Dennis Fairbanks

R. Dennis Fairbanks concentrates his practice on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation. Drawing on his experience as a mechanical engineer—including more than 15 years within the aircraft engine industry—and graduate degree in business administration, Dennis advises plaintiffs and defendants with a robust understanding of the law, technology, commerce and finance.

Dennis represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial litigation, with a focus on construction, technology, trade secret, patent, licensing and other intellectual property disputes.

As a member of numerous litigation and trial teams, he works closely with firm partners and client in-house counsel to develop and implement effective dispute-resolution strategies.

Through his pre-trial work, Dennis helps clients narrow the issues under dispute, accelerate settlement and trial processes, and increase the likelihood of favorable outcomes.

He regularly conducts research and discovery, drafts and presents pleadings and motions, works with and prepares expert witnesses, and conducts pre-trial depositions and direct and cross-examinations at trial of client and opposing-party witnesses.

Prior to joining the firm, Dennis served as a law clerk for the Hon. Allyson K. Duncan at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice David M. Borden of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Dennis is admitted to practice before the North Carolina and Virginia State Courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina and the Eastern District of Virginia, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Experience:

• Defended major energy company in a construction contract dispute in federal court.
• Defended major utility in construction contract dispute in federal court.
• Silicon Knights, Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc. (E.D.N.C. 2012). Led efforts related to client’s and opposing party’s damages, including interfacing with and deposing experts and direct and cross examination of damages experts and financial fact witnesses in this wide-ranging copyright, trade-secret and contract dispute; the trial jury awarded significant damages to client Epic Games, including unpaid license fees and disgorgement of Silicon Knights’ profits.
• Energy Transportation Group, Inc. v. Sonic Innovation, Inc. et al., (D. Del. 2008). Led efforts on discovery, research and depositions relating to one defendant in this multiparty patent-infringement case; successfully reached pre-trial settlement with defendant prior to two-week jury trial, after which the jury awarded combined damages of $31 million to the firm’s client from remaining defendants.
• TGIP v. InComm (E.D. Tex. 2007). Participated in assessing damages claims on behalf of client InComm; obtained a successful partial summary judgment of non-infringement on the majority of alleged product sales, leading to a favorable eve-of-trial settlement.

EDUCATION:

• JD, University of Connecticut School of Law, high honors, 2004
• MBA, Florida Atlantic University, 1996
• BSME, Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, with high honor, 1989

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• North Carolina
• Virginia

CLERKSHIPS:

• Connecticut Supreme Court
• US Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Memberships:

• Member, North Carolina Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association