John Keville

PartnerOffice Managing Partner, Houston
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Keville John

Overview

John Keville is an experienced intellectual property trial lawyer who focuses on patent litigation. He has taken dozens of cases to trial over his career and seven cases to jury verdict since 2022. He is the managing partner of the Houston office.

Recognized by Chambers USA with a band 1 ranking for intellectual property, John has tried a broad range of cases to juries and judges, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, in courts and arbitration panels throughout the United States. He has argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Fifth Circuit.

Highly regarded by clients for his focus on delivering persuasive arguments and avoiding being bogged down in legal or technical minutiae, John has litigated cases involving mechanical and chemical oilfield technologies, electronic devices, software and web-based technologies, medical devices and digital signal processing. He has also litigated trade secrets and trade dress disputes and patent-related antitrust cases, including cases involving failure to disclose patents to standard-setting organizations and Walker Process antitrust claims.

In 2024, John’s teams obtained favorable jury verdicts in plaintiff-side cases involving patent validity, infringement, and willful infringement, as well as trade dress infringement, and breach of contract. (Results described are not guaranteed in other matters.)

John also counsels clients on intellectual property enforcement and procurement matters, litigation strategy, settlement negotiations and licensing.

John has served as lead counsel in significant pro bono cases, including defending the rights of disabled students and employees and obtaining permanent injunctive relief providing COVID-19 protection to geriatric prisoners with co-morbidities.

Outside the office, John enjoys the outdoors, time with family and friends, driving his Dodge Viper at driving tracks and occasional sky-diving.

Experience

John's experience includes numerous jury and bench trials before federal and state court judges.

Credentials
Education

J.D., St. John's University, 1995

B.S., New York Institute of Technology, 1988

Admissions

Texas

Patent and Trademark Office

Honors

Unrivaled Litigators, Bloomberg Law,  2025

Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year, Texas Lawyer, 2025

Global Leaders - Texas, Intellectual Asset Management, 2026

Top Defense Verdict" for MGA Entertainment Inc. v. Harris et al., Daily Journal, 2024

“Lawyer of the Year” Trade Secrets Law - Houston, Best Lawyers in America, 2024

Top Tier Intellectual Property Litigator, Chambers USA, 2007-2025

Texas Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers, 2007-2025

IP Star, Managing Intellectual Property, 2013-2024

Best Lawyers in America, Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation, Best Lawyers, 2011-2026

“Key Lawyer” for Patents: Litigation and Energy Litigation: Oil and Gas, The Legal 500 U.S., 2021

The World's Leading Patent Professionals,IAM Patent 1000, 2021-2025

Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2020-2023, 2025-2026

“Lawyer of the Year” Litigation: IP - Houston, Best Lawyers in America, 2018

John Keville - Chambers 2025
John Keville - Chambers USA 2024
Memberships

Board of Trustees, New York Institute of Technology

American Bar Association

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Houston Bar Association

Houston Intellectual Property Law Association

Sustaining Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation

Dean’s Advisory Board, NYIT

Board of Directors, Trees For Houston

"John is probably the best lawyer I’ve ever worked with and I have worked with plenty. He is caring, understanding and very knowledgeable."
Chambers USA, 2025