Context: Earlier this year, Alan D. Albright announced that he would retire from his role as district judge with the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, where he built a reputation for presiding over one of the world’s top patent litigation venues (April 23, 2026 ip fray article).
What’s new and direct impact: Law firm A&O Shearman today announced that Judge Albright has joined its IP litigation team, based out of Austin, Texas.
Wider ramifications: When Judge Albright’s planned departure was reported earlier this year, questions were asked over the future of the Western District of Texas as a preferred forum for patent plaintiffs. However, the district remained attractive to patentees after the 2022 random assignment order which limited Judge Albright’s ability to take on cases (see below). According to data from patent risk platform RPX, the Western District of Texas remains the third largest U.S. venue for patent cases (after the neighbouring Eastern District of Texas, and the District of Delaware); and the second choice for non-practicing entities after the Eastern District of Texas (January 13, 2026 RPX blog post). Judge Albright’s substantial docket of pending cases is being reassigned to other Western District of Texas judges including District Judge David Counts of the Midland-Odessa Division. Judge Counts had already overtaken Judge Albright to become the second busiest patent judge in the U.S. in 2025, hearing 5% of all new patent cases (after the Eastern District of Texas’s Judge Rodney J. Gilstrap with 19%). This all points to the Western District of Texas remaining a key forum for patent holders despite Judge Albright’s return to private practice.
Judge Albright initially served the Western District of Texas as a magistrate judge during the 1990s, while also working in private practice.
In January 2018, U.S. President Donald J. Trump recommended him for a seat on the same district court; the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination in September that year.
Judge Albright actively encouraged patent owners to file infringement complaints in his district, which was handling as much as a quarter of all U.S. district court patent litigation not long after his appointment.
As Judge Albright was the only district judge sitting in the Western District of Texas’s Waco Division, plaintiffs were effectively assured of having their cases assigned to him if they filed there.
This led to criticism that he was enabling forum-shopping, and he faced rebuke from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for supposedly failing to transfer patent cases out of his district.
In July 2022, Western District of Texas Chief Judge Orlando Garcia issued a random assignment order so that new patent cases filed in the district would be split between district judges, rather than amassing to Judge Albright’s docket (July 26, 2022 Reuters article).
“Few, if any, judges in America have handled more patent litigation than Alan”, said A&O Shearman’s global head of IP litigation, Laëtitia Bénard (September 1, 2026 A&O Shearman press release).
“He has presided over many of the country’s most significant IP and technology disputes, and his experience will be invaluable to clients navigating complex cases.”
Adam Hakki, U.S. chair at A&O Shearman, added: “This is a major step forward for our U.S. IP Litigation and Trial practice. Alan is one of the most revered and experienced figures in the U.S. patent litigation landscape, and a true trial lawyer with vast courtroom experience as an advocate and judge.”