Louis Liao is a trial lawyer who focuses on commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of cases, including breach of contract, trade secret, and patent suits. When technology is at the center of a dispute, clients rely on his engineering background and exceptional command of technical facts to help secure wins across the country.
Mr. Liao’s courtroom success has earned him consistent recognition in peer rankings, including Best Lawyers in “Ones to Watch” (2022–2026), Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” (2023–2026), and Lawdragon as one of “500 Leading Global IP Lawyers” (2025). His recent successes include securing a $78.5 million patent infringement verdict against Samsung, a $62.6 million verdict against United Healthcare, and two Texas verdicts that were recognized among the top wins in the state.
Mr. Liao graduated from Stanford Law School while completing a dual master’s degree in engineering. During law school, he worked as a legal intern at the Sundance Institute in Los Angeles and a civil rights impact litigation organization in Houston.
Before his legal career, Mr. Liao was a mechanical engineer in the energy sector. His technical background includes software expertise, developed through his interest in coding since childhood and past work in full-stack web development. He graduated with highest honors from The University of Texas, with degrees in mechanical engineering and philosophy.
Louis Liao is a trial lawyer who focuses on commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of cases, including breach of contract, trade secret, and patent suits. When technology is at the center of a dispute, clients rely on his engineering background and exceptional command of technical facts to help secure wins across the country.
Mr. Liao’s courtroom success has earned him consistent recognition in peer rankings, including Best Lawyers in “Ones to Watch” (2022–2026), Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” (2023–2026), and Lawdragon as one of “500 Leading Global IP Lawyers” (2025). His recent successes include securing a $78.5 million patent infringement verdict against Samsung, a $62.6 million verdict against United Healthcare, and two Texas verdicts that were recognized among the top wins in the state.
Mr. Liao graduated from Stanford Law School while completing a dual master’s degree in engineering. During law school, he worked as a legal intern at the Sundance Institute in Los Angeles and a civil rights impact litigation organization in Houston.
Before his legal career, Mr. Liao was a mechanical engineer in the energy sector. His technical background includes software expertise, developed through his interest in coding since childhood and past work in full-stack web development. He graduated with highest honors from The University of Texas, with degrees in mechanical engineering and philosophy.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Commercial Litigation
- Won a $62.6 million jury verdict in Nevada state court for emergency physician groups that were underpaid by United Healthcare. After a seven-week trial, the jury unanimously found malice, oppression, and fraud in the underpayment of doctors. This verdict served as a bellwether that guided similar cases against various insurers nationwide.
- Won a $19.1 million jury verdict in Harris County for emergency physician groups that were underpaid by a Fortune 500 insurance company. This case was the first in the nation to litigate the amount that private insurance companies should pay for out-of-network emergency services under the Affordable Care Act.
- Defended a former executive of an offshore service company against noncompete and trade secret claims.
- Defended an underwriting company and obtained favorable resolution of claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Represented a range of clients in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
Intellectual Property Litigation
- Won a $78.5 million jury verdict in patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung on behalf of Anonymous Media Research for patents relating to automatic content recognition technology.
- Represented patent owners in lawsuits against major smartphone and semiconductor manufacturers. In several of these lawsuits, Mr. Liao actively handled matters from filing until resolution and has helped recover over $45 million for AZA’s clients.
- Represented a patent owner in multimillion-dollar lawsuit against prominent cellular network companies. Mr. Liao took on lead roles in opposing the defendants’ challenge to invalidate the patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and rebutting their claim construction arguments at the Markman stage. The case settled favorably after the Markman hearing.
- Won a $9 million dollar jury verdict for an energy sector plaintiff on trade secret and conspiracy claims, following a 3-month trial against several former employees and their new pump distribution company.
- Represented drilling company in asserting claims for theft of trade secrets and confidential software.
- Represented several plaintiffs and defendants in patent infringement disputes covering mechanical systems, including cases that involved competitor companies in the energy sector.
