Unrivaled 2025: Adam Alper & Michael De Vries of Kirkland

You successfully represented Samsung and its manufacturer, Applied Materials, in a matter with among the largest patent infringement damages demands in US history. Demaray alleged that Samsung infringed two semiconductor patents through use of physical vapor deposition chambers made by Applied Materials. In February 2024, a federal jury in Texas rejected the claims, including $4 billion in damages sought. Can you tell us about your trial strategy?

The stakes in this trial were high: Demaray asked the jury for $4 billion, which could have been tripled to $12 billion if the jury found willful infringement. The technical aspects of our case were very important, but we knew we needed a meaningful story to effectively respond to Demaray’s themes, e.g., of a single inventor fighting against a giant company that was abusing the system by using Demaray’s technology without permission.

We countered by explaining that Demaray had for years said its technology was unrelated to the accused equipment and only changed its tune once it met a patent monetization specialist, two months before filing the lawsuit. We also shifted the focus to the company that manufactures the accused equipment, Applied Materials, to allow the “real” inventors to explain how they developed their own technology before Demaray.

We faced numerous challenges along the way—including evidence that another major global company had agreed to license the same Demaray patents—but we were able to flip the script, by proving Demaray was driven by a licensing professional who takes unsuccessful patents and makes massive damages demands to get defendants like Samsung to “blink” before trial and pay out big settlements.

Can you describe a major hurdle that happened during the course of Demaray LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co. How did you overcome it?

While there were many significant hurdles that we had to overcome to achieve the outcome that we did, one in particular sticks out as particularly significant. There was a moment at trial in which the court asked us if we planned to seek a mistrial, when Demaray inaccurately suggested to the jury that Applied Materials (our client that supplied the accused products to Samsung) had been criminally indicted in an unrelated matter.

Though the stakes could not have been higher—our client was facing what would have been the largest compensatory damages award in a patent case in US history—we felt confident in the case we had tried and elected to take the case to a verdict rather than seeking the easy way out. Our strategy paid off, of course, and our clients were ultimately fully vindicated. We’re particularly proud and grateful that our clients had enough trust in the case we and they put on to let the jury decide, instead of trying to avoid their decision.

When did you first know you wanted to be a trial lawyer? What clicked for you?

Michael: I do not think there is any one path to becoming a trial lawyer. For me, I first knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer in seventh grade, when we conducted a mock trial of an historical figure in my history class. I examined witnesses, gave a closing argument, and knew then and there that this was what I was meant to do!

Adam: My early education in what it meant to be a lawyer came exclusively from lawyer movies and shows on TV—I watched them all, and I knew I wanted a role on that stage. I also wanted to take stands against wrongdoing, and play at the highest levels, and Mike and I are thankful and grateful that we have been able to do that in our IP trial practice.

What are the major keys to winning over a jury or a judge?

Integrity and ethics come first for us. Additionally, juries have excellent senses for right and wrong. So, it is also important that we make sure we’re explaining why the case matters to them, why there was a wrong committed, and why a verdict for our client is fair. We’ve found that trusting jurors with significant decisions that have a real impact on everyone’s lives leads to a high level of juror engagement and just results.

What is the best advice you give young trial lawyers?

Michael De Vries: “Trials are won as a team, not because of any individual lawyer. Listen to your teammates but never hesitate to offer your own perspective. A team’s strength lies in the contributions of each of its members, so voice your thoughts.”