Winston & Strawn’s New Dallas Office, Still Growing, Adds Partners

DALLAS – Winston & Strawn LLP is pleased to welcome three more partners as part of an impressive litigation team joining the firm’s recently opened Dallas office.

Geoffrey Harper, Michael Bittner, and Chad Walker, who join the firm from Fish & Richardson, are a talented addition to the group that will handle complex commercial, business, and intellectual property litigation matters.

“These lawyers are among the best at what they do and therefore a great fit,” said Tom Fitzgerald, chairman of Winston & Strawn. “We’re committed to building an office that is second to none in Dallas, and this is additional proof of that.”

“I know and have worked with these lawyers for years and their continued presence on our team is good for all of us and wonderful news for our clients,” said Tom Melsheimer, who, along with Bryan Goolsby, will serve as managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Dallas office. “Litigation can be a battle and that means you want and need the best people around you. And these lawyers are the best.”

Mr. Harper is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who has first chaired more than 25 trials and arbitrations to verdict. Having litigated in 26 states and four countries, Mr. Harper is frequently sought by plaintiffs and defendants to handle litigation in state and federal courts around the globe. He has represented clients in multiple billion and trillion dollar class actions and has achieved numerous multi-million dollar verdicts for clients. Mr. Harper has been recognized on Texas Super Lawyers and Texas Rising Stars lists, and has had several of his verdicts cited as some of the top trial victories of the year. His practice emphasizes complex commercial litigation, including contractual disputes, class actions, securities litigation, intellectual property disputes, employment disputes, arbitrations, and general commercial litigation.

Mr. Bittner’s practice is focused primarily on intellectual property disputes with an emphasis on patent litigation. He is responsible for leading the largest joint defense group ever (over 400 defendants) in the Eastern District of Texas. Mr. Bittner was named a Texas Rising Star in Intellectual Property Litigation by Super Lawyers magazine in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Mr. Walker’s practice emphasizes patent litigation, qui tam/whistleblower litigation, business litigation, and complex litigation. He has participated in numerous trials, including six where he served as lead trial counsel. Mr. Walker also has technical experience as a co-op engineer in the Software Engineering Group for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, and a co-op engineer in the Systems Engineering Group. Mr. Walker was named a Texas Rising Star in Intellectual Property and Business Litigation for the years 2014-2016.

Winston & Strawn entered the Dallas market in February 2017 with an all-star team of 21 partners from eight different firms. Led by Managing Partners Bryan Goolsby and Tom Melsheimer, nearly 50 transactional lawyers and litigators now work in Winston & Strawn’s Dallas office.