Craig Countryman is an attorney at Fish & Richardson, where he practices primarily patent law. Countryman’s practice covers all aspects of patent litigation, but he specializes in writing appellate briefs, summary judgment motions and post-trial motions.

He has argued an appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and he has been the principal drafter of several Federal Circuit briefs in patent cases dealing with technology ranging from hybrid car engines, computer network security systems and golf ball design, to integrated controller chips for power supplies, and medical devices.

He also regularly publishes articles on a variety of topics in the Los Angeles Daily Journal and other legal publications. 

In both his brief writing and his articles, Countryman tries to take a pragmatic approach to the law.

He strives to explain, in plain English, not only why a particular legal rule supports his position, but also why the rule exists and why applying the rule in the manner he advocates is consistent with the underlying purpose of the rule and common sense.

His judicial idol is Judge Richard Posner, and he checks the Seventh Circuit’s website every day to see whether there is a new opinion by Posner to read.

Countryman is on the board of directors of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, and he is on the executive committee of the San Diego Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, for which he serves as a newsletter editor. He is also on the pro bono panel for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and takes cases through the Ninth Circuit’s pro bono program.

He has handled several pro bono cases, in areas ranging from immigration, civil rights, unlawful termination and the provision of medical care to the working poor.

Countryman received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2006, where he was an articles editor for the UCLA Law Review, and he received his Bachelor of Science with honors in chemistry from Caltech in 2003.