Honored as 2025 Lawyer of the Year by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia for Excellence in Intellectual Property Law
The University of Baltimore School of Law is proud to announce that William P. Atkins, Class of 1992, has been named the 2025 Lawyer of the Year by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC). Established more than 150 years ago, the BADC is the nation’s third-oldest bar association, and its Lawyer of the Year award is the organization’s highest honor.
Atkins, a partner in the Intellectual Property practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, was recognized for his exceptional legal skill, leadership, and unwavering service to clients and the bar. The BADC highlighted his work in strengthening and expanding the association’s Intellectual Property Section, as well as his deep commitment to supporting clients across industries and sizes.
With more than three decades of experience, Atkins has built a distinguished career as one of the country’s leading intellectual property litigators. He has served as lead counsel in hundreds of complex, high-stakes patent and IP matters, trying cases before juries, federal courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Known for securing winning outcomes for clients—whether through early resolution or at trial—he is widely respected across the profession.
In addition to his litigation practice, Atkins is a prolific author and educator. He has written eight editions of the PTAB Handbook and co-edited both the fourth and newly released fifth editions of the American Bar Association’s Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook. He has also taught intellectual property law at the University of Maryland and continues to serve as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School.
Atkins earned his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1992, where he began cultivating the IP expertise that would shape his career. He previously earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering, grounding his legal work in a deep understanding of technology and innovation.
Atkins was formally honored at the 154th Annual BADC Banquet & Gala.