Chris First

Chris First is an experienced litigator with a practice that focuses on patent infringement disputes in federal trial and appellate venues, post-grant inter partes review challenges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and patent-related antitrust litigation. With deep legal, high-tech and engineering expertise, Mr. First is able to work in multiple fields of technology. He is often consulted for his ability to combine outside-the-box thinking with a unique breadth of knowledge of technology, procedure, and local practice. Clients look to Mr. First for his ability to distil complex technological concepts into terms that lay jurors can understand.

Mr. First previously clerked for U.S. District Judge Roy S. Payne of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, Texas – the busiest and most important patent litigation venue in the United States at that time. During his clerkship, Mr. First also served as an acting law clerk to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap and then-Chief Judge Leonard Davis. In addition to his law degree, he holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.

A partner at Houston-based Heim, Payne & Chorush, Mr. First has secured significant litigation victories for businesses across sectors, including electronics, software, pharmaceuticals, oilfield technology and semiconductor processing. In addition to patent litigation, he represents clients in patent-related antitrust litigation against pharmaceutical companies engaging in anticompetitive behavior related to controversial reverse payments to generic suppliers. He is part of a Heim, Payne & Chorush team that has successfully represented numerous clients in antitrust litigation targeting pharmaceutical companies for stifling competition by preventing or delaying others from entering the market.

Mr. First obtained a breadth of experience prior to earning his law degree, spending a year as the only undergraduate research assistant in a groundbreaking search and rescue robotics lab, serving on the Board of Directors of a major entertainment venue, and working for two years as a management intern for the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.