Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Meyer
10.01.25
The Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC) has selected Intellectual Property partner William P. Atkins as its 2025 Lawyer of the Year. Established more than 150 years ago, the BADC is the nation’s third-oldest bar association and its Lawyer of the Year award is the organization’s highest honor.
The BADC highlighted not only Atkins’ legal skill and leadership, but also his unwavering dedication to clients of all sizes and the bar. His efforts in strengthening and expanding the BADC’s Intellectual Property Section were also highlighted as part of this prestigious recognition.
Over the course of more than three decades, Atkins has earned a reputation as one of the country’s foremost intellectual property attorneys. A seasoned patent and trial attorney, he has served as lead counsel in hundreds of complex high-stakes cases before juries, courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is widely recognized for achieving winning outcomes, whether through early resolutions or at trial.
Beyond his litigation practice, Atkins has authored eight editions of the PTAB Handbook and co-edited both the fourth and newly published fifth editions of the ABA’s Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook. He has also shared his expertise in the classroom, teaching intellectual property law at the University of Maryland and George Washington University, where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor.
Atkins will be honored at the 154th Annual BADC Banquet & Gala on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.