Matthew Powers

Partner

Matt Powers is known for taking tough cases to trial and winning them. He tries patent cases, trade secret cases, fraud cases, fiduciary duty cases, antitrust cases and contract cases. He has tried patent cases in every major patent venue, including U.S. district courts all over the country and the ITC, as well as maintaining a successful appellate practice at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. His litigation experience spans a wide variety of technologies, including computer hardware and software; operating systems and databases; networking; semiconductor devices, processing, and packaging; mobile phones and other consumer electronics; mobile commerce; medical devices; Wi-Fi and location services. Many of the world’s leading companies have called on him to lead trial teams in difficult cases, and he is often called on to replace another firm’s litigation team for trial on very short notice. He has led teams winning billion dollar cases for many of the leading companies in the world.

Mr. Powers is one the founding partners of the Tensegrity Law Group LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in patent litigation trials, and appellate and counseling matters. Many of the patent cases handled by Tensegrity are further complicated by trade secret, contract, or other issues. Prior to forming Tensegrity, Mr. Powers was a managing partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Mr. Powers is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Society of Barristers. In 2018, Mr. Powers received his 15th consecutive recognition by Super Lawyers.He is continually recognized as a “Star Performer” by Chambers USA and in 2011 he received top rankings in the national, local, federal circuit, and ITC categories in Managing Intellectual Property magazine. Managing Intellectual Property magazine also named him “Outstanding IP Practitioner of the Year” in 2010. He was named one of Northern California’s top ten lawyers in 2009 by Super Lawyers. Commentators in Chambers USA 2010 noted that he is” universally recognized as a star in the field” because of “his impressive trial work.” Chambers USA 2009 notes that clients lauded him as a “mesmerizing trial lawyer” whose peers claim he “continues to soar,” and emphasize his “unmistakable star quality.” Mr. Powers was distinguished as a “Leading Lawyer” by Legal 500 US 2009 and described by clients as “a litigator you don’t want to argue against in court.” He was singled out by Chambers USA 2008 as “king of the jungle…a master trial litigator and a genius when it comes to patents… fantastically clever and exceptionally talented.” Chambers USA 2007 also recognized him as a “Star Performer” – the only patent litigator in the country so recognized – calling him “genuinely feared as a courtroom opponent” and “a dominant force in the market.” In 2007, The American Lawyer described Mr. Powers as a “bona fide litigation superstar.” The National Law Journal named him one of the top ten litigators in the country in 2006, and in 2005 he was named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association. He was also named a “Father of the Year” for 2004 by the Father’s Day Council of San Francisco.

Mr. Powers is a frequent lecturer nationally and internationally on intellectual property litigation issues.

ADMISSIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS

1982, California

United States Supreme Court

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

United States District Court for the Northern District of California

United States District Court for the Central District of California

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

United States District Court for the Southern District of California

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

EDUCATION

Harvard Law School, J.D. (1982)

Northwestern University (1979)