US national firm Winstead has hired a team of IP litigation lawyers from Thompson & Knight to strengthen its Dallas-based intellectual property coverage.

The trio of lawyers include Phillip Philbin, Jamie McDole and Michael Karson, with all three joining as shareholders. The team brings with them experience in a wide-range of IP and business litigation matters, including in areas such as higher education, life sciences and technology.

David Dawson, Winstead’s chairman and CEO, said: “Jamie, Mike, and Phillip are outstanding and highly regarded IP trial attorneys. Their addition dramatically expands the depth of our experience and leadership in segments of the IP litigation arena that we have not previously been able to service.”

Philbin joins Winstead after just over a year as a partner at Thompson & Knight, having previously spent just short of three decades at Haynes and Boone where he was a board member and leader of its IP litigation and business litigation sections. McDole, meanwhile, followed Philbin to Thompson after an almost eight-year stint at Haynes and Boone, having previously spent nearly 13 years at Kirkland & Ellis. Karson was a former colleague of McDole’s at Kirkland, moving to Haynes and Boone just over a year after McDole. He became a partner in 2019 before also moving to Thompson.

James Ruiz, chair of Winstead’s litigation and dispute resolution group, said: “Our trial lawyers are known for seeing around corners, anticipating issues and developing innovative solutions that meet our clients’ most complex legal challenges. Phillip, Jamie, and Mike share that same passion for creativity and service.”

Philbin’s practice focuses on complex tech and science cases, advising on matters such as virtual reality, gaming, mobile communications and the chemical composition of open heart surgery medical devices. McDole is an experienced first-chair trial attorney and regularly advises clients on strategies for enforcing patent portfolios, while Karson’s practice focuses on all areas of IP, such as patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret misappropriation cases.

The trio are the latest lawyers to leave Thompson & Knight in Texas this year following the exit of a team of four Austin-based energy lawyers to O’Melveny & Myers in June and a duo of Houston-based corporate lawyers to Winston & Strawn in May.