Welcome
to
2026,
with
hopes
that
this
coming
year
will
be
one
of
success
and
contentment
for
the
entirety
of
this
readership.
I
can
think
of
no
better
way
to
kick
off
the
year
than
to
share
a
written
interview
I
conducted
with
someone
who
was
a
major
contributor
to
one
of
the
IP
success
stories
of
2025,
namely
the
robust
market
for
patent
litigation
talent
in
the
face
of
what
seems
like
unprecedented
changes
in
big-ticket
patent
litigation
practice.
Our
interviewee
is
a
legal
recruiter,
whose
agency
placed
no
less
than
eight
patent
litigators
(out
of
a
total
of
15
placements)
in
2025
alone,
at
firms
with
elite
patent
litigation
practices
like
Gibson
Dunn,
Quinn
Emanuel,
and
Orrick.
With
a
Biglaw
background
in
patent
litigation
under
his
belt,
it
is
no
wonder
that
our
interviewee’s
approach
is
resonating
with
both
candidates
and
target
firms.
Let’s
meet
our
interviewee,
who
was
gracious
enough
to
agree
to
this
interview
at
one
of
the
busiest
times
of
the
year
for
legal
recruiters.
Khurram
Naik
is
a
partner
at
Freshwater
Counsel,
a
boutique
recruiting
agency
focused
on
placing
elite
patent
litigators
at
the
partner,
counsel,
and
associate
levels.
Before
founding
the
agency,
he
practiced
patent
litigation
at
Goodwin.
In
addition
to
his
recruiting
practice,
Khurram
also
serves
as
the
host
of
Khurram’s
Quorum,
a
podcast
with
in-depth
conversations
with
federal
judges,
first-chair
trial
lawyers,
and
chief
legal
officers
on
their
career
challenges
and
successes.
Khurram
also
shares
insights
on
LinkedIn,
where
I
personally
find
his
posts
about
his
experiences
as
a
recruiter
both
informative
and
genuine.
Now
to
the
interview.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
to
Khurram’s
answer
below
but
have
otherwise
presented
his
answer
to
my
first
question
as
he
provided
it.
Gaston
Kroub:
With
the
recent
upheaval
at
the
PTO,
what
timeless
factors
still
drive
demand
for
elite
patent
litigators?
Khurram
Naik:
Patents
keep
issuing,
products
keep
launching,
and
companies
must
keep
defending
market
share.
Whether
in
standards
or
biologics,
these
disputes
remain
high-stakes
and
often
bet-the-company,
which
means
demand
for
elite
patent
litigators
never
truly
softens.
In
life
sciences,
new
drugs
and
biologics
move
through
development,
regulatory
approval,
and
commercialization
on
a
continuous
cycle,
and
each
stage
creates
predictable
points
of
dispute.
Hatch-Waxman
litigation,
biosimilar
cases,
and
follow-on
patent
challenges
aren’t
distractions
from
core
businesses,
they’re
central.
A
single
patent
decision
can
determine
whether
a
company
secures
market
exclusivity
or
loses
it
overnight.
Humira,
the
top-selling
pharmaceutical
in
the
world,
generated
AbbVie
$20
billion
in
revenue
in
a
year
at
its
peak.
Following
biosimilar
entry,
Humira’s
revenues
dropped
more
than
half
the
following
year.
When
the
stakes
are
billions
of
dollars,
companies
don’t
downsize
their
litigation
strategy,
they
double
down.
GK:
It
probably
won’t
be
a
surprise
for
this
readership
that
industries
where
patents
have
historically
carried
outsized
value,
like
pharmaceuticals,
are
amongst
the
biggest
beneficiaries
of
the
changes
to
the
IPR
regime
that
has
so
dominated
patent
practice
for
over
a
decade.
Nor
should
it
be
a
surprise
that
demand
for
high-level
life
sciences
patent
litigators
remains
at
a
high
level,
particularly
because
those
cases
can
be
less
budget-sensitive
than
other
types
of
patents
cases,
given
their
importance.
We
have
also
already
seen
the
impact
of
the
changes
in
the
IPR
regime
on
patent
lawyers
whose
practices
focused
on
that
type
of
work,
at
least
of
whom
have
already
started
to
pivot
towards
a
focus
on
other
types
of
adversarial
patent
proceedings.
Outside
of
pharma
and
IPR
work,
what
will
be
interesting
to
monitor
as
we
head
into
2026
and
beyond
is
whether
demand
for
patent
litigators
with
real
experience
and
knowledge
in
the
area
of
litigation
funding
will
expand
or
contract,
especially
considering
the
headwinds
that
at
least
some
sectors
of
the
litigation
funding
market
have
been
dealing
with.
At
the
same
time,
many
IP
departments
at
leading
technology
companies
are
dealing
with
a
flood
of
funded
cases
filed
against
them,
which
may
lead
to
more
defense-minded
firms
looking
to
add
talent
with
true
knowledge
of
how
litigation
funding
works
in
the
patent
litigation
context.
Either
way,
Khurram
and
his
colleagues
should
continue
to
see
demand
for
their
services…
We
will
continue
with
Khurram’s
answers
to
questions
2
and
3
next
time,
which
will
center
on
both
how
his
experience
in
Biglaw
helps
him
in
his
current
role,
as
well
as
his
thoughts
on
where
there
is
demand
for
top-tier
patent
litigators
in
the
current
market.
In
the
meantime,
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
Khurram
if
you
think
2026
might
be
the
year
for
a
move,
or
if
your
firm
needs
additional
talent…
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected] or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.