JIM BADKE is a leader of Sidley’s IP Litigation practice and co-heads the New York Intellectual Property group.
Jim is an established lead trial counsel with numerous jury and bench trial victories in bet-the-company cases in courtrooms across the country. He was recently honored by LMG Life Sciences as the 2021 “General Patent Litigator of the Year – New York” and by The National Law Journal as a 2020 “Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer” for his work as an “agent of change” in high profile intellectual property cases. He was also honored as a “Master of the Courtroom” and named among the 2019 “Winning Litigators” by The National Law Journal, which featured “elite trial lawyers who took on high-stakes matters and won bet-the-company trials.” Jim was featured for leading a team that obtained a jury verdict and damages award of $155 million for Bayer Healthcare on a biologics medication patent for the treatment of hemophilia. The verdict, which was named to The National Law Journal’s 2021 “Verdicts Hall of Fame,” ranks among the 10 largest patent verdicts in the District of Delaware over the past decade, and the largest biotech patent verdict in that Court. Jim received the 2019 LMG Life Sciences Award for “Patent Impact Case of the Year” for his work on this same matter. Additionally, he has been featured as American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” for his success in the landmark Therasense inequitable conduct case. On the basis of this work, Jim and his team were ranked number one in the nation as “lawyers to the innovators” by the Financial Times in its Innovative Lawyers Report “FT Law 25,” and the case was later named by Law360 as one of just 10 “blockbuster decisions” of the decade “that have shaped patent law into what it is today.”
Jim’s patent trial and litigation practice includes all technologies, but is focused primarily in the medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Based on his extensive experience in pharmaceutical cases, Jim has been recognized by Chambers USA as a “go-to” for Hatch-Waxman litigation. His cases in the pharmaceutical industry have included a number of life-saving drugs, such as recombinant Factor VIII used in the treatment of hemophilia. Jim also is a pioneer in medical device patent litigation, having continuously litigated cases involving medical device patents for more than 30 years. His cases have involved a wide range of medical device technology, including blood glucose devices, surgical staplers, laparoscopic instruments, coronary stents, spinal cord stimulation devices and surgical robotics. Jim is regularly featured as a “Life Sciences Star” in Euromoney’s LMG Life Sciences. In addition, he is recommended in the “Healthcare: Life Sciences” category in The Legal 500 US 2017 and by Best Lawyers in America 2020 for his work in Litigation-Intellectual Property Law.
In addition to his trial work, Jim appears regularly before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, having argued numerous cases before the court, including the landmark Therasense inequitable conduct case, in which the Court sat en banc. Benchmark Appellate has named Jim as a Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit “Star,” one of less than 50 lawyers in the country to achieve this distinction.
Jim has received extensive positive feedback from clients, judges and attorney ranking institutions, including:
- Chambers USA ranks Jim as a leading lawyer “on the back of extensive praise for his trial skills,” and quoted a client who said “his cross-examination skills are the best I’ve seen, he’s good on his feet, and he quickly establishes a real presence and credibility with the jury.” In the 2020 edition, Chambers cites one source who “praised” Jim as “a first class trial lawyer” and another source who considers him “an outstanding attorney with a dynamic ability to command the courtroom.” Other “sources single out his ‘insightful and creative strategies’ which have proved to be ‘stunningly successful.’” Clients have also commented that “he is capable of winning cases that we think are on the edge” and that “he is good at delivering arguments to judges who need to be convinced.” Overall, Chambers states that he “is a seasoned patent litigator with a track record of success in the biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals spheres.”
- LMG Life Sciences has identified Jim as a “Life Sciences Star,” stating “Leading the Firm’s IP litigation team is industry luminary Bradford (Jim) Badke. Known by his counterparts as a ‘heavy hitter in the industry,’ Badke has been lead counsel for many distinguished clients....” Jim is described by a client as “one of the most superb lawyers I have worked with” with respect to his experience with Jim in the courtroom. In its 2015 edition: he “is seasoned and experienced with numerous victories in bench and jury trials.” A client refers to Jim as “accessible and responsive” and to his service, as “high-end quality work.”
- International Asset Management (IAM) Magazine named Jim one of the world’s leading patent litigators, noting that he was a “client favorite.” In interviews conducted by IAM, clients are quoted as saying that Jim “is convenient to work with, accessible and quick to act” and “has the ability to move away from the jargon and build a persuasive case that ordinary laymen can grasp, connecting him well with a jury.”
- IAM Patent 1000 identifies Jim as a “medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical expert,” and states that he is “extremely popular with clients” quoting a client who stated: “He doesn’t have an air of arrogance that some trial attorneys have and is very down to earth. He is always mindful of the needs of his clients, and the quality of service he provides is special.” In its 2015 edition: he “is an authority on medical device matters...his fight card is chock-full with wins for pharmaceutical originators, too.” In its 2021 edition: “Jim is fully engaged in his cases and provides the highest level of service...He’s incredibly practical and a tenacious fighter who never quits.”
- Judge James Otero (CD California): “This [case]... was exceptionally tried. It was a judge’s delight because the lawyers were so cooperative and professional and it was presented in such a well-ordered form and format... [A]ll of the lawyers and all of the work were required because of the complexity of the case. So when all is said and done... it was money wisely spent... and successfully spent.” (This was at the conclusion of a trade secret jury trial in which Jim Badke led a team representing the prevailing party.)