
  • IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, Patent Litigation, Texas, 2013 and 2014 (Gold Ranking)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® in intellectual property law, 2005 - 2014
  • ##Texas Super Lawyers list, Super Lawyers, 2003 - 2014
  • IP Star, Managing Intellectual Property
  • Legal 500 U.S.: Leading lawyer in intellectual property - patent litigation - hi-tech electronics/IT
  • IAM Patent 250: World's Leading Patent Litigators
  • ##Legal Media Group's (Euromoney's) Guide to the World's Leading Patent Law Lawyers
  • The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
  • ##Legal Media Group's (Euromoney's) Guide to Patent Law Experts (worldwide)
  • Who's Who Worldwide
  • The National Registry of Who's Who
  • Swarthmore's Who's Who
  • Who's Who in American Law
  • Who's Who Legal: Texas in patent law
  • "Top 100 Houston Region Super Lawyer," Texas Monthly
  • "Best Lawyers in Houston" in intellectual property law, Inside Houston

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Publications

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