Michael F. Clayton is the leader of Morgan Lewis's international Trademark and Copyright Practice, resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Morgan Lewis is consistently ranked among the top US firms for trademark/copyright counseling and transactional work in Managing Intellectual Property's "Annual World IP Survey," and has ranked as top firm for litigation. Mr. Clayton and his team of nearly 30 professionals have represented some of the world's leading corporations across various industries, including life sciences and healthcare. His practice is focused on intellectual property transactional and litigation representations in trademark, copyright, trade secret, false advertising, and unfair competition matters.
Mr. Clayton was recently identified by World Trademark Review among the top 20 trademark practitioners in the United States and has been named one of the 15 "Leading Lawyers in Intellectual Property" in the Washington, D.C. region by American Lawyer Media's Legal Times. He has also been recognized by his peers in An International Who's Who of Trademark Lawyers since the inaugural 2002 edition; included in The Best Lawyers in America in Advertising Law and Intellectual Property Law (2007–present); noted as a "Top Lawyer" by Washingtonian Magazine; and recognized as a Life Sciences Star in LMG 2013.
Mr. Clayton is currently a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) Panel of Neutrals. He has served on the board of directors of the INTA and co-chaired the 2001 annual meeting of INTA. He also frequently lectures and writes on intellectual property topics.
Although his growing international practice and his clients' needs often keep Mr. Clayton on the road, he remains committed to his community. Mr. Clayton was the first-ever recipient of the Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill endowment for the Lecturer in Law post at the University of Virginia. In that capacity, he was the first to teach "Principles and Practice: Regulation of the Competitive Process (Intellectual Property)" at the school. He serves, in a pro bono capacity, as general counsel to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, which celebrated its 15th Anniversary in 2012. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Historic Sotterley, Inc.
Mr. Clayton is a 1980 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a Dillard Fellow, and is a 1977 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wake Forest University.
Mr. Clayton is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
