PHILADELPHIA, April 25, 2025—Duane Morris partner Matt Gaudet was recognized as a Litigator of the Year in Georgia at the 2025 Managing IP Americas Awards. Nicole McLaughlin was shortlisted as a Litigator of the Year in Pennsylvania, and Tia Fenton was shortlisted as Litigator of the Year in the D.C. Metro area.
The 20th annual Managing IP Awards gala took place at Gotham Hall in New York on April 24, 2025, and presented awards to in-house teams, firms, individuals and corporations behind the most innovative and challenging IP work of the past year, as well as those driving the international market. The awards cover several intellectual property practice areas and more than 50 jurisdictions.
Matt Gaudet serves as vice chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Over the last 25-plus years, he has defeated dozens of patents through trials, summary judgment rulings and IPRs, and he regularly appears before the Federal Circuit. In 2023 alone, he won trials for Cisco Systems, SonicWall and Fortinet, and he has served as lead counsel for other major technology companies including Verizon, Microsoft, Comcast and Cox Communications. He has also collected more than $100 million for patent holders. Gaudet was previously recognized as one of the top five IP lawyers under 40 in the country by Law360. For each of the last three years, he has been listed in Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Every year since 2009, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has included Gaudet in its listing of leading IP lawyers in Georgia.
Nicole McLaughlin is chair of the Trademark, Copyright, Entertainment and Advertising Division of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. McLaughlin has over 20 years of experience in all facets of domestic and international trademark protection and enforcement, procurement and portfolio management, including clearance searches and opinions, online infringement, domain name and cybersquatting issues, IP licensing, product packaging and trade dress protection and overall global strategic branding. McLaughlin also has extensive experience in litigation matters before U.S. federal courts and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and has successfully defended clients in numerous trademark, unfair competition and trade dress cases. She is known for giving practical advice and working with clients’ legal, marketing and business teams to ensure that marketing strategies and business sensitivities are integrated with her legal analysis and advice.
Tia D. Fenton focuses her practice primarily on chemical, biochemical, biomedical and pharmaceutical cases. Prior to attending law school, Fenton worked as a forensic DNA analyst at Cellmark Diagnostics Inc. and as a forensic DNA examiner at the Department of Defense's Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, serving as an expert witness in DNA identification testing for approximately four years and testifying in numerous trials throughout the country. She is also experienced in lecturing scientists and graduate students on the presentation and effective use of scientific and technical evidence in the courtroom. Fenton's extensive trial and testimony experience provides her with a unique perspective on litigation, including particular skills in preparing expert witnesses for depositions and trial and presenting technical evidence to juries and judges. In addition to litigating cases in district court and before the Federal Circuit, Fenton represents both domestic and foreign companies in a full range of complex patent matters.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
