IP Veteran Bill LaFuze Transitions to McKool Smith After Long Career at V&E

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.By Brooks Igo (April 29) – McKool Smith made a splash this month when it announced it lured William “Bill” LaFuze to join its ranks. LaFuze, who had been at Vinson & Elkins for more than 40 years, will practice out of McKool Smith’s Houston and Washington, D.C. offices. He says the new move has him feeling reenergized. “I overlapped with Mike McKool in law school and followed his career,” said LaFuze, who had been the leader or co-leader of V&E’s IP practice group for many years. “After many years, it was amazing to see them grow into what I believe is the premiere IP law firm in the country.”LaFuze has represented high profile clients across a number of industries. He has represented smartphone manufacturers in patent skirmishes, helped Coca-Cola’s bottlers get into the business of self-manufacturing their bottles and successfully defended Chesapeake Energy Company in a patent infringement dispute involving a horizontal drilling technique. A past president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and chair of the Section on Intellectual Property Law of the American Bar Association, LaFuze says patent reform is “fascinating to deal with.” After President George W. Bush was elected for…