Michael F. Clayton

Partner

Michael F. Clayton is the leader of Morgan Lewis's international Trademark and Copyright Practice, resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Morgan Lewis is consistently ranked among the top U.S. firms for trademark/copyright counseling and transactional work in Managing Intellectual Property's "Annual World IP Survey," and was proud to also be named a top firm for litigation in the most recent 9th edition. Mr. Clayton and his team of nearly 50 professionals have represented some of the world's leading corporations. His practice is focused on intellectual property transactional and litigation representations in trademark, copyright, trade secret, false advertising, and unfair competition matters.

Mr. Clayton was recently identified by World Trademark Review among the top 20 trademark practitioners in the United States and has been named one of the 15 "Leading Lawyers in Intellectual Property" in the Washington, D.C. region by American Lawyer Media's Legal Times. He has also been recognized by his peers in An International Who's Who of Trademark Lawyers since the inaugural 2002 edition; included in The Best Lawyers in America 2008 in Advertising Law and Intellectual Property Law; listed in Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition (Intellectual Property) (2008) and Guide to the World's Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners (2008); and noted as a "Top Lawyer" by Washingtonian Magazine.

Mr. Clayton is currently a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) Panel of Neutrals. He has served on the board of directors of the INTA and co-chaired the 2001 Annual Meeting of INTA. He also frequently lectures and writes on intellectual property topics.

The irony of this IP attorney's name being borrowed for a Hollywood blockbuster was not lost on the mainstream media. The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN's American Morning, the London Times, and even Inside Edition, interviewed Mr. Clayton in connection with the use of his name. The character “Michael Clayton” was played by George Clooney in the movie of the same name, which received seven Oscar nominations for the 2007 Academy Awards.

Although his growing international practice and his clients' needs often keep Mr. Clayton on the road, he remains committed to his community. Mr. Clayton was the first-ever recipient of the Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill endowment for the Lecturer in Law post at the University of Virginia. In that capacity, he was the first to teach "Principles and Practice: Regulation of the Competitive Process (Intellectual Property)" at the school. He serves, in a pro bono capacity, as general counsel to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial—which celebrated its 10th Anniversary this past fall.

Mr. Clayton is a 1980 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a Dillard Fellow, and is a 1977 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wake Forest University.

Mr. Clayton is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia and before the U.S. Supreme Court.