Christopher Banys leads The Lanier Law Firm's Palo Alto, California office and heads the firm’s intellectual-property practice.Mr. Banys has successfully represented Fortune 500 corporations in patent and other IP disputes around the country, but he finds vindicating the rights of individual inventors and small companies most rewarding. Fighting – and winning – on behalf of small inventors with big ideas against impossible-seeming odds is not just his passion; it’s where he excels.
Examples of Mr. Banys’ current clients include:
- A technology start-up in a patent-infringement suit against video game giant Nintendo, involving the Wii;
- A medical doctor/inventor alleging patent-infringement, copyright-infringement, fraud, trade secret theft, breach of contract and unjust enrichment against Saint Jude Medical, a for-profit corporation and one of the world's largest medical device manufacturers;
- A computer scientist in a patent-infringement suit against Apple and several other high-technology companies involving networked storage solutions.
A few examples of Mr. Banys’ earlier successes include:
- Obtaining a favorable settlement on behalf of an innovative provider of telephone routing technologies, in patent litigation against the four largest wireless-communications providers in the United States;
- Representing a small, educational-software company in a trade-secret dispute with a major competitor;
- Representing one of the nation’s largest insurance companies in a patent-infringement matter involving call routing;
- Representing an individual accused by her former employer of trade-secret theft after she left to work for a much smaller competitor;
- Representing an individual software engineer accused of trade-secret theft;
- Representing a large biotech company in patent litigation against one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies;
- Representing a major Silicon Valley hardware maker against Microsoft, in a case involving antitrust and copyright claims;
- Representing a major wireless device company in various patent suits against its rivals.
In addition to intellectual property matters, Mr. Banys has litigated commercial, criminal, immigration, probate, personal injury, employment and state-benefits matters in federal, state and administrative-law courts.
Mr. Banys' award-winning pro bono work has included:
- Winning several trials on behalf of homeless mothers and their children against state attempts to deny them emergency shelter;
- Winning immigration trials and proceedings on behalf of low-income immigrants;
- Successfully resolving eviction cases on behalf of low-income families;
- Representing a gravely-injured 25-year-old and his family in Probate Court and in liability matters;
- Protecting a local artist accused of cybersquatting by a major web retailer; and
- Counseling non-profit organizations in intellectual property matters.
Throughout his career, Mr. Banys has won praise from clients, judges, colleagues and opposing counsel alike for his impassioned, intelligent, effective advocacy and his forthright, professional demeanor. In all of his work, Mr. Banys strives to bring the best in compassionate legal care for his clients while adhering to his core principals of honesty, integrity, and fierce advocacy.
Mr. Banys earned his law degree from Boston University School of Law, where he was a Dean's Scholar. While at B.U., Mr. Banys participated in the school's exceptional Criminal Clinic program where he tried criminal cases in Massachusetts state courts for two semesters, first as a student defender and later representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a student prosecutor. Mr. Banys, along with a good friend and cohort, also won the school’s negotiation competition, going on to represent B.U. in regional competition.
Mr. Banys spent his final semester of law school studying at Oxford University in Oxford, England. While there, he focused on comparative intellectual property law and jurisprudence. He earned his undergraduate degree in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California (Berkeley), with high honors and high distinction in general scholarship.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Banys lives in the heart of Silicon Valley with his wife, children and a lovable pit bull named Spencer. He is an avid outdoor-recreation enthusiast and a commercially-rated pilot.
Prior to founding The Lanier Law Firm's Palo Alto office, Mr. Banys was associated with several prominent Silicon Valley law firms.
Mr. Banys is admitted to practice in all California state courts and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the Western District of Wisconsin and the Eastern District of Texas.
