Adam R. Lawton

Profile

Adam Lawton is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. His practice focuses on patent litigation, patent-related antitrust litigation and white collar defense.

Mr. Lawton’s patent practice includes serving as part of the Munger Tolles team that defended Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett-Packard against accusations of patent infringement related to sales of the Microsoft Office software suite, a case in which Munger Tolles’ clients obtained summary judgment of noninfringement and won affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He was also part of the Munger Tolles team that obtained a favorable settlement for a leading developer and manufacturer of solar energy technology accused of patent infringement related to the manufacture of solar cells and solar cell modules.

Mr. Lawton has significant experience in the intersection of antitrust and patent law, focusing particularly on antitrust challenges to patent litigation settlements. He successfully represented Abbott Laboratories in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of a civil antitrust complaint brought by the FTC relating to settlements of Hatch-Waxman patent litigation, and is currently representing Abbott Laboratories in related multidistrict litigation brought by various private plaintiffs pending in federal district court.

Further, Mr. Lawton has experience handling white collar defense and related matters such as SEC enforcement and federal criminal jury trials. His work in the practice includes obtaining a favorable resolution, on the eve of trial, in a federal criminal tax prosecution brought against the owner of an international entertainment business.

Mr. Lawton maintains an active pro bono practice, which focuses primarily on representing clients in the various forums that play a role in the U.S. Immigration system. In recent years, he obtained a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that vacated a final order of removal and ended more than six years of removal proceedings against Munger Tolles’ client. On behalf of another client, an unaccompanied minor, he obtained special immigrant juvenile status from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, followed by lawful permanent residence from Immigration Court.

Before joining Munger Tolles, Mr. Lawton served as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra A. Livingston on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Mr. Lawton received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2007. While at Harvard, he served as an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review, was a semifinalist in the Ames Moot Court Competition, was on the winning team in the Williston Competition, received the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership and served as executive director of HLCentral.

Mr. Lawton received his B.S. in chemistry in 2001 from Caltech, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lawton worked in the technology sector, where he managed corporate development, intellectual property licensing and patent portfolio development for a venture-backed software company.

Adam Lawton is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. His practice focuses on patent litigation, patent-related antitrust litigation and white collar defense.

Mr. Lawton’s patent practice includes serving as part of the Munger Tolles team that defended Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett-Packard against accusations of patent infringement related to sales of the Microsoft Office software suite, a case in which Munger Tolles’ clients obtained summary judgment of noninfringement and won affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He was also part of the Munger Tolles team that obtained a favorable settlement for a leading developer and manufacturer of solar energy technology accused of patent infringement related to the manufacture of solar cells and solar cell modules.

Mr. Lawton has significant experience in the intersection of antitrust and patent law, focusing particularly on antitrust challenges to patent litigation settlements. He successfully represented Abbott Laboratories in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of a civil antitrust complaint brought by the FTC relating to settlements of Hatch-Waxman patent litigation, and is currently representing Abbott Laboratories in related multidistrict litigation brought by various private plaintiffs pending in federal district court.

Further, Mr. Lawton has experience handling white collar defense and related matters such as SEC enforcement and federal criminal jury trials. His work in the practice includes obtaining a favorable resolution, on the eve of trial, in a federal criminal tax prosecution brought against the owner of an international entertainment business.

Mr. Lawton maintains an active pro bono practice, which focuses primarily on representing clients in the various forums that play a role in the U.S. Immigration system. In recent years, he obtained a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that vacated a final order of removal and ended more than six years of removal proceedings against Munger Tolles’ client. On behalf of another client, an unaccompanied minor, he obtained special immigrant juvenile status from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, followed by lawful permanent residence from Immigration Court.

Before joining Munger Tolles, Mr. Lawton served as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra A. Livingston on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Mr. Lawton received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2007. While at Harvard, he served as an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review, was a semifinalist in the Ames Moot Court Competition, was on the winning team in the Williston Competition, received the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership and served as executive director of HLCentral.

Mr. Lawton received his B.S. in chemistry in 2001 from Caltech, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lawton worked in the technology sector, where he managed corporate development, intellectual property licensing and patent portfolio development for a venture-backed software company.