Kate Dominguez

Partner

Kate Dominguez is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Kate has extensive experience litigating complex patent cases from discovery through trial and appeal. She has worked across a broad spectrum of technologies, including both high-tech and life sciences matters. Representative technologies Kate has litigated include systems and software for data storage, encryption, interactive television, intrusion detection, mobile communications, network authentication, and wireless networking, among others. Kate’s life sciences work has included matters relating to recombinant DNA, pharmaceutical composition and dosing and medical devices. Kate’s practice also includes trade secrets litigation, as well as antitrust litigation in which a client’s defense of its intellectual property rights gives rise to antitrust allegations.

Some of Kate’s trial experience includes a three-week jury trial in the District of Nebraska on behalf of a wireless carrier client, in which Gibson Dunn obtained a complete defense verdict across 30 infringement claims, after two other wireless carriers lost at trial or settled on the same claims. Kate’s representative trial experience also includes a jury trial in the District of Delaware, in which Gibson Dunn represented the patentee (the market leader in network storage equipment) and obtained an eight-figure damages award for the client.

Kate also regularly practices in the Federal Circuit, where she has argued and briefed patent appeals for a wide range of clients. Kate’s representative Federal Circuit experience includes successfully defending several non-infringement verdicts and invalidating multiple patents on Section 101 grounds.

Recognized for her expertise in intellectual property, Kate was recently ranked by Chambers in New York’s Intellectual Property: Patent category. She has also been distinguished as a “Patent Star” in the 2023 and 2024 editions of Managing IP Handbook. Benchmark Litigation has designated her as a “Future Star” in New York annually since 2022. Earlier in her career, Kate was also named to the Super Lawyers New York Metro “Rising Stars” list in the category of Intellectual Property from 2016-2019.

Prior to joining the firm, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Richard G. Taranto of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Kate earned her Juris Doctor in 2008 from Yale Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts, with honors, from Wesleyan University in 2003. Kate also obtained her Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University in 2005, as part of her work as a Teach For America corps member.

Kate is a member of the bar of the State of New York and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas.

Representative Experience:

  • Won a jury verdict of non-infringement on 30 out of 30 infringement claims on behalf of T-Mobile, in a case brought by Prism Technologies in the District of Nebraska. The trial win came after two of T-Mobile’s competitors lost at trial or settled on the eve of jury deliberations, earning recognition from the American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily and Law360. Won affirmance of the jury verdict on appeal to the Federal Circuit and further invalidated all asserted patents on 101 grounds.
  • Won a complete victory on summary judgment of non-infringement for EMC, on 8 patents, in a patent litigation against ACQIS in the District of Massachusetts. The victory was achieved after ACQIS had previously obtained a jury verdict and tens of millions of dollars in settlement payments from other major technology companies on the same portfolio. The result was recognized by the American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily.
  • Won a $14 million jury verdict of infringement for EMC against Pure Storage in the District of Delaware. After trial, the parties settled the case at more than double the amount of the jury verdict.
  • Won a complete victory on summary judgment of non-infringement for NetApp in its case against Intellectual Ventures in the District of Massachusetts.

Capabilities

Credentials

Education:
  • Yale University - 2008 Juris Doctor
  • Pace University - 2005 Master of Science
  • Wesleyan University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
  • New York Bar
Clerkships:
  • US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, Hon. Richard G. Taranto, 2013 - 2014