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2017 was a great year at Munck Wilson Mandala. William Munck celebrated his 20th anniversary at the firm, which he formed in the late 90s and has led as managing partner since 2001. When Munck joined the firm, the attorney headcount was six. Under Munck’s leadership, MWM has grown into one of the most impressive technology-focused law firms in Texas, with 60 attorneys and more than 100 employees. Referred to as an “IP Law Powerhouse,” MWM was ranked by Texas Lawbook as the “…fastest growing Texas-based law firm with double digit growth numbers” in 2017.
In July of 2017, MWM acquired IP boutique firm Howison & Arnott, which added seven new patent attorneys to the ranks. This acquisition strengthened MWM’s technology/intellectual property law practice, bringing the total number of registered patent attorneys to 30, and the combined total years of technical and IP legal experience to over 500, or half a millennium. In 2017, the firm’s IP practice was once again ranked by Chambers USA as a top Texas practice and Munck was ranked as a top IP attorney.
MWM’s litigation team achieved some impressive results in 2017, receiving a Top Texas Verdict as reported by VerdictSearch for Romano Group, LLC v. Robert Wilson, Jr., a fraud case that ranked #2 out of 5 in the fraud category and #69 out of 109 verdicts overall. The litigation team also secured a $10.1 million verdict on behalf of client iLife Technologies. MWM represented iLife, a Dallas-based company that develops vital sign monitors and other technology, in a patent infringement case involving motion detection technology for Nintendo Wii gaming systems.
The case, iLife Technologies Inc. v. Nintendo of America Inc., was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas before Chief Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn. On Dec. 27, 2017, MWM scored another big win in its ongoing patent battle against Nintendo of America when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld iLife’s motion-sensing accelerometer patent, shutting down one of Nintendo’s avenues for appeal.
In the summer, the firm’s Austin office, which opened in the fall of 2016, was ranked as the 15th largest patent law firm in Austin by Austin Business Journal and two Austin partners were honored—one as a Top Latino Lawyer by Latino Leaders Magazine and one as a Profiles in Power honoree by Austin Business Journal.
In Dallas, Munck was named a distinguished leader and received a Texas Lawyer Professional Excellence Award and MWM was ranked the third largest patent law firm in North Texas by Dallas Business Journal.
Additional 2017 MWM moments included two partners getting elected to prestigious board positions: Make-A-Wish® North Texas and Red Cross North Texas. Another partner was honored as a Dallas Business Journal 40 Under 40 and a National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Best Lawyer Under 40. MWM had its fifth partner complete the Leadership Dallas program, seven MWM attorneys were listed as Texas Rising Stars, six partners were listed as Best Lawyers in America, and 16 MWM partners were listed as Texas Super Lawyers.
MWM supported a large list of community efforts in 2017, including two clothing and food drives for hurricane victims in Houston and Puerto Rico. Other organizations supported by MWM attorneys included the American Diabetes Association, Bar None Production Company, Genesis Women’s Shelter, Head Start of Greater Dallas, Hunger Busters, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Black Tie Dinner and Dallas Theater Center.
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