Reichman Jorgensen partner Courtland Reichman

It didn't take long for Reichman Jorgensen to get validation of its business model.

The 22-lawyer firm was founded just 16 months ago when Courtland Reichman and Sarah Jorgensen spun out the boutique from McKool Smith, aiming to compete with elite firms for clients and talent.

Earlier this month, the firm went to trial in Delaware federal court over patent infringement of virtualization technology. The result came Friday: a $236 million verdict of willful infringement for Canadian client Densify against industry giant VMWare and Morrison & Foerster.

"It's the first trial that we've had as a firm," said Reichman, who led a trial team that included six women and at least three attorneys of color. "It's really great to have that validation."

Jurors found that Palo Alto, California-based VMWare infringed two Densify patents on virtualization technology that enables multiple computer systems to run on a single server.

Densify, formerly known as Cirba Inc., argued to the jury that VMWare tried to eliminate it from the market by unlawfully using Densify's intellectual property for its own gain. The two companies had had acquisition discussions in 2015, and internal emails showed VMWare believed it either had to buy Densify's technology or build it to stay competitive, Reichman said.

"That's like saying 'buy it or steal it,'" is how Reichman put it to the jury, given Densify's patents.

A VMWare spokesman said that VMWare is proud of its history as an innovator and leader in the enterprise software space. "While we appreciate and respect the judicial process, we continue to strongly believe that we do not infringe the patents asserted against us in this case, and intend to vigorously pursue all legal remedies that are available to us to prove that we are not liable here," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Densify sued last April. U.S. District Chief Judge Leonard Stark of the District of Delaware fast-tracked the case after turning down Densify's bid for a preliminary injunction and VMWare's motion to declare the patents ineligible for protection.

"It seemed like a marathon sprint," Reichman said. "We filed the complaint in April and were before the jury in January."

Joining Reichman were partners Christine Lehman, Khue Hoang, Jennifer Estremera and Shawna Ballard, and associates Kate Falkenstien, Wesley White and Ariel Green, along with co-counsel Kenneth Dorsney of Morris James and Gary Toman of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial.

Reichman said he was especially proud of the younger members of the team. It was Green's first time examining witnesses. She handed the direct of Densify's CEO and cross-examination of a key VMWare witness. White handled the rebuttal examination of Densify's validity expert, and Falkenstien argued several motions. All three associates graduated from law school in 2014 or 2015.

"It's a real jolt of energy to have younger people in stand-up roles for the judge and the jury," Reichman said. "The jury loved it."

VMWare has filed its own infringement counterclaims against Densify. Stark has scheduled a trial on those claims for August 2021.

In the meantime, Reichman said he expects to move for enhanced damages and a permanent injunction.

More broadly, the Reichman Jorgensen firm, which has offices in Silicon Valley, Atlanta, New York and Washington, D.C., is looking to handle more trials, for both plaintiffs and defendants.