Alan Albright - On Becoming the Go-To Judge for Patent Cases

Clause 8

If you’ve ever wondered how and why Judge Alan D Albright - of the Western District Texas - became America’s go-to judge for patent cases, you don’t want to miss this episode.

Before Judge Albright was confirmed in 2018, less than 10 patent cases had been filed in Waco district in its entire history. In 2020 alone, he took on almost 800 new patent cases, accounting for 20% of all new patent cases filed in the US last year.

“Having practised all those years, I get that 99% of the time, while it may appear that the dispute is trivial, it's really important. It's very binary, and whatever I rule is going to drop, not maybe dramatically, but it's going to have an impact.”

This episode covers why Judge Albright loves handling patent cases, his plans for handling a growing docket, and his views on how a judge should handle a patent case and what makes an effective patent litigation counsel.

“The best math teacher you're ever going to have is someone who really understands math, so that when they're explaining it to you, they make it simple enough for you to understand. It's the same with patent cases. Which is, find unicorns who have such a high level of technical understanding that they can then teach it to a jury through the witnesses.”

Judge Albright is as transparent in this episode as he is in the courtroom. So if you’re wondering how to make your case more efficient, how you can clerk for him, or why it’s easier to predict where to be struck by lightning than how to become a district court judge, don’t miss him on this week’s Clause 8.

On today’s podcast:

• Judge Albright’s love for patent cases & why it’s not really work for him
• Plan to handle growing docket of patent cases
• Getting into patent law as the youngest magistrate judge in history
• Why many district court judges aren’t interested in handling patent cases and how it impacts their resolution
• Example set by Judge John Ward and Eastern District of Texas
• Why patent owners deserve a jury trial
• Picking effective patent litigation counsel
• Discovery disputes
• Approach to attorneys filing transfer motions
• Advice to trial attorneys for preparing and being effective
• Navigating Federal Circuit decisions and focusing on being a good trial judge
• Following press coverage & commitment to transparency
• Clerking for Judge Alan Albright
• Why you shouldn’t - or possibly should - wear python boots to the courthouse

Links:

• US District Judge Alan Albright – US District Court

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