Perkins Coie

Firm overview:

In November 2025, Perkins Coie announced plans to merge with UK-based Ashurst to create Ashurst Perkins Coie, a $2.7 billion revenue firm. The firm’s biggest offices will be in Seattle, London, Sydney and New York; the tie-up is subject to unspecified conditions, including a partner vote at each firm.

As it stands, Perkins Coie offers clients a niche patent practice in a Big Law setting. The firm partners with companies at every stage of growth to develop and protect their IP within a patent portfolio. The team has filed more than 70,000 applications globally on behalf of clients over the past decade and has more than 12,000 patent applications currently being prosecuted.

The firm’s services also cover IP diligence and patent portfolio transactions, and the prosecution team works closely with patent litigators on post-grant proceedings. The team has represented clients in more than 800 inter partes review and other trial proceedings since the Patent Appeal and Trial Board (PTAB)’s inception. Perkins’ prosecution experience spans sectors such as 5G and wireless, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, digital health, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The firm regularly represents clients in high-stakes patent disputes across the US.

Team overview:

More than half of Perkins Coie’s 100 patent attorneys and agents hold advanced science degrees and many practitioners have significant industry experience as engineers, scientists, US Patent and Trademark Office patent examiners, or as in-house patent counsel at Fortune 500 corporations.

Nicole Dunham, in Seattle, is the chair of the firm’s Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Counseling practice. Dunham’s practice focuses on all aspects of patent preparation and prosecution, strategic development of portfolios, freedom-to-operate analysis, patent validity analysis, and other IP due diligence.

Tyler Bowen, in Phoenix, is a co-chair of the firm’s Patent Litigation practice. Bowen works on significant patent infringement cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in federal court cases across the US and before the International Trade Commission (ITC).

In 2025, Joshua Nelson, vice-chair of the Patent Prosecution & Portfolio Counseling practice, left the firm to join Dorsey & Whitney.

Other notable departures from the team in 2025 included that of David Fournier, Allison Glasunow and Kourtney Mueller Merrill, who left Perkins Coie to join Sheppard Mullin, and have experience in biotech, pharma and medical device patent matters.

Partners John Schnurer, Louise Lu, Kevin Patariu, and Miguel Bombach also left the firm for Foley & Lardner last year.

Key matters:

• Micron Tech v Longhorn IP (23-2007).

A Perkins Coie team of Amanda Tessar, Daniel Graham, Craig Tyler and Trevor Bervik represents Micron Technologies in this dispute in which a federal judge imposed an $8 million bond on patent owner Longhorn based on a provision in the Idaho Bad Faith Assertions of the Patent Infringement Act.

In December 2025, the Federal Circuit dismissed Longhorn’s appeal of the bond order.

• Amarin Pharma v Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA, 104 F.4th 1370 (Fed Cir 2024).

Perkins Coie represented Amarin in its successful appeal to advance its ‘skinny label’ suit over Hikma’s generic version of cardiovascular drug Vascepa. In June 2024 the Federal Circuit overturned the decision of a Delaware district court, which had granted Hikma’s motion to dismiss Amarin’s complaint for failure to state a claim.

The US Supreme Court agreed to review the matter in January 2026.

Clients:

Clients: Amarin Pharma, Micron Technology.