Chad Drown, Kate Razavi and Kevin Wagner Named 2022 ‘Attorneys of the Year’

Intellectual property partners Chad Drown, Kate Razavi and Kevin Wagner have been named 2022 “Attorneys of the Year” by Minnesota Lawyer. This award honors individuals and groups that have positively impacted Minnesota for their impressive work impacting the legal and business community.

Drown, Razavi and Wagner were highlighted for their April 2022 win for Seagate Technology in a complex, multi-billion-dollar jury trial—the team’s second major trial victory for Seagate in 6 months. They won a complete defense verdict for Seagate Technology. The April win resolved a patent infringement case involving Seagate’s entire portfolio of hard disk drive products.

In “2022 Attorneys of the Year: Faegre Drinker Trial Team for Seagate Technology,” Minnesota Lawyer interviewed Drown, Razavi and Wagner, highlighting their visual advocacy work. Razavi said, “The visual presentation doesn’t have to be fancy, but it needs to be useful and engaging.”

For this case, Wagner explained that the complex technology involved “a nearly impenetrable combination of magnetism and atomic-level crystals that are 100,000 times smaller than a human hair,” demonstrating the team’s focus on developing a highly visual story for the jury by using tennis balls and more than 30 large graphics boards.

The publication also noted the longevity the trio has, as they’ve been litigating together for most of their careers. Drown stated, “Having a team that has worked together for years makes winning these complex cases easier – and more fun.” Drown also noted that winning the case boiled down to three things, “You have to teach the technology, tell a compelling story, and then find something to prove and prove it.” 

“Attorneys of the Year” will be honored during an awards event in February 2023.