Lily Li

Lily Li is a partner in Morrison & Foerster LLP's Intellectual Property practice and serves as Head of Litigation in the firm's Palo Alto office. She represents technology companies in patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark, and licensing disputes, as well as complex commercial matters. Her practice spans state and federal courts, the International Trade Commission, arbitration tribunals, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and cross-border proceedings, with experience in technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, software and hardware systems, autonomous driving, wireless communications, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

Before entering private practice, Li served in an in-house leadership role at a semiconductor company, where, according to the firm, she led patent prosecution, licensing strategy, and global intellectual property portfolio development. Her litigation matters have included representing TSMC, Uber, NetApp, Autodesk, and Monolithic Power Systems in patent and trade secret cases. She maintains a pro bono practice focused on human rights and educational equity, and the firm states she helped lead the team in Cayla J. v. State of California, which resulted in a $2 billion settlement addressing pandemic-related learning loss.

Li earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, an M.S. in electrical engineering from Ohio University, and a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Nanjing University of Science and Technology. She has published research in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and is admitted in California, before the USPTO, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Recognition

• Ones to Watch, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Patent Law — Best Lawyers (2026) ^[2]
• Rising Star — Managing IP (2024) ^[2]