Bloomberg was apparently first to report the retirement from federal judicial service of Judge Alan D. Albright of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. A few quick points:
He was often described as patentee-friendly, but one could also reasonably argue he was simply not patentee-hostile.
Frequent defendants to patent cases lobbied against him. Temporarily about one fifth to one quarter of all U.S. patent infringement cases were filed with the Waco Diivision of the Western District of Texas, making them certain to be assigned to him (“judge-shopping”), a tremendous success of his work and also an effect of what some described as a forum-selling road show.
The Chief Justice of the United States expressed concern, and through docket assignment rules, the Western District sharply reduced the number of patent cases assigned to Judge Albright. Over time they even made it more and more difficult to get cases assigned to him that involved patents he was already intimately familiar with.
Occasionally he got to sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by designation (April 6, 2024 ip fray article). If he had been nominated for a permanent Federal Circuit judgeship, he might have remained in judicial service.
The timing suggests that he may very well return to private practice. Here’s why:
- He’s 66 years old and would only have had to wait a few more years to meet the “Rule of 80” criterion for senior status (age plus years of federal judicial service, but at least 10 years of service regardless of age). His current eight years of service as a federal district judge were not enough at age 66, where 14 years would have been required. He only had 74 out of 80, but over the next few years the gap would have narrowed by two every year (one year older plus one more year of service) and he’d soon have reached the 10-year minimum time of service. So it would have taken only about three to four more years.
- His time as a magistrate judge would not have counted, given that magistrates are Article I (appointed by a judge) and not Article III (presidential nomination and Senate confirmation ) judges.
- His history as a magistrate judge is nevertheless instructive. After serving as one from 1992 to 1999, he went into private practive until he became a federal district judge in 2018. This means he has previously gone from judicial service to private practice. Why not now?
- Private practice for former judges must be distinguished from serving as neutrals in alternative dispute resolution, which is also in the private sector, but doesn’t make them return to courtrooms.
- At least one famous example of a U.S. judge who went from magistrate to private practice, from there to district court, and then back to private practice exists: Shira Scheindlin.
Judge Albright still has a few months to go as a judge (August), but it could be that his last landmark ruling was the antisuit injunction (ASI) in BMW v. Onesta (February 13, 2026 ip fray article). It was neither affirmed nor overruled by the Federal Circuit. Onesta won a stay, but on hardship grounds and only for the purpose of giving the appeals court more time. The appeal was dismissed, but Onesta did not oppose BMW’s motion with respect to the dismissal itself (a settlement with Qualcomm had mooted the matter). A cost decision was made in BMW’s favor as the Federal Circuit found Onesta had unnecessarily prolonged the appellate proceedings by not withdrawing a moot appeal sooner. Technically, it means the ASI is in place again, but again, there has been no substantive decision. We explained this to our email followers (you can receive free emails if you leave your address on this website, though paywalled content requires a different subscription) in a “bonus item” this week.
Judge Albright is a true thought leader in patent law. Not only are there plausible reasons to assume that he may return to private practice (as he would otherwise likely have wanted the benefits of senior district judge status), but it would also be good news for the profession.