For Law360's Voices of the Bar series, the publication reached to Finnegan attorney Christine E. Lehman for her thoughts on strategies and tactics that litigators should avoid when trying intellectual property cases. Lehman said:
Lack of preparation is one of the biggest landmines in IP litigation. Every aspect of litigation can be improved by preparation or doomed by a lack of it, but the beginning and the end are particularly important. Filing a complaint should always be preceded by preparation, especially when filed at a fast-track forum such as the ITC or the Eastern District of Virginia. Clients are often in a hurry to file, but pre-complaint preparation, including retaining expert witnesses, interviewing inventors, checking assignments, and even preparing documents for production can give you the upper hand from the very beginning of the case. It is a huge advantage as the plaintiff and you only have it once. Trial preparation may seem obvious, but it is often given short shrift due to last-minute settlement negotiations. If settlement negotiations are heating up before trial we will often have a different team of lawyers handle settlement, so the trial team can focus on trial preparation. We are able to negotiate the settlement from a position of strength because we are ready to go to trial. And when a settlement falls through, we are ready and focused on trial.