Christine Woodin

Christine M. Woodin specializes in patent litigation at Hueston Hennigan LLP. She joined the firm in 2021 and made partner in January 2024 after having worked at McKool Smith and Irell & Manella LLP. She graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 2013 and from Caltech with a B.S. in applied and computational mathematics in 2010.

"I realized at Caltech that I didn't want a job as a computer scientist," she said. "But the school had a class on technology and the law, and in that context, patent law felt like a good fit, even though going from Caltech to law school is not a common step."

Woodin is preparing for a July trial in which she and the Hueston team will defend a unit of medical device heavyweight Medtronic plc against hundreds of millions of dollars in patent infringement claims over prosthetic heart valve technology. Speyside Medical LLC v. Medtronic CoreValve LLC et al., 1:20-cv-00361 (D. Del., filed March 13, 2020).

"I'll be one of the leads presenting at least one of our experts and cross-examining theirs," she said. "This is the best part of the job, seeing a case come together and then presenting it to a jury. We strive to streamline and simplify the technology, and we work closely with our experts so they can explain themselves well. The goal is always to make it persuasive."

Woodin sometimes operates in cases where IP intersects with complex commercial claims, such as those involving antitrust law. Representing Match Group LLC, the operator of Tinder and other dating platforms, she was part of the Hueston Hennigan team that obtained a $300 million settlement with Google LLC over accusations that Google illegally monopolized the mobile apps distribution market. In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, 3:21-md-02981 (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 5, 2021).

"This was not a direct patent case, but there were thematically similar overlaps," she said. Woodin and the team obtained pre-trial wins that included defeating Google's motion for summary judgment. The team also helped prove that Google had spoliated documents -- leading to an adverse inference jury instruction.

Days before trial in October 2023, the Hueston team crafted the settlement that included significant injunctive and monetary relief for Match. "We developed a narrative involving some solid themes that ultimately got Match out of the case," Woodin said.

-- John Roemer