John M Desmarais

John M Desmarais is the founding partner of Desmarais LLP. In 1988, after graduating from New York University Law School, Mr Desmarais started his career at Fish & Neave. After practising in the area of IP litigation and counselling for several years, he left private practice to serve as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York, where from 1992 to 1995 he tried criminal jury trials for the federal government. After leaving the government, Mr Desmarais returned to the practice of IP litigation at Fish & Neave, later joining the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis. From 1997 to 2009 he was a partner at Kirkland, and he served as a member of the firm management committee from 2004 to 2009. After 13 years at Kirkland, he left to found IP trial boutique Desmarais LLP.

Mr Desmarais is a member of the Bars of New York and Washington DC, the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and various other federal district courts and courts of appeal. Mr Desmarais is also registered to practise before the US Patent and Trademark Office. He obtained a degree in chemical engineering from Manhattan College and a law degree from New York University.

Professional memberships

• American Bar Association
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Federal Bar Council
• New York Bar Association
• New York City Bar Association
• New York County Lawyers’ Association
• New York Intellectual Property Law Association

Publications

• “The Sedona Conference Commentary on Patent Damages & Remedies”, The Sedona Conference Journal, Volume 15, 53 (editor in chief and chair, Working Group 9) (Autumn 2014)
• “State Responses to Leaking Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks”, Annual Survey of American Law, 731 (1987)

Qualifications

• Manhattan College, BChE, 1985
• New York University School of Law, JD, 1988