Mr. Proctor, a Quinn Emanuel partner since 2006, focuses his practice on complex, high-stakes litigation at every stage of a case—pre-trial, trial, post-trial and appellate. Mr. Proctor has extensive experience with intellectual property disputes, including those involving copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, design patents and trade secrets, as well as other complex business disputes across a range of industries, including claims of fraud, breach of contract, breach of partnership, unfair competition, RICO violations, antitrust violations, fraudulent transfer, and other claims. Recently, Mr. Proctor has represented Samsung in its design-patent and trade-dress “smartphone wars” with Apple, Mattel in intellectual property battles with a competitor, Snapchat in defending against partnership claims brought by an alleged co-founder, prominent investors in several nine-figure M&A disputes, and other entities and individuals in significant disputes nationwide.
Mr. Proctor’s recent successes include:
- Prevailing at the U.S. Supreme Court on design-patent damages issues in the first design patent case heard by the Court in over a century;
- Obtaining, and defending on appeal to the Third Circuit, dismissal on the pleadings of nine-figure fraud claims filed in Texas state court arising out of sale of an allegedly “worthless” company;
- Obtaining case-ending sanctions prior to trial, including a full award of damages and fee-shifting, as well as entry of preliminary injunction, affirmed on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, halting all sales of competing product;
- Defeating, and defending on appeal to the Federal Circuit, requests for permanent injunctions, despite verdicts and a judgment of liability, and obtaining reversal of a related nine-figure trade-dress judgment on appeal;
- Obtaining vacatur of a nine-figure trade-secrets judgment on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and summary judgment from the trial court after such claim was re-filed.
Before joining Quinn Emanuel, Mr. Proctor graduated in the top 2% of his class from New York University School of Law, and clerked for the Hon. Charles P. Sifton, Chief Judge of the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Proctor has been named one of the top Intellectual Property lawyers in California by Super Lawyers.
- Mr. Proctor's current and past clients include Samsung, Mattel, Expedia, the Physiotherapy Litigation Trust, Snapchat, Integrated Whale Media Investors, American Rena, DreamWorks Animation, Knowledge Universe, ConAgra, DirecTV, Schwab, Franchise Pictures, Shell Oil Company, and other companies and individuals.
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Representing Samsung against Apple in the “smartphone wars.” Results to date include: prevailing in the U.S. Supreme Court on novel issues of design-patent damages; obtaining reversal of a nine-figure trade-dress judgment by invalidating Apple’s claimed iPhone trade dress on appeal; and defeating, at both trial and appellate levels, requests for permanent injunctions halting sales of Samsung products.
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For a well-known private investor, obtained rare order dismissing nine-figure fraud claims on the pleadings, after obtaining orders transferring litigation from Texas state court to Delaware federal court, and successfully defended judgment on appeal.
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For Mattel, obtained appellate judgment vacating verdicts of liability for alleged trade-secret misappropriation and associated nine-figure damages award. Separately, defeated antitrust claims seeking more than $1 billion in damages on the pleadings.
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For American Rena, obtained favorable judgment on all claims and counterclaims following imposition of sanctions, including damages award and fee-shifting. Prior to trial, obtained preliminary injunction requiring competitor to cease all product sales and to post a website notice of its infringement, and successfully defended injunction on appeal.
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Obtained favorable confidential settlements in a variety of highly publicized matters in courts across the country.
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Obtained multi-year stay shortly after retention in franchise dispute, forcing highly favorable settlement providing for judgment of injunctive and declaratory relief and dismissal of price discrimination counterclaims.
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Defeated purported UCL class action seeking to invalidate employee inventions agreements on motion to dismiss.
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For ConAgra, obtained dismissal with prejudice of UCL and CLRA false advertising putative class action related to food products, on the pleadings and without the need for discovery.
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Obtained defense judgment on the pleadings, before discovery, in fraud and unfair competition action brought by franchisee against Shell Oil Company relating to the terms of the parties' franchise agreement.
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Obtained pre-trial dismissal of eight claims, and defense judgment after five week jury trial on the one remaining claim, in a case brought by a dozen retail gasoline dealers against Shell Oil Company raising a variety of fraud, contract and antitrust (price discrimination, predatory pricing, etc.) claims.
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After substituting in as counsel one month before trial, obtained pretrial order striking damages claims and jury demand in price discrimination action brought by gasoline dealers against Shell Oil Company.
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Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of insurance company on the eve of punitive damages trial after substituting for prior counsel, despite prior determination that client had denied insurance coverage in bad faith.
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Obtained favorable settlement, including nearly entire sum demanded, on behalf of a private investor immediately after filing complaint alleging fraud and securities violations.
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Obtained dismissal of Ninth Circuit appeal on motion, avoiding the need for merits briefing.
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In pro bono matter, obtained permanent civil rights injunction under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against ongoing Establishment Clause violations by the State of California.
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In pro bono matter, obtained extremely rare order releasing life prisoner, who was non-violent and had been a model prisoner for more than 20 years, on parole after 28 years' incarceration.
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In pro bono matter, obtained rare order from California Supreme Court vacating death sentence on habeas review based on Brady violations and other misconduct.
- New York University School of Law
- (J.D., magna cum laude, 2000)
- New York University Law Review:
- Articles Editor
- Butler Scholar (awarded to top 2.5 percent of class)
- Order of the Coif
- New York University Law Review:
- University of California, Berkeley
(B.A., 1996)
- The State Bar of California
- United States District Court:
- Central District of California
- Southern District of California
- Northern District of California
- Eastern District of California
- United States Court of Appeals:
- Ninth Circuit
- Federal Circuit
- United State Supreme Court
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Charles P. Sifton:
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2000-2001
- "Using The Spending Power To Circumvent City Of Boerne v. Flores: Why The Court Should Require Constitutional Consistency In Its Unconstitutional Conditions Analysis," 75 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 469 (2000)