Companies facing an IP dispute know it's good to win in district court or at the Patent Office, and it's better to win on appeal. Having handled more than 100 appeals and mandamus proceedings as principal counsel, Michael Hawes knows that the best way to save time and money while exerting leverage is to begin with the end game in mind. As chair of Baker Botts' Federal Circuit Appellate Practice Group, Michael assists clients in forming strategies to address current IP disputes and protect them from future disputes. He handles negotiations and cases dealing with patent and copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation and violation of employment agreement IP provisions.

Michael clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. for the Honorable William C. Bryson, and has also argued many cases before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, including appeals from the Patent Office, the ITC and District Courts.

Quarterly Index of Federal Circuit Cases

Since serving as a Federal Circuit clerk, Michael has monitored that court's precedential opinions and prepares a deeply outlined index by subject matter (invalidity, infringement, claim construction, etc.) of relevant legal points - in order to assist clients seeking to identify recent law relevant to a particular problem. The links below provide the most recent documents.

• Federal Circuit Snapshot Q2 2025
• Federal Circuit Snapshot Q3 2025