Christopher S. Ford is a counsel in the Litigation Department who is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group and Data Strategy & Security practice.
Mr. Ford has litigated trademark, trade dress, and false advertising cases in federal courts across the country, as well as before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board. He represents clients across a range of industries, including in technology, consumer products, food and beverage, and fashion. He also advises clients on issues relating to their trademark and brand management, including trademark prosecution.
Mr. Ford regularly advises clients in the technology and digital asset sectors on issues relating to their intellectual property rights and other regulatory considerations. He has advised clients in the technology industry facing contentious trademark litigation, including securing one of the first ever preliminary injunctions against an infringing digital token, as well as in investigations and federal litigation brought by regulators including the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2022 and 2023, Managing IP recognized Mr. Ford as a U.S. “rising star” for trademark work, and in 2023, The Legal 500 US recognized him as a “rising star” for trademark litigation. He was recognized as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” in California by the Recorder in 2023. The World Trademark Review 1000 (2024) ranks him in the bronze band for California trademark litigation.
Mr. Ford is a member of the International Trademark Association’s Emerging Issues committee, and previously served for four years as the chair of the U.S. Litigation task force of the Non-Traditional Marks committee. He regularly writes on issues relating to the intersection of technology and intellectual property law, and has guest lectured on trademark and trade dress issues at New York University School of Law and Rutgers School of Law.
Mr. Ford has an active practice advising clients on cybersecurity incident preparation and response. His practice includes representations in criminal cases, federal and state regulatory investigations, and civil litigation. His recent matters include advising clients managing responses to corporate data breaches, business email compromises, ransomware incidents, and other data security issues. He regularly assists clients in responding to and taking down fraudulent and malicious online activity, from domain names to social media posts. He also counsels clients on their cybersecurity risk management and business continuity planning.
Mr. Ford maintains an active pro bono practice, and is a member of the Advisory Board of OneJustice in San Francisco. His pro bono matters include representation of plaintiffs in litigation challenging the FBI’s use of the No Fly List to pressure Muslim men to inform on their religious communities, which led to a unanimous Supreme Court decision upholding the plaintiffs’ ability to sue for damages under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Mr. Ford has also spent the past several years representing a number of Yemeni Americans in connection with challenges brought in California and New York to the government’s refusal to provide visas to their relatives.
Mr. Ford joined Debevoise in 2012. From 2015 to 2017, he clerked for the Hon. Laura Taylor Swain of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Ford received a J.D. from Duke University School of Law, cum laude, in 2012. Mr. Ford was an articles editor on the Duke Law Journal. He received a B.A., with high honors, from Swarthmore College in 2007.
Mr. Ford is a member of the Bar of the State of California and the State of New York. Mr. Ford is admitted to appear before the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, the Southern District of New York, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.