William LaFuze

Practice Areas

William "Bill" LaFuze is a principal in McKool Smith’s Houston office. Bill’s practice has been directed to a broad range of intellectual property law issues, with a particular focus on patent and other intellectual property litigation and transaction work in the oilfield equipment, telecommunications, smartphone, computer, healthcare, electronics, internet, and a broad range of technical fields. He has represented clients in many district courts throughout the United States and in cases appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. Bill has also served as arbitrator in many intellectual property cases and has substantial experience in IP strategic counseling and licensing.

Bill currently serves as an officer of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law and is a delegate from that section to the ABA House of Delegates. Over the years, he has led many national and regional professional associations, including serving as the president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and chair of the Section on Intellectual Property Law of the ABA. He has testified several times in hearings before Congressional Committees and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with regard to patent law reform issues.

Bill was selected as one of only two IP lawyers in the country to advise the Bush/Cheney administration through its Presidential Transition Team to counsel the then-new administration on patent policy, the operation of the USPTO, and patent reform issues. By appointment of the U. S. Secretary of Commerce, he later served a 3-year term on the Patent Public Advisory Committee of the USPTO.

Bill has been ranked every year since inception as a "Band 1" intellectual property lawyer or "Senior Statesmen in Texas" by Chambers USA and has been ranked "Band 2" for U.S. intellectual property by Chambers Global. He is also highly rated in many other leading legal publications and directories.

Education