Morgan Chu

Morgan Chu chairs Irell & Manella LLP’s Litigation group. Throughout his monumental career, Mr. Chu has served as lead trial counsel in some of the world’s largest—and in some cases precedent-setting—verdicts, judgments and settlements. He has obtained over $9 billion in actual payments for clients. Defense representations have comprised an equal share of Mr. Chu’s career, and he has scored a series of wins that have been named top defense verdicts of the year.

One of the world’s most recognized names in the litigation field, Mr. Chu has recently continued his winning streak in significant matters. In 2022, he secured a $2.3 billion final judgment for VLSI Technology in a Waco, Texas trial against Intel—the largest patent judgment in U.S. history—and he obtained a $948 million verdict for VLSI in a suit against Intel in Austin, Texas.

Additionally, in 2019, Mr. Chu convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to side with NantKwest Inc. 9-0 and reject the USPTO’s position that applicants who appeal to a district court must foot the agency’s legal fees, no matter who wins.

Among other recent wins, Mr. Chu argued Intel Corporation v. Fortress Investment Group before the Ninth Circuit, which resulted in a complete defense victory in 2022. Mr. Chu also scored a string of trademark victories for Skechers, persuading the ITC that Skechers’ Twinkle Toes, BOBS and Hydee Hytop sneakers do not infringe Converse’s claimed trademark.

To name just a few of his many accolades, Mr. Chu was recently selected to the Daily Journal’s “Top IP Lawyers,” “Leading Commercial Litigators,” and “Top 100” lists. He’s also been recognized among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “LA 500,” “Who’s Who in Law,” “Top Litigators & Trial Lawyers” and “Top 100,” and was named to the Los Angeles Times’ “Legal Visionaries” list.

Mr. Chu earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, his M.S.L. from Yale University, and his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles.