David Folsom

Partner, Texarkana
903.255.3251
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Biography

David Folsom is a partner in Jackson Walker’s Litigation practice group, and he leads the firm’s Texarkana office. As former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, David brings his experience and insight to cases both in and out of the Eastern District. He is significantly involved with the firm’s intellectual property litigation matters. He also focuses his practice on mediation and arbitration, specifically in mediating patent and complex commercial cases.

David retired from the federal bench in March 2012. He was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate in 1995, and he served for 17 years in the Eastern District. During his tenure, he conducted over 250 trials and held approximately 75 claim construction hearings. David also served by designation on the Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Federal Circuit.

David presided over hundreds of patent infringement cases. A few notable examples include:

  • Paice LLC v. Toyota Motor Corp.
  • TiVo, Inc. v. Echostar Communications Corp.
  • Pioneer Corp. v. Samsung SDI Co.
  • DataTreasury Corp. v. U.S. Bank, N.A.

A few of David’s other notable cases include:

  • Products liability cases such as State of Texas v. American Tobacco Co.
  • Class actions such as In re Triton Limited Securities Litigation and McNamara v. Bre-X Minerals Ltd.
  • Antitrust cases such as Bell Atlantic Corp. v. AT&T Corp. and Retractable Technologies, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co.

David has completed the Mediation Skills Workshop and the Advanced Mediation Training presented by the Federal Judicial Center, as well as the Mediation Workshop at Harvard Law School.

Education

B.A., University of Arkansas

J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law

Bar Admissions

Arkansas, 1974

Texas, 1975

Court Admissions

Arkansas Supreme Court

United States Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit

United States Appeals Court for the Fifth Circuit

United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas

United States District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas

Practice Experience Recognition & Accolades Publications & Speeches Community Involvement Client Results

Products Liability Cases

  • State of Texas v. American Tobacco Co., 14 F. Supp. 2d 956 (E.D. Tex. 1997)
  • Gaddy v. Blitz U.S.A., Inc., No. 2:09-CV-52
  • McCune v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc., No. 5:09-CV-107

False Claims Actions

  • Wright v. AGIP Petroleum Co., No. 5:03-CV-264

Class Actions

  • In re Triton Limited Securities Litigation, 70 F. Supp. 2d 678 (E.D. Tex. 1999)
  • McNamara v. Bre-X Minerals Ltd., 57 F. Supp. 2d 396 (E.D. Tex. 1999)
  • Dunbar v. Google Inc., No. 5:10-CV-194

Copyright Infringement Actions

  • Rally Concepts, LLC v. Republican National Committee, No. 5:05-CV-41

Antitrust Cases

  • Bell Atlantic Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 339 F.3d 294 (5th Cir. 2003)
  • Z-Tel Communications, Inc. v. SBC Communications, Inc., 331 F. Supp. 2d 513 (E.D. Tex. 2004)
  • Retractable Technologies, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., No. 2:08-CV-16

Complex Criminal Matters

  • United States v. Prince, Nos. 4:09-CR-161 and 4:10-CR-47; bank fraud and bankruptcy fraud trial
  • The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.)
    • Lawyer of the Year – Tyler, Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2021
    • Litigation – Intellectual Property, 2020-2021
  • John Hannah, Jr. Award, Eastern District of Texas, 2018
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
    • Senior Statesperson – Texas, 2020
    • Recognized Practitioner in Intellectual Property – Texas, 2016-2019
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2018
  • Intellectual Property Trailblazer, The National Law Journal, 2017
  • Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2015, 2017-2019

Speeches

  • “Successful Mediation: Navigating the Potholes on the Road to Yes.,” Eastern District of Texas Bar Association – 2017 Bench Bar Conference (October 2017)
  • “Statistics and Trends in the Field of Patent Litigation,” 12th Annual Advanced Patent Litigation Course (July 2016)
  • “Judicial Panel,” University of Texas School of Law Advanced Patent Law Institute (2014-2016)
  • “Arbitration, Mediation & Litigation – View from the Federal Bench and Bar.,” Eastern District of Texas Bar Association – 2015 Bench Bar Conference (October 2015)
  • “International Disputes: A View from the Federal Bench,” Houston Bar Association International Law Section (October 2015)
  • “Judicial Panel,” Houston Intellectual Property Law Association and University of Houston Law Center – 31st Annual Institute on Intellectual Property Law (September 2015)
  • “Views from the Bench About IP Litigation Practice: A Conversation With Texas Judges,” American Bar Association – Intellectual Property Litigation in Texas (February 2015)
  • “Past, Present & Future. An Inside Look at the Evolving Eastern District of Texas.,” Eastern District of Texas Bar Association – 2014 Bench Bar Conference (October 2014)
  • “Mediation of Intellectual Property Disputes,” Houston Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (March 2014)
  • “Confessions of a Former District Judge,” Austin Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Meeting (January 2013)
  • “Judges’ Roundtable – A View From the Bench,” American Conference Institute’s 3rd West Coast Edition – Paragraph IV Disputes (December 2012)
  • “Former Judges: Walking & Talking Among the Mortals,” Eastern District of Texas Bar Association – Eastern District Bench Bar Conference (October 2012)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Advisory Council, 2012-2018
  • American Board of Trial Advocates, 2015