Christine Lehman

Practice Areas

Christine Lehman is the Managing Partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. An accomplished trial attorney focusing on patent litigation in U.S. District Courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Christine uses her technical background and 25 years of litigation experience to guide clients through complex litigation in the most challenging forums. She has litigated in courts across the U.S., as well as coordinated global patent litigation strategy. Christine is known for her strategic insights, knowledge of ITC as a specialized venue, and the ability to communicate clearly and credibly with judges and juries.

Recognized among the nation’s top ITC Section 337 practitioners by Chambers USA, sources noted “She’s very strategic in her approach and good on her feet; she’s a terrific lawyer.” Managing IP recognized her as a “Top 250 Women in IP” worldwide—one of only 60 attorneys ranked in the U.S.—and as an “IP Star.” Benchmark Litigation also named Christine an intellectual property “Litigation Star,” and IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners ranked her as a leading patent lawyer, among other honors.

Christine has extensive experience litigating patent cases at the ITC, a fast-moving forum with highly specialized practice requirements. She served as an investigative attorney at the Office of Unfair Import Investigations early in her career, and has appeared in dozens of ITC investigations, including 16 trials before the administrative law judges at the ITC. She is also an experienced district court litigator handling Markman hearings, summary judgment and jury trials. Christine's combined experience provides clients with expertise and perspective in developing an overall patent litigation strategy.

Christine spearheaded RJLF’s efforts in obtaining Midsize Mansfield Certification "Plus" status for the firm. The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. Certification “Plus” status indicates that, in addition to successfully meeting the consideration and transparency requirements, the firm has achieved 30% representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in current leadership roles and pathway activities. Christine’s leadership efforts earned her the 2022 “Woman Worth Watching in Leadership” award by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Prior to joining RJLF, Christine was a partner at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, serving as leader of the litigation section, co-chair of the ITC section, and pro bono partner in her 20 years there.

Work Highlights

Christine has appeared on behalf of clients in patent infringement litigation involving a broad range of technologies, including Corning, Caterpillar, Philips Lighting, DSM N.V., Vuly Trampolines, Rambus, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Toyota, Abbott (f/k/a Guidant), Hillcrest Labs, St. Jude, Toshiba, and Eli Lilly. Her representative cases include:

Secured a crucial trial victory for Corning Optical at the ITC, which found respondents in violation of Section 337 and issued a General Exclusion Order against all infringing products. The win for Corning bars all infringing products from the U.S. for the life of the patents.

Represented Densify in securing a $236 million patent infringement verdict against VMware—a verdict recognized in The National Law Journal's 2021 "Verdicts Hall of Fame" (7th largest verdict in past five years) and 2020 “Top 100 Verdicts” (8th largest verdict in the U.S.).

Secured an $84 million willful patent infringement verdict on behalf of Cirba, Inc. (d/b/a Densify) against VMware, following a five-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Won post-trial motions for a total award of $27 million for client Droplets against tech giant Yahoo. The judgment upheld a $15 million patent infringement verdict and ordered an additional $12 million in pre- and post-judgment interest. The original $15 million verdict was awarded after a three-week jury trial. After the Yahoo verdict, also secured a favorable settlement for Droplets in the consolidated case against Nordstrom.

Represented renowned chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse in defense of a patent infringement dispute filed by SharkNinja over the popular pressure cooker appliance, the Ninja Foodi.

Lead counsel for Caterpillar in two ITC trials involving multiple patents on road construction technology against a major competitor.

Lead counsel for Signify (f/k/a Philips Lighting) in an ITC trial filed against seven respondents involving LED lighting technology.

Lead counsel for Covidien in two ITC cases involving patents on medical device technology. Covidien filed two ITC complaints to block infringing products from the U.S. In both cases the infringing products were excluded from the United States for the life of the asserted patents.

Lead counsel for Vuly Trampolines in a patent infringement case filed by Springfree Trampolines in the ITC seeking to block Vuly from the U.S. market just as its innovative trampolines were being introduced into the U.S. Vuly challenged Springfree’s allegations resulting in a complete victory after trial.

Lead counsel for DSM in district court and ITC trial regarding fiber optic coatings.

Lead counsel for Mares S.p.A. in district court litigation filed by Underwater Alert System LLC against a variety of diving watch companies. Underwater Alert dismissed the complaint with prejudice before an answer was filed, with no settlement agreement.

Lead counsel for Maquet in patent litigation filed by Ventronics in E.D. Texas involving medical ventilator technology. Won motion to transfer from E.D. Texas to Delaware, where litigation was stayed based on reexamination. After successful reexamination proceeding concluded, the litigation was dismissed with prejudice.

Obtained dismissal with prejudice for Toshiba in patent litigation filed by Media Digital in district court after a favorable claim construction decision rendered the patent indefinite.

Represented complainant Eli Lilly in an ITC patent infringement action regarding pharmaceutical products, resulting in a settlement after foreign discovery of respondents was compelled by the administrative law judge.

Represented Schweitzer-Manduit as a complainant in an ITC trial asserting two patents against 11 respondents.

Represented Rambus in two ITC trials involving multiple patents and multiple respondents and complex semiconductor technology, resulting in numerous license and settlement agreements.

Represented complainant Hillcrest Labs in an ITC trial alleging infringement of the Wii video game system, resulting in a post-trial settlement with Nintendo.

Represented respondent Syngenta in an ITC investigation in which Sumitomo was seeking to exclude Syngenta agricultural products from the U.S.; successfully argued for early termination of the proceeding by the ALJ and the full ITC based on arbitration clause.

Represented respondent Toyota in an ITC patent infringement trial seeking to exclude Toyota’s hybrid vehicles from the United States. The asserted patent was declared invalid and not infringed by the administrative law judge and the full ITC for a finding of no violation. The decision was affirmed by the Federal Circuit.

Represented complainant Tyco Healthcare in patent infringement case against a Mexican company involving diapers and adult incontinence products, resulting in a settlement on the eve of trial.

Represented Abbott (f/k/a Guidant) in multiple litigations involving cardiovascular stents and coordinated global litigation throughout Europe.

Education