Paul Gaffney handles a wide variety of complex litigation, with a focus on intellectual property and media disputes. In recent matters he has:

• Represented Discovery Communications in several lawsuits, including as its lead trial counsel in contract litigation against Jon Gosselin;
• Represented MedImmune, Inc. in several patent and licensing disputes, including MedImmune v. Genentech, which lead to a 2007 Supreme Court decision granting patent licensees the right to sue patent holders, and MedImmune v. PDL BioPharma, where MedImmune secured both a summary judgment invalidating a key biotechnology patent and a nine-figure settlement resolving other claims;
• Served as lead counsel for film industry plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits directed against the proprietors of unauthorized film downloading software and websites;
• Served as lead counsel for the whistle-blower in a federal False Claims Act lawsuit against Mario Gabelli and others that challenged their participation in FCC wireless spectrum auctions, securing a nine-figure settlement that at the time was one of the top 25 largest in a qui tam action;
• Served as lead counsel for the major television networks in ABC, et al. v. Flying J, a suit successfully challenging the use of advertisement substitution software in commercial establishments;
• Served as lead counsel for film industry plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits directed against distributors of DVD-copying software;
• Served as lead plaintiff's counsel, and won $4 million compensatory and punitive jury verdict, in Lanham Act lawsuit between competing Internet greeting card firms.

Mr. Gaffney also devotes significant time to Williams & Connolly LLP's media and professional liability practices. He has defended several law firms facing legal malpractice claims. He represented MediaNews Group, Inc. during the 2000s in its long-running litigation in Utah over ownership of The Salt Lake Tribune. He represented CNN and Time in litigation arising from their 1998 report that the U.S. military used nerve gas in Vietnam, among other things arguing the appeal in Van Buskirk v. CNN, 284 F.3d 977 (9th Cir. 2002). He also has represented the Washington Post, Fox, ABC, and other publications in libel, privacy, and other media-related disputes. For a number of years he supervised the pre-publication review team for the National Enquirer and also defended the tabloid in a number of libel, privacy, and copyright cases.

Mr. Gaffney has served on the Boards of Catholic Charities of Washington, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, and the Duke Student Publishing Corporation.