By any measure, Jason Sheasby has built a career around pressure. High stakes. Short timelines. Big verdicts. And again and again, results.
A Career Built in the Courtroom
Jason Sheasby is a partner at Irell & Manella LLP and one of the most active trial lawyers in the country. Over the past few years, he has taken more than 10 complex, high-stakes cases to trial. He won every one of them.
“I like the clarity of trial,” Sheasby says. “There’s no hiding. You prepare, you stand up, and the facts speak.”
That mindset has shaped a career focused on intellectual property, contract disputes, and technology-driven cases. His work often sits at the intersection of law, innovation, and business. It is also why peers and juries tend to notice.
In 2024, he was named Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer. In 2025, he earned the same title in California from the Managing IP Americas Awards. These honors followed a stretch of courtroom wins that reshaped major disputes in the tech sector.
Early Life and Education
Sheasby grew up in San Bernardino County, California. He describes it as grounding.
“It was not flashy,” he says. “You learn early to work hard and be prepared.”
He attended Pomona College in Claremont, where he studied philosophy. He graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Philosophy, he says, still shows up in his legal thinking.
“You learn how to break arguments down,” he explains. “That skill never leaves you.”
He went on to Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude in 1999. Soon after, he began building what would become a trial-focused legal career.
Defining Trial Wins in Technology Law
Many of Sheasby’s most visible cases involve cutting-edge technology. In October 2023, he co-led a trial for StreamScale against Cloudera. The jury awarded $240 million after finding infringement on all asserted patent claims.
Months later, he secured a $67.5 million verdict for G+ Communications against Samsung. When damages were retried in April 2024, the jury awarded the full $142 million requested.
“These cases are not just about patents,” Sheasby says. “They’re about agreements, trust, and how innovation is treated.”
That theme carried into a series of major wins for Netlist against Samsung. In November 2024, a jury found willful infringement and awarded $118 million. In March 2025, Sheasby co-led the team that won a contract trial confirming Netlist properly terminated a license agreement. The verdict came back in under two hours.
“It was a clear signal,” he says. “The jury understood the story.”
The ruling mattered because Samsung had relied on that license to defend against $421 million in prior patent damages.
Back-to-Back Pressure Moments
Sheasby’s schedule often stacks trials back-to-back. In early 2023, he secured a $59.5 million verdict and permanent injunction for DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company. Days later, he defended Gilead in an arbitration over a disputed royalty agreement tied to HIV treatment drugs. He won outright. Gilead was awarded attorneys’ fees. The decision was confirmed in 2024.
“You don’t reset between cases,” he says. “You carry momentum.”
That pace continued into 2025, including a win against Anker Innovations involving USB charger patents, where the jury awarded more damages than requested and found willful infringement.
Leadership Beyond the Courtroom
Outside of litigation, Sheasby serves on the board of Pomona College. He is also a founder of TORL Biotherapeutics, a company focused on novel therapies.
“I’ve always been interested in how ideas become real,” he says. “Law is one path. Science is another.”
His leadership style is consistent across roles. He emphasizes preparation, team trust, and plain language.
“Jurors are smart,” he says. “They just want things explained clearly.”
He is frequently recognized by Chambers USA, Law360, the Daily Journal, and Managing IP. In 2025, he was named to the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global IP Lawyers list.
Perspective and Focus
Despite the awards, Sheasby keeps his public focus narrow. He avoids politics. He speaks often about technology, including artificial intelligence, and how it will shape future disputes.
“The law always lags innovation,” he says. “That gap creates conflict. That’s where trials happen.”
At home, he enjoys cooking. It is a contrast to trial work, but also familiar.
“You follow steps,” he says. “But you still adjust as you go.”
That balance may explain his longevity. Jason Sheasby has built a career on intensity without losing control. In courtrooms across the country, that combination continues to define his leadership.
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