McKool Smith Beats Disqualification Bid in AT&T Patent Lawsuit

A Texas federal judge rejected Headwater Research LLC’s attempt to disqualify McKool Smith as counsel to AT&T Inc. units in their patent infringement dispute.

McKool Smith’s representation of an unrelated company during past negotiations over a potential acquisition of Headwater’s patents doesn’t justify disqualifying the law firm as AT&T’s defense counsel, according to a memorandum order filed July 25 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Magistrate Judge Roy Payne said the law firm destroyed all of Headwater’s confidential documents linked to the negotiations and is not using them in the current dispute.

Headwater sued AT&T ...