DLA Piper’s John Guaragna tops Patexia’s list of leading US patent litigators

DLA Piper has been named one of the nation’s leading patent litigation firms in the Patexia Patent Litigation Intelligence Report, reflecting the firm’s consistent success defending clients in high-stakes patent disputes. Nine of the firm’s attorneys were honored as best-performing litigators, including John Guaragna, Texas Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice, who was ranked #1 patent litigator for representation of defendants and #1 overall.

DLA Piper was ranked as both the #2 most active firm representing defendants and #2 most active overall. The report highlights the firm’s role in advising clients on critical patent litigation disputes, centered on cases that “influence competitive outcomes, licensing strategies, and often define the boundaries of entire markets.”

The following DLA Piper attorneys were recognized in the top 100 overall best-performing patent litigators list:

• Sean Cunningham (Partner, Washington, DC)
• Brian Erickson (Partner, Austin)
• Mark Fowler (Partner, Palo Alto)
• Erin Gibson (Partner, Washington, DC)
• John Guaragna (Partner, Austin)
• Michael Jay (Partner, Los Angeles)
• Jennifer Nall (Partner, Austin)
• Matthew Satchwell (Partner, Chicago)
• Michael Strapp (Partner, Boston)

“These results reflect the confidence our clients place in our team to defend their most valuable innovations when stakes are the highest,” said Sean Cunningham, Global Co-Chair and US Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice. “Clients know they can come to us for deep technical knowledge and proven strategies that deliver decisive outcomes in complex patent disputes.”

The sixth annual edition of the Patexia Patent Litigation Intelligence Report analyzed patent litigation filed in US District Courts between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2025, covering all publicly available cases within this period. Based on these cases, Patexia calculated activity, success, and performance scores for companies, law firms, and individual attorneys.

With a deep bench of lawyers with advanced technical and scientific degrees in key jurisdictions worldwide, DLA Piper’s Patent Litigation team has a strong track record of driving successful outcomes in complex cases by combining courtroom acumen with in-depth technical knowledge, advanced degrees and experience across the electronics, computer science, telecommunications and wireless, pharma and biotech, medical devices, chemical engineering, materials and automotive industries.