Apple Looks Beyond Big Law to Fight Mounting Tech Court Battles

Apple Inc. tapped outside law firms more than three times as often as large tech rivals last year, leaning on Big Law but also regional specialists to fend off claims ranging from patent infringement to charges its App Store is an illegal monopoly, a Bloomberg Law analysis shows.

Apple accounted for 221 federal court appearances by outside firms last year, almost a third of the 732 appearances made on behalf of all 53 tech companies listed in the S&P 500, according to the analysis.

Apple, the largest company in the S&P 500, was followed by International Business Machines Corp., which ...