Latham & Watkins brings patent and trade secret trial partner Adam Greenfield back to Washington office
A partner move focused on technology disputes
Latham & Watkins has added to its Washington, D.C., intellectual property bench with the return of Adam Greenfield as a partner in its Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. The firm announced the move on August 19, 2025, positioning Greenfield as a trial lawyer for patent and trade secret matters tied to fast-moving technology sectors.
Greenfield’s practice is described as spanning patent and trade secret disputes across multiple forums, including federal district courts, appellate venues, the US International Trade Commission and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The firm said his work includes cross-border components and technology-heavy industries, listing areas such as artificial intelligence, automotive, defense, energy, financial services, manufacturing, medical devices and broader technology.
From White & Case back to a prior platform
The move is a return: Greenfield previously practiced at Latham before a later lateral shift to White & Case, and then rejoined Latham in Washington after about a year. In its announcement, Latham framed the hire as an expansion of its capacity for “complex patent and trade secret matters” and a way to support technology clients facing disputes across jurisdictions.
Greenfield’s background includes a clerkship for Judge Kimberly A. Moore on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the appellate court with nationwide jurisdiction over most patent appeals. The firm also stated he has been involved with the Federal Circuit Bar Association as a Global Fellow. His legal education includes a JD from the University of Illinois College of Law and an electrical engineering degree from the University of Illinois.
Why Washington matters for IP litigation strategy
Washington plays an outsized role in modern IP disputes because key decision points often occur in D.C.-anchored institutions and proceedings. For many companies, high-stakes patent conflicts now routinely involve parallel tracks: district court litigation, PTAB validity challenges and, for certain industries and remedies, ITC investigations. Those overlapping forums can compress timelines and raise the premium on trial and appellate experience, particularly in cases centered on technical records and fast-evolving products.
District courts: primary venue for infringement claims and damages, with jury trials in many cases.
PTAB: administrative proceedings that can reshape the strength and scope of asserted patents.
ITC: a trade-focused forum that can issue exclusion orders affecting imports of accused products.
Federal Circuit: the principal appellate endpoint for patent disputes, influencing national doctrine.
What the firm said the hire adds
Latham stated that Greenfield is a “first-chair” trial lawyer and that his return strengthens the firm’s ability to handle technology-driven patent and trade secret disputes across forums.
The firm identified Greenfield’s arrival as part of its Washington-based litigation footprint, highlighting courtroom experience and multi-forum practice coverage. No client matters were detailed in the announcement.