Katherine E. Rhoades

Katherine has represented clients in high-stakes complex commercial cases, including product liability MDLs and intellectual property litigation, at both the trial and appellate levels. In 2023, Katherine was trial counsel in a patent infringement case where the team obtained a $106.5 million verdict for their client, Colibri Heart Valve.

Katherine joined Bartlit Beck in 2021, after starting her career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. While at Kirkland, Katherine tried a bellwether case in a product liability MDL relating to low-testosterone therapy and received the first full defense verdict in the MDL after the first two bellwethers (tried by another firm) resulted in large verdicts. The American Lawyer called this a “huge win” that “changes the momentum . . . as the MDL unfolds.”

Katherine has also provided legal counseling and representation for individuals on a pro bono basis, including arguing an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of a client convicted of Hobbs Act conspiracy, arguing an administrative appeal on behalf of a client terminated from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, petitioning for review of administrative agency decisions, and negotiating and favorably settling administrative appeals for clients.

From 2018 to 2019, Katherine clerked for Judge Timothy B. Dyk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Representative Matters

Northwestern University v. Moderna, Inc. et al. (D. Del.)
Trial counsel for Northwestern University in a patent infringement case against Moderna for its COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax) and RSV vaccine (mRESVIA), which use lipid nanoparticles to deliver mRNA to human cells and confer immunity for COVID-19 and RSV. These lipid nanoparticles were invented by researchers at Northwestern University, including Dr. Chad Mirkin, Dr. C. Shad Thaxton, and Dr. Kaylin McMahon. The asserted patents claim groundbreaking work on synthetic lipid nanoparticles that mimic naturally-occurring lipoproteins to facilitate entry into human cells. The lawsuit is part of Northwestern’s overall stewardship of life-changing technology developed by its faculty through the enforcement of intellectual property rights, as well as technology licensing, corporate partnerships, entrepreneurial support, and startup creation. Read the complaint here, coverage in Reuters here, coverage in Bloomberg here, coverage in Law 360 here, and coverage in Crains here.

Northwestern University v. Universal Robots et al. (D. Del.)
Trial counsel for Northwestern University in a patent infringement case against Universal Robots, a manufacturer of collaborative robots that were invented by Drs. Michael A. Peshkin and J. Edward Colgate at Northwestern University. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict finding that Universal Robots infringed Northwestern’s patents and that Universal Robots failed to prove that the patents were invalid. The victory was recognized by Bloomberg, Law 360, and AmLaw.

Colibri Heart Valve, LLC v. Medtronic CoreValve LLC (C.D. Cal.)
Trial counsel in a patent infringement case against the manufacturer of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) devices. The trial team obtained a $106.5 million verdict for their client, Colibri Heart Valve. After a one-week trial and five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict finding that the defendant Medtronic CoreValve induced infringement of Colibri Heart Valve’s patented and life-saving method of replacing a patient’s native valve percutaneously and failed to prove that the patent claims were invalid. John Hughes, Steve Derringer, Matthew Ford, and Meg Fasulo rounded out the Bartlit Beck trial team. The victory was recognized by Law360 available here.

Zentian, Ltd. v. Apple, Inc.; Zentian, Ltd. v. Amazon.com, Inc. (W.D. Tex. & PTAB)
Trial and IPR counsel for Zentian in patent infringement actions regarding hardware speech recognition systems and architecture developed in the early 2000s. These technologies facilitate on-device and other speech recognition functions, including the “always on” wake word/phrase, dictation of text messages and notes, and/or speech recognition for Alexa and/or Siri user requests. Cases are currently pending.

BMW of North America, LLC v. Carrum Technologies, LLC (Fed. Cir.)
Appellate counsel for Carrum Technologies in appeal from IPR ruling upholding the patentability of Carrum Technologies’s patent claims related to adaptive cruise control technology. Affirmed on appeal.

Viking Technologies LLC v. Asurion LLC (E.D. Tex.)
Trial counsel for Asurion in patent infringement litigation involving mobile device display repair technology. Case settled on the eve of trial.