Steven J. Horowitz

STEVEN HOROWITZ is an award-winning litigator who identifies creative solutions to complex problems faced by life-sciences and technology companies at trial and on appeal. Steven was recognized as a 2025 “Notable Litigator and Trial Attorney” by Crain’s Chicago Business. In 2023, he was named the national “Practitioner of the Year (Appellate)” and an “Illinois Patent Star” in 2023 and 2025 by Managing IP, and he was also named the 2025 “General Patent Litigator of the Year – Midwest” award and recommended for Patent Litigation by LMG Life Sciences. He has also been named among Lawdragon’s list of “500 Leading Litigators in America” (2022–2024), and a “Client Service All-Star” and an “All-Star MVP” by BTI Consulting Group (2022–2023), based on surveys in which world-leading corporate counsel were asked to name, unprompted, which lawyers deliver the absolute best client service. Previously, Steve was identified in Law360’s 2022 “Rising Stars” report, a list of lawyers “whose legal accomplishments transcend their age,” and Benchmark Litigation has named him a “Future Star” in the Appellate and Intellectual Property categories (2022–2026). And he has twice been named a “Legal Lion” by Law360 for his work on patent appeals. 

Steve has been a leader of winning teams in high-stakes patent litigations. His focus—in briefs, witness examinations, and oral argument—is on identifying persuasive themes that frame his clients’ stories. Steve has helped innovators protect groundbreaking therapies in litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act and the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, and he has worked closely with clients to use the tools of litigation to bring next-generation technologies to market.

Steve’s work has spanned a wide range of legal issues (including patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, and antitrust law) and a wide range of industries. He has worked with clients on matters involving pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, artificial intelligence, electronics, agribusiness and food, solar power, fashion, retail, e-commerce, cellular technology, building materials, and professional associations, among others.

Prior to joining the firm, Steve served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Richard A. Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Steve graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School, where he served as an articles editor on the Harvard Law Review and was awarded the Fay Diploma, the Sears Prize and the Irving Oberman Memorial Award in Intellectual Property (twice).

Representative experience includes:

• Serving as lead trial counsel in multi-jurisdictional dispute over patent ownership, inventorship, and trade secrets in cases involving pharmaceuticals, methods of treatment, and FDA regulatory issues.
• In the Federal Circuit, argued and won an appeal defending the validity of patents protecting an innovative drug in a significant Hatch-Waxman case, after having served as co-counsel at a successful trial. (Steve won “runner-up” honors in AmLaw’s “Litigator of the Week” column for each win.) 
• In high-profile patent litigation under the BPCIA, led the response to a central, novel invalidity challenge in winning trial in the District of New Jersey as well as the successful defense of that victory on appeal. (The case was identified by LMG Life Sciences as an “Impact Case of the Year.”)
• In the Federal Circuit, won stay pending appeal and argued case of first impression regarding the interpretation of the Hatch-Waxman Act.
• In the Federal Circuit, argued and won a precedent-setting case regarding issue preclusion in Patent Office proceedings.
• In the Federal Circuit, argued and won appeal on behalf of group of solar cell manufacturers, protecting their victory before the International Trade Commission.
• In the Federal Circuit, won rare outright reversal of Patent Office decision upholding the validity of a patent.
• In the Seventh Circuit, won reversal of the denial of a new jury trial following an unfavorable verdict.
• In district courts across the country, drafted and argued successful claim construction briefs and dispositive motions, and presented and cross-examined witnesses at trial.
• In the U.S. Supreme Court, drafted merits and certiorari-stage briefs for both parties and amici in a wide range of matters involving technology and competition.
• Developed strategies for resisting injunctive relief and excessive royalties on standard-essential patents.

Steve is a member of the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association. He has given presentations on technology and competition law issues for the law school faculties at Yale, Harvard, Cornell, UCLA and William & Mary, as well as for the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law. He regularly presents CLE courses on matters relating to IP and appeals, including annual Supreme Court previews/retrospectives. 

Steve has worked closely with the Northwestern School of Law’s Appellate Advocacy Center, including its Supreme Court Clinic, participating as a judge in moot courts for attorneys preparing to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and developing strategies and drafting briefs in cases pending before the Court.

Steve has also served as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School, where he co-taught a seminar on technology policy.

Steve has received several awards for his commitment to pro bono and public interest work, including the Award for Excellence in Public Interest Service from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Bar Association’s John Paul Stevens Pro Bono and Public Service Award, and the Thomas H. Morsch Award for Pro Bono Achievement.