Jason Sheasby of Irell & Manella.

Jason Sheasby, Irell & Manella

Tell us about your biggest trial win from January 2017 to July 2018 and how you achieved the result for your client. 

Our client, the technology transfer arm of KAIST, was awarded $400 million against Samsung for willful infringement of a transistor patent. Just a few years earlier, KAIST licensed the patent to Intel for only $6.8 million. We decided to embrace the Intel agreement to persuade the jury to award an amount 60 times higher. In my closing, I analogized the inventor to Steph Curry, the basketball player. His rookie contract was very small because folks did not know how great he was going to be. Same thing with Intel, who got a rookie deal. The defendants in this case, who did the exact opposite of Intel, don't get rookie deals.

Share two trial tips that have been key to your success.

1. The ability to take very complex scientific issues and teach them in a way that is accessible to the jury is extraordinarily important.
2. The jury learns from shows like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” that “true” experts conduct experiments. Have your expert perform as many experiments as is reasonable. Experts need to investigate, not just give opinions.