The Waco Patent Docket After Judge Albright
Judge Alan Albright stepped down from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in late August 2026. On September 1, A&O Shearman announced that he had joined its Austin office as an intellectual property litigation partner. For several years, his Waco courtroom was the busiest patent venue in the country.
What happened.
Judge Albright announced in April 2026 that he would leave the bench. Before his 2018 appointment, he was a patent litigator at Bracewell in Austin. At the peak of his docket, his Waco courtroom heard roughly a quarter of all patent cases filed in the United States.
How the Waco docket grew and then shrank.
The growth came from case management. Albright adopted fast-track scheduling, early trial dates, and patentee-friendly case management that made the Waco Division the preferred forum for patent plaintiffs nationwide. The concentration drew scrutiny: in July 2022, then-Chief Judge Orlando Garcia ordered random assignment of Waco patent cases to break up the single-judge pipeline, and in May 2024, Chief Judge Alia Moses required a motion with sufficient legal and factual justification before purportedly related patent cases could be consolidated before one judge.
Filing data show the change. Per a Unified Patents report, the Western District of Texas's share of new U.S. patent cases had fallen to 11.5% in 2025, while the Eastern District of Texas, which led patent filings before Waco's rise, led the nation again at 27.7%.
What it means for Texas businesses.
- Venue still matters. The Eastern District of Texas remains the busiest patent forum in the country, and its judges' procedures now draw the attention Waco once did.
- Pending Waco cases will be reassigned. Cases that were before Judge Albright will go to other judges, who may revise schedules and procedures.
- Case management still drives forum choice. Waco showed that scheduling, discovery limits, and trial dates matter to litigants as much as the substantive law.
- Filings moved rather than fell. The decline in Waco filings redistributed cases to other districts, most of all the Eastern District of Texas.
What to watch.
Whether the Eastern District of Texas retains its lead in new patent filings; how the Western District distributes the former Albright docket under its current assignment orders; and whether any other courtroom develops the fast-track case-management reputation that once drew plaintiffs to Waco.
Sources.
- A&O Shearman, "Former U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright Joins A&O Shearman" (Sept. 1, 2026). aoshearman.com (retrieved September 30, 2026).
- Reuters, "Law firm A&O Shearman hires Texas ex-judge who dominated patent cases" (Sept. 1, 2026), reporting A&O Shearman's announcement: Albright announced his departure in April 2026, practiced at Bracewell before his 2018 appointment, and at his peak his Waco court heard around 25% of all U.S. patent cases. reuters.com (retrieved September 30, 2026).
- Unified Patents, "Patent Dispute Report: 2025 in Review" (Jan. 13, 2026): top five district courts for 2025 filings: E.D. Tex. (27.7%), W.D. Tex. (11.5%), D. Del. (11.4%), N.D. Ill. (8.5%), D.N.J. (5.0%). unifiedpatents.com (retrieved September 30, 2026).
- Chief Judge Alia Moses, Order amending W.D. Tex. patent case assignment procedures (May 30, 2024): parties seeking to consolidate related patent cases must file a motion "with sufficient legal and factual justification." Reported in ip fray, "Assignment rules in Western District of Texas now cover related cases" (June 2024). ipfray.com (retrieved September 30, 2026).
- Bloomberg Law, "West Texas Sees Patent Filings Plummet After Albright Dethroned" (2022): Chief Judge Orlando Garcia's July 25, 2022 order randomly assigning Waco patent cases among the district's judges. news.bloomberglaw.com (retrieved September 30, 2026).
This article is general information, not legal advice. Law checked through September 30, 2026. See the Disclaimer.