Daniel Attaway has practiced law in Delaware for over fifteen years and in that time has represented various clients in both the District of Delaware and the Delaware state courts. Daniel primarily represents life sciences patent holders in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) and related patent litigation (including freedom to operate cases for brand name pharmaceutical clients), but also has experience representing clients defending against non-practicing entity (NPE) lawsuits and in trade secret litigation. Daniel also serves as Delaware counsel for out-of-state clients in the District of Delaware. In addition, Daniel counsels clients on how to best position themselves for potential litigation, including providing advice for clients navigating the intricacies of potential privilege issues for U.S. litigation that may arise during worldwide patent prosecution.
Daniel has been described as a skilled patent litigator and a “brilliant writer and oral advocate.” Daniel has extensive experience in managing complex cases that require extensive document discovery, including document collection in the United States and abroad. Daniel also has experience in working with experts in various disciplines for testing, infringement analysis, and validity analysis. Daniel also has gained extensive experience in organizing and managing remote trials and depositions. Daniel was selected as a Delaware Rising Star in Intellectual Property Litigation for 2017-2019; has been named to the IAM Patent 1000, Litigation since 2019 and is currently listed at the bronze level for litigation in Delaware; amd has been listed as one of the top 500 leading intellectual property litigators in America by Lawdragon since 2024. Daniel was also named one of the best lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences in 2025 by Best Lawyers, and was elected to be a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2026.
Daniel is recognized as an attorney who “gives back to the community in many ways.” For example, he recently completed his term as co-chair of the firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, WBDPride and regularly mentors associates through the firm’s litigation training program. Daniel also serves as the president of the board of trustees of the Delaware Law Related Education Center, Inc. (“DELREC”), which seeks to teach civics and the law to all students in Delaware and as a member of the board of directors of the National High School Mock Trial Championship. Daniel also serves as the Programming Director for the Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court, and as a mentor to law students at Wilmington University School of Law and law clerks as part of the Rodney Inn of Court’s mentoring program.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Counsel multinational pharmaceutical company on US litigation strategy and potential issues that may arise as part of worldwide prosecution.
- Part of the trial team representing a pharmaceutical client in litigation involving declaratory judgment claims of non-infringement and invalidity. Successfully argued that the patents at issue were invalid under §§ 112 and 102(f). The case was one of the first virtual trials in the nation and the first virtual trial in the SDNY.
- Responsible for day-to-day management and implementing overall case strategy for an ANDA litigation involving a bowel cleansing drug used to prepare for colonoscopies.
- Part of the trial team representing an international pharmaceutical company in multiple ANDA litigations regarding a colonoscopy preparation drug product. In June 2017, the Court issued an opinion that the first filer’s proposed ANDA product infringed all asserted claims of the patents in suit. The subsequent cases were settled on favorable terms.
- Part of the trial team for a large brand-name pharmaceutical company in multiple ANDA litigations regarding composition and method of use patents covering a drug used to treat ulcerative colitis.
- Part of the team defending a large Delaware chemical manufacturing company from various state law claims, including misappropriation of trade secrets.
- Delaware counsel for multiple pharmaceutical and technology companies in numerous intellectual property cases in federal district court.
Professional & Civic Engagement
- American Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Delaware State Bar Association
- The Richard S. Rodney American Inn of Court (Programming Director, 2020-present)
- Board of Trustees, DE Law Related Education Center (President of the Board, 2023-present)
- National High School Mock Trial Championship, Inc. (Board member, 2023-present)
Thought Leadership
Lexology In-Depth: Life Sciences, editor and contributor to the US chapter, 2026
- Co-author of Notice and pre-filing considerations, chapter 3 in ANDA LITIGATION: STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PATENT LITIGATORS (4 ed.), Kenneth Dorsney (editor) (2025)
- “Do I Really Own That?” Consero IP Forum for Life Sciences, December 2022
- “Remote Litigation: Lessons Learned from a ‘Zoom’ Trial,” Womble Bond Dickinson’s Everything from Everywhere Virtual Summit, January 2021
- “Lessons Learned from The First ZOOM Trial in the SDNY – A Case Study," Consero IP Virtual Forum for Life Sciences, December 2020
- “Virtual Experiences in Federal Court,” Richard K. Herrmann Technology Inn of Court, November 2020
- “How COVID-19 Has Changed the Legal Industry,” Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court, October 2020
- Daniel Attaway & Peter Jay, “Just the Facts Ma’am: The Limited Impact of In re Kubin and its Treatment of Obvious to Try,” 16 Intellectual Property Today 9, September 2009
- DiGiovanni, Francis and Daniel Attaway (Co-author), “Patents”, paper for the National Business Institute, 2008
- Daniel Attaway, “Cracking the Door to State Recovery from Federal Thrifts”, 3 SEVENTH CIRCUIT REV. 275, 2007
Honors & Awards
Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2026 - Present
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice, 2023-Present
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America in Intellectual Property Litigation-Patent, 2023-Present
- Named to IAM Patent 1000, Litigation, Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, 2019 – Present
- Super Lawyers Honoree, Delaware Super Lawyers magazine (Thomson Reuters), 2017 – 2019
