Palo Alto

Phone 650.331.2030
Fax 650.331.2068

Practice Areas
Appellate

Donald M. Falk, Partner

Much of Don Falk's practice involves competition and intellectual property issues. He has briefed dozens of cases in federal and state appellate courts, including several patent cases in the United States Supreme Court and United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His other areas of experience include class certification, arbitration, federal preemption, securities law, and California's notorious Business & Professions Code Section 17200. Don's first argument before the United States Supreme Court, in Jones v. United States, resulted in a 9-0 victory narrowing the reach of a statute that asserted federal criminal jurisdiction based on the relation of the crime to interstate commerce. His many other arguments in federal and state courts include successful appearances before the highest courts of Texas and Maryland.

Don is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the Boalt Hall School of Law. He also holds an M.A. in English from the University of Chicago. At Boalt Hall, he was Order of the Coif and served as Articles Editor of the Ecology Law Quarterly. After graduation, he clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Recent Supreme Court Cases

Jones v. United States (2000)
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Education