Finalists: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (highly commended); Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Paul Hastings received the IP team of the year title for helping protect a drugmaker's patent from being infringed.

The firm represented Boehringer Ingelheim as it battled litigation against six generic drug firms over patent infringements on Boehringer's stroke-prevention medication Pradaxa. Paul Hastings therefore called on its life sciences patent litigation practice, which already has an accomplished track record defending patents for pharmaceutical companies.

The firm first secured victory in a Markman claim construction hearing in 2016, successfully defeating the defendant's non-infringement claim. This is a critical step in patent litigation because courts use Markman hearings to determine the meaning of terms used in patents. The win was particularly notable because the court ruling was made from the bench – a rare occurrence in a complex pharmaceutical matter resolving an infringement issue.

Then most recently, in January, just weeks before a planned trial date, the final defendant caved, agreeing to respect the patent. That meant the firm had secured 'walkaway' consent judgments from all six generic drugmakers, as well as obtaining public statements from each acknowledging that Boehringer's patents were valid and infringed (and avoiding proceedings that had seemed doomed to drag on).

"This was a big win," noted a judge.

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