HOUSTON – AZA, for the sixth consecutive year, has been named in the top Texas patent litigation law firms by London-based intellectual property publisher IAM.
Three AZA partners were also recommended by IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2020. The new guide said of the AZA lawyers: “They keep the whole case in view and get great results. Its lawyers work with complete integrity and really make you feel like part of the same team.”
Feedback from the IAM research staff about the firm included: “AZA is a firm of top-notch patent litigators who excel at trial work – when they get up to handle witnesses and present legal arguments, they have this uncanny ability to convince judge and jury that they are right whatever the circumstances.”
This year’s issue cited AZA partners Amir Alavi and Demetrios Anaipakos as leading patent litigation lawyers, calling them “exceptional.” These two head the AZA intellectual property and patent team and have been honored on this list since 2016. New to the list this year is partner Todd Mensing, who focuses on all types of commercial litigation including intellectual property and patent cases.
The 2020 guide was compiled following five months of research IAM conducted in more than 1,800 interviews with numerous patent attorneys and in-house counsel to gather market intelligence on the leading players in the field.
IAM called Mr. Alavi a “judicious strategist” with an “acute sense of how to present a damages case.” The guide has said Mr. Alavi “is someone you can match up against any lawyer in the country and be confident of a win. Drawing on a deep reservoir of trial experience he delivers knife-like advocacy timed to perfection. He has trained his associates conscientiously and given them all the right opportunities to take on responsibility and as a result there are no weak links in his trial teams either.”
Another source provided the following feedback regarding Mr. Anaipakos: “One of the cases we worked on recently went to trial and Demetrios put in an absolutely stunning performance – he completely dismantled several witnesses on cross-examination. As well as being an accomplished trial lawyer, he is also an extremely smart and gifted strategist; he understands the finest nuances of the law and can see the big picture. I trust his judgement completely.”
AZA is again on the Houston Business Journal’s list of the top 10 Houston intellectual property law firms. And the 2019 IPR Intelligence Report by Patexia Inc. named AZA the 12th best-performing law firm in the country in a study of more than 1,100 law firms active in Inter Partes Review (IPR) patent cases over the last five years.
AZA has 14 lawyers in its IP stable, including experienced trial lawyers and lawyers with technical backgrounds in chemistry, electrical engineering, software and biochemistry. The team boasts three board certified trial lawyers and several licensed as patent attorneys before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by Chambers USA 2020 among the best in Texas commercial law; by U.S. News – Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for eight years running; was named 2019 Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer; and was previously dubbed by Law360 a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 500 and 1000.