Overview
Christopher Suarez focuses his practice on high-tech patent and trade secret trials and appeals before federal district courts, US courts of appeals, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board and other administrative tribunals. He represents clients in a wide range of industries and a variety of electronic technologies including semiconductors, smartphones, internet-of-things (IoT) technologies, voice control computers, wireless standards, graphical user interfaces, media content matching, MEMS components, optics, data processing, marine seismic surveying technologies, and more. Chris has represented high-tech clients at the intersection of antitrust and IP, including in Fair Reasonable and Non Discriminatory (FRAND) litigation. He also assists clients in the life sciences industry, including in Hatch-Waxman patent litigation.
Chris provides counseling at the intersection of law, privacy, and technology. He has participated in privacy-related litigation including claims arising under statutes such as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), and has received the CIPP/US certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Chris's experience spans all phases of litigation, including drafting discovery requests and responses, taking and defending fact and expert depositions, arguing motions and appeals, and participating in trials. His transactional experience includes negotiating contracts, licenses, joint ventures and other agreements for high-tech and other companies.
He is also active in several bar associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA), the Giles Rich American Inn of Court, and the Federal Circuit Bar Association. In 2019, he co-edited a cutting-edge treatise published by the ABA titled The Internet of Things: Legal Issues, Policy, & Practical Strategies, and he continues to write and speak extensively on IoT-related topics.
Chris is also passionate about serving the community. He maintains a robust pro bono practice where he has represented criminal defendants before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, K-12 students facing educational injustices under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and federal employees under the employment discrimination laws.
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Virginia
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- US District Court, District of Colorado
- US District Court, Eastern District of Texas
- US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- US Patent & Trademark Office
- Hon. Timothy B. Dyk, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2012-2013
- Hon. Joan B. Gottschall, US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2011-2012
- J.D., Yale Law School, 2011, Executive Editor, Yale Law and Policy Review; Thurman Arnold Prize Finalist, Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals; Stephen J. Massey Prize
- M.A.T., Dominican University, 2008
- S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006, Tau Beta Pi; Eta Kappa Nu
Areas of Work
Speaking Engagements
- "Surviving and Thriving While Navigating, Innovating, and Litigating Through the COVID-19 Global Pandemic," HNBA Corporate Counsel Conference, March 18, 2021
-
"Protecting Your Client's Intellectual Property: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know," ABA Young Lawyers Division Webinar, December 18, 2019
-
"Where Do the Building Blocks Stand? (5G, Standards, Software)," ABA Internet of Things National Institute, March 27, 2019
-
"Net Neutrality: Free Competition or Chaos," ABA Young Lawyers' Division Spring Conference, May 11, 2018
-
Moderator, "Appeals from the PTAB: What We Know and Don't Know," All Ohio Institute on Intellectual Property Law, September 13-14, 2017
-
Moderator, "PTAB Hi-Tech Townhall," Federal Circuit Bar Association Bench and Bar Conference, June 24, 2017
-
Moderator, "Two Years of Federal Circuit Review of PTAB Proceedings: What We Know and Still Don't Know," Federal Circuit Bar Association Webinar, February 7, 2017
-
"That's a Fact! The Role of Factual Disputes in PTAB Institution Decisions in the Life Sciences," Federal Circuit Bar Association Webinar, November 24, 2016
-
"The Use of Fact and Expert Witnesses at the PTAB: Costs, Strategies, and Pitfalls," Federal Circuit Bar Association Webinar, September 22, 2016
News & Publications
Client Alerts
How to Win on Appeal – Steptoe's Federal Circuit Update: February 2021
February 2021
By: John Caracappa, Matthew N. Bathon, Li Guo, Ph.D., Christopher Suarez
Client Alerts
Virginia Poised to Become Second State with Comprehensive Privacy Law
February 10, 2021
Publications
Protecting Trade Secrets, Patents, or Both During COVID-19
Bloomberg Law
February 4, 2021
Media Mentions
Media Cover Steptoe's SCOTUS Petition in High-Profile Patent Dispute
January 26, 2021
Publications
Disruptive Legal Technology, COVID-19, and Resilience in the Profession
South Carolina Law Review
January 11, 2021
Publications
The Internet of Things: Legal Issues, Policy, & Practical Strategies
American Bar Association
2019
Publications
Autonomous Vehicles: Liability, Insurance, and Intellectual Property
Automotive World
April 9, 2018
Noteworthy
-
Super Lawyers, "Rising Star," Intellectual Property (2017-2020)
- American Inns of Court, Warren E. Burger Writing Prize (2020)
-
ABA On The Rise, Top 40 Young Lawyers List (2018)
-
ABA Intellectual Property Section, Young Lawyer Fellow (2016-2019 term)
Professional Affiliations
-
American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section and Science & Technology Law Section
-
Federal Circuit Bar Association
-
PTAB Bar Association
-
Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court
-
American Intellectual Property Law Association
-
Hispanic National Bar Association