Daniel Attaway has practiced law in Delaware for over fifteen years and in that time has represented various clients in both Delaware state court and in the District of Delaware. 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 secrets cases. Daniel also serves as Delaware counsel for out of state clients before the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. In addition, Daniel counsels clients who are in late-stage drug development on how to best position themselves for potential litigation, including providing advice for clients navigating the intricacies of potential privilege during worldwide patent prosecution.
Daniel has been described as a skilled patent litigator and a “brilliant writer and oral advocate.” In addition, Daniel has extensive experience in managing complex cases that require extensive document discovery, both 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. Daniel has been named to the IAM Patent 1000, Litigation for since 2019 and is currently listed at the bronze level for litigation in Delaware. Daniel was also named one of the top 500 leading litigators in America by Lawdragon in 2024 for intellectual property litigation, especially patents. Daniel was also named one of the best lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences in 2025 by Best Lawyers.
Daniel is recognized as an attorney who “gives back to the community in many ways.” For example, he serves as co-chair of the firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, WBDPride, and is a member of the firm’s Mansfield committee. This year, Daniel participated in Diversity Lab’s third diversity hackathon, which brought multiple lawyers and in-house counsel together to “hack” diversity issues for five months and then present shark-tank style pitches for their innovations. 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. Daniel was appointed to the DELREC board in 2023 by the Delaware Supreme Court. In addition, Daniel was the host coordinator for the 2024 National High School Mock Trial competition held in Wilmington, Delaware and is a member of the National High School Mock Trial board. Daniel also serves as the Programming Director for the Richard S. Rodney Inn of Court.
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.
- 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 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, 2020-24)
- 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
- Co-author of Notice and pre-filing considerations, chapter 3 in ANDA LITIGATION: STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PATENT LITIGATORS (3 ed.), Kenneth Dorsney (editor) (2020)
- “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
- Daniel was selected as a Delaware Rising Star in Intellectual Property Litigation for 2017-2019. Daniel has been named to the IAM Patent 1000, Litigation for since 2019 and is currently listed at the bronze level for litigation in Delaware. Daniel was also named one of the top 500 leading litigators in America by Lawdragon in 2024 for intellectual property litigation, especially patents. Daniel was also named one of the best lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences in 2025 by Best Lawyers.
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Honoree, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigation Lawyers in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2023 – 2024
- Named to IAM Patent 1000, Litigation, Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, 2019 – Present
- Super Lawyers Honoree, Delaware Super Lawyers magazine (Thomson Reuters), 2017 – 2019
