Daniel M. Attaway has practiced law in Delaware for over a decade 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, 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 development on how to best position themselves for potential litigations.
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. Recently, 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 was named to the IAM Patent 1000, Litigation for 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Daniel serves on Womble’s diversity committee and is co-chair of the firm’s IP content committee. Recently, he was part of a group of attorneys who helped to found Womble PRIDE—Womble’s LGBTQ+2 affinity group. Daniel also serves on the leadership team for Womble PRIDE—Womble’s LGBTQ+2 affinity group. Daniel was a member of the Delaware Bar Diversity subcommittee of the Delaware Bench and Bar Diversity Project, an initiative led by Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz and Associate Justice Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Delaware bar. The report from the project was released in January 2022 and includes over one hundred concrete recommendations for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Delaware Bench and Bar. In addition, Daniel is co-chair of Delaware’s state high school mock trial competition, is the host committee coordinator for the 2024 National High School Mock Trial competition (which will be hosted 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. He is recognized as an attorney who “gives back to the community in many ways."
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 (LGBT Section and Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession)
- The Richard S. Rodney American Inn of Court (Programming Director, 2020-22)
- Board of Trustees, DE Law Related Education Center (Co-chair, State Mock Trial Competition, 2016-present)
Thought Leadership
- “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
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice, 2023 - Present
- Honoree, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigation Lawyers in Intellectual Property Litigation, 2023
- Named to IAM Patent 1000, Litigation, Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, 2019 – 2020
- Super Lawyers Honoree, Delaware Super Lawyers magazine (Thomson Reuters), 2017 – 2019
