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Skelton & Woody: Local Counsel to Kirkland & Ellis in Patent Litigation for DIRECTV, EchoStar, and DISH

When Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, or Bickel & Brewer need Austin local counsel for a major intellectual property case, they’ve repeatedly turned to Skelton & Woody — a track record documented in named, citable federal litigation rather than a general claim of “IP experience.” Hamp Skelton’s firm helped defeat Encyclopedia Britannica’s patent infringement claims against Toyota, Honda, and other automakers over GPS map-search technology, with the court finding Britannica’s patents invalid.

Origin and Background

Skelton & Woody PLLC is based at 248 Addie Roy Road, Austin, TX 78746. Founding attorney Hamp Skelton graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1978 and with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1981, joined Vinson & Elkins’ Houston commercial litigation section that year, moved to Austin in 1986 to build the litigation section at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld as partner in charge, and opened his current firm in September 1991.

Practice Concentration

The firm’s intellectual property practice covers patent, trademark, and service mark infringement litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants, frequently serving as local counsel to major national firms on significant IP matters in the Austin federal courts. Skelton has served as local counsel to Kirkland & Ellis on patent infringement litigation for DIRECTV, EchoStar, and DISH Network, and on patent litigation for major Japanese automakers over GPS search technology; to Latham & Watkins on IP litigation; to Bickel & Brewer on IP cases involving University of Texas-developed technologies, including on behalf of the UT System and Hydro-Quebec; and to Loeb & Loeb on intellectual property litigation for the Motion Picture Association against illegal film-sharing. See this Austin Intellectual Property directory for how this local-counsel-focused litigation practice compares to prosecution-only IP boutiques.

Notable Work / Track Record

Skelton & Woody’s documented litigation history includes named, citable federal case outcomes: as co-counsel with Kirkland & Ellis, the firm helped defeat Encyclopedia Britannica’s patent infringement claims against Toyota, Honda, TomTom, Magellan Navigation, and Alpine Electronics over GPS map-search technology, with Austin federal judge Lee Yeakel finding Britannica’s patents invalid and its priority claim broken — a result covered by Law360. As co-counsel with Latham & Watkins in Commemorative Brands, Inc. v. Bogarz, Inc., the firm litigated design patent matters in the jewelry industry in the Western District of Texas. These are specific, independently verifiable case outcomes rather than aggregate claims.

Client Voice

Client feedback specifically thanks Hamp Skelton and his staff for “doing such an excellent job on ALL of our files.” Awesome Attorneys did not identify a large-volume independent consumer review platform sample for this firm; its public reputation is built substantially around documented litigation outcomes and its role as local counsel to major national firms rather than a high-volume review aggregator presence. Awesome Attorneys discloses this gap directly.

Beyond the Courtroom

In 2010, Hamp Skelton was honored by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation with its Cy Pres Impact award for steering more than $9 million in cy pres funds to organizations supporting disabled Texans — a documented, quantifiable civic contribution distinct from his litigation practice.

Recognition for This Austin IP Firm

Hamp Skelton holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review standard, and was named a Super Lawyer in business litigation by Texas Monthly magazine every year from 2009 through 2025. Awesome Attorneys did not identify formal TBLS board certification in intellectual property law for this profile, as Texas does not currently offer a distinct board certification track for IP litigation specifically; Skelton’s documented local-counsel role on multiple major national IP cases is treated by Awesome Attorneys as a genuine, independently verifiable practice credential.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Patent and trademark infringement litigation of the kind this firm handles proceeds in federal court under Title 35 (patents) and the Lanham Act (trademarks), but Austin’s Western District of Texas federal court — where several of the firm’s documented cases were litigated — has become a nationally significant venue for patent litigation specifically, making experienced local counsel familiar with that court’s specific procedures and judges particularly valuable to out-of-state lead counsel. None of this is legal advice; a specific IP litigation matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Skelton & Woody’s clearest differentiator is a documented, named history of serving as trusted local counsel to some of the nation’s most prominent litigation firms — Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Bickel & Brewer, and Loeb & Loeb — on significant patent and trademark disputes in the Austin federal courts, reinforced by an AV Preeminent rating and 16 consecutive years of Super Lawyers recognition. The honest trade-off is that this firm’s core identity is business litigation broadly, with intellectual property as one significant component rather than an IP-exclusive specialty, and Awesome Attorneys did not locate a large independent consumer review sample. For a national firm or a client anticipating IP litigation in the Austin federal courts specifically who wants experienced, court-tested local counsel, that documented case history is a strong basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Skelton & Woody’s own website (attorney biography for Hamp Skelton and intellectual property practice page documenting named case history), Justia’s attorney directory profile, and Law360’s coverage of the Encyclopedia Britannica GPS patent litigation.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Skelton & Woody PLLC or Hamp Skelton prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.