Floyd G. Short

Floyd Short litigates and tries complex commercial and intellectual property cases on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in the State of Washington and across the United States. A proficient and versatile trial lawyer, he represents individuals and companies in cases involving patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, health care, ERISA, antitrust, unfair competition, and bankruptcy litigation.

Mr. Short also represents individuals in False Claim Act qui tam actions, white collar criminal matters, and SEC and other government investigations, as well as consumers in antitrust and intellectual property class actions.

Mr. Short has successfully tried more than a dozen major cases—most to a jury—and has appeared in federal and state courts in Alaska, California, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Texas, Utah, and Washington, proving himself a seasoned and effective trial lawyer. He also has tried patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation cases in the International Trade Commission.

For every one of his cases, Mr. Short masters his client’s objectives, technology, products, and services in order to obtain the best possible outcome. He takes pride in his ability to explain complex issues and advocate his client’s position to judge and jury in a clear and persuasive manner. Through nearly 30 years of civil and criminal trial practice, plus teaching law part-time, Mr. Short has honed his ability to communicate and connect with judges and juries, as well as with clients, witnesses, and other attorneys.

Mr. Short has been recognized for his skills and leadership by lawyers and judges alike. He has been named a Washington Super Lawyer for several years (2014-2020, Thomson Reuters) and has held a Peer Review Rating of AV® Preeminent™ (5.0 out of 5.0) from Martindale-Hubbell since 2013. Mr. Short recently served on the Board of Trustees of the King County Bar Association and previously served as the President of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington (WDWA) and a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference by appointment of the WDWA federal judges.

Before joining Susman Godfrey in 2006, Mr. Short was a federal prosecutor and the Supervisor of the Complex Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, where he specialized in white collar criminal cases involving securities fraud, investment fraud, financial fraud, Internet and computer crime, and intellectual property crime.

At the beginning of his legal career, Mr. Short served as a law clerk to the Honorable Betty Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.