Lisa S. Glasser

In November, Glasser co-led a team of Irell lawyers in winning a $200 million jury verdict against Wells Fargo Bank for infringing patents belonging to client United Services Automobile Association. United Services Automobile Association v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 18-cv-00245 (E.D. Tex., filed June 7, 2018).

A mere two months later, she did it again. In January, a different jury hit Wells Fargo with a $102 million verdict for infringing different USAA patents. United Services Automobile Association v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 18-cv-00336 (E.D. Tex., filed Aug. 17, 2018)

All the patents dealt with “mobile remote deposit capture technology,” which lets bank customers make deposits by photographing checks with their cellphones. Both trials were before the chief judge of the rocket-docket federal court in East Texas. Each took about a week, including a few hours of jury deliberation, Glasser said.

“It was a unique challenge to try to present the story line of these two distinct groups of inventors at USAA,” she said. “We were able to get the story across to the jury both times, and so that was gratifying.”

For Glasser, patent litigation is fun. “You get to learn about all these cool technologies.”

It’s also inspirational for her. For instance, she said USAA was motivated to develop the remote capture technology to help the military families scattered around the globe that it serves.

She was also inspired to meet the inventors of the smallest medical device ever approved by the Food and Drug Administration: a stent to open a miniscule canal in the eye to treat glaucoma. She represents Glaukos Corp. in a suit to protect its patents covering the stent. Glaukos Corp. v. Ivantis Inc., 18-cv-00620 (C.D. Cal., filed April 14, 2018)

She said it’s been fun to meet the inventors of a life-changing product. “It’s just amazing to think about how tiny it is,” she said. “And what a difference it’s making in people’s lives.”

Glasser won key summary judgment motions in the case in March 2019 and again in June this year to dismiss the defendant’s own claims and trimming its defenses.

In addition to her big patent cases, Glasser has been busy helping Irell navigate the pandemic. She serves on the firm’s three-person management committee and its executive board and is vice-chair of the litigation group.

— Don DeBenedictis