EDUCATION
- Stanford Law School, J.D., 2018
- Stanford University, M.S., Management Science and Engineering, 2018
- The University of Texas, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, and B.A., Philosophy, 2014
ADMISSIONS
- State Bar of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
IN THE NEWS
- Over Half of the AZA Firm Named on Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 2026 Lists
- AZA’s $78.5 Million Patent Infringement Win Among 2025’s Top 10 National Patent Verdicts
- Jury Awards AZA Client $78.5 Million in Patent Infringement Case Against Samsung
- Twenty-Four AZA Lawyers Named 2025 Texas Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
- 26 AZA Attorneys Honored as 2026 Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- Four AZA Lawyers Named to Lawdragon 500 Global IP Lawyers 2025
- More than half of AZA’s attorneys honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- AZA Wins Two Top 2023 Texas Verdicts for Energy Companies
- Twenty-Six AZA Lawyers Honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- Thirteen AZA Attorneys Earn Texas Rising Stars Honor
- Texas Jury returns nearly $9M verdict against Toby Eoff and others involved in conspiracy against energy giant
- Seven Young AZA Lawyers Ranked among Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2023
- AZA Wins for Healthcare Clients Earn Top Verdict Rankings in Texas, US
- AZA Victorious in $62 Million Nationally Watched TeamHealth Trial Against Insurance Giant United Healthcare
- Twelve Young AZA Lawyers Ranked among Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2022
- Houston Jury Sends U.S. Insurance Companies a Strong Message on Behalf of Emergency Room Doctors
Commercial Litigation
- Won a $62.6 million jury verdict in Nevada state court for emergency physician groups that were underpaid by United Healthcare. After a seven-week trial, the jury unanimously found malice, oppression, and fraud in the underpayment of doctors. This verdict served as a bellwether that guided similar cases against various insurers nationwide.
- Won a $19.1 million jury verdict in Harris County for emergency physician groups that were underpaid by a Fortune 500 insurance company. This case was the first in the nation to litigate the amount that private insurance companies should pay for out-of-network emergency services under the Affordable Care Act.
- Defended a former executive of an offshore service company against noncompete and trade secret claims.
- Defended an underwriting company and obtained favorable resolution of claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Represented a range of clients in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
Intellectual Property Litigation
- Won a $78.5 million jury verdict in patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung on behalf of Anonymous Media Research for patents relating to automatic content recognition technology.
- Represented patent owners in lawsuits against major smartphone and semiconductor manufacturers. In several of these lawsuits, Mr. Liao actively handled matters from filing until resolution and has helped recover over $45 million for AZA’s clients.
- Represented a patent owner in multimillion-dollar lawsuit against prominent cellular network companies. Mr. Liao took on lead roles in opposing the defendants’ challenge to invalidate the patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and rebutting their claim construction arguments at the Markman stage. The case settled favorably after the Markman hearing.
- Won a $9 million dollar jury verdict for an energy sector plaintiff on trade secret and conspiracy claims, following a 3-month trial against several former employees and their new pump distribution company.
- Represented drilling company in asserting claims for theft of trade secrets and confidential software.
- Represented several plaintiffs and defendants in patent infringement disputes covering mechanical systems, including cases that involved competitor companies in the energy sector.
- Stanford Law School, J.D., 2018
- Stanford University, M.S., Management Science and Engineering, 2018
- The University of Texas, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, and B.A., Philosophy, 2014
- State Bar of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Over Half of the AZA Firm Named on Super Lawyers and Rising Stars 2026 Lists
- AZA’s $78.5 Million Patent Infringement Win Among 2025’s Top 10 National Patent Verdicts
- Jury Awards AZA Client $78.5 Million in Patent Infringement Case Against Samsung
- Twenty-Four AZA Lawyers Named 2025 Texas Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
- 26 AZA Attorneys Honored as 2026 Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- Four AZA Lawyers Named to Lawdragon 500 Global IP Lawyers 2025
- More than half of AZA’s attorneys honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- AZA Wins Two Top 2023 Texas Verdicts for Energy Companies
- Twenty-Six AZA Lawyers Honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- Thirteen AZA Attorneys Earn Texas Rising Stars Honor
- Texas Jury returns nearly $9M verdict against Toby Eoff and others involved in conspiracy against energy giant
- Seven Young AZA Lawyers Ranked among Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2023
- AZA Wins for Healthcare Clients Earn Top Verdict Rankings in Texas, US
- AZA Victorious in $62 Million Nationally Watched TeamHealth Trial Against Insurance Giant United Healthcare
- Twelve Young AZA Lawyers Ranked among Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for 2022
- Houston Jury Sends U.S. Insurance Companies a Strong Message on Behalf of Emergency Room Doctors
AZA are our go-to firm for high-stakes litigations
