Professional Biography
Image of John Gray

John Gray Partner

Firmwide Vice Chair, Trademark, Copyright, Internet & Advertising Practice; Firmwide Co-Chair, Trade Secrets

  • Phoenix

    D +1.602.351.8092

    F +1.602.648.7054

    Phoenix

    2901 N. Central Avenue, Suite 2000

    Phoenix, AZ 85012-2788

    +1.602.351.8092

    JHGray@perkinscoie.com

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Overview

John Gray, firmwide vice-chair of the Trademark, Copyright, Internet & Advertising practice, focuses on complex business and intellectual property disputes and advises well-known technology clients across the country. John has special emphasis in trade secret litigation and counseling, serving as counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants on multiple high-risk and prominent trade secret litigations, as well as regularly advising clients on managing trade secret risk.

Bringing a considerable amount of litigation experience to his counsel, John regularly advises clients on mitigating litigation risk, including in areas of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. When litigation is necessary, John is skilled in all aspects, including initial case assessment and pleadings, e-discovery and discovery strategy, depositions, dispositive and procedural motions, evidentiary hearings, pre-trial preparation, trial, appeal and settlement negotiations. He regularly draws on the experience gained in Arizona federal and state practice from serving on the Arizona State Bar’s Civil Practice & Procedure Committee and working directly with several federal judges in Phoenix.

John also has significant experience representing both large and small companies in disputes over trademark enforcement, patent infringement, licensing, copyright infringement, employment and noncompetition agreements, and an array of contract and business tort issues.

Outside of his legal practice, John enjoys serving the community. In 2018, inspired by his four-year-old daughter, he led a team to raise nearly $230,000 in 10 weeks for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and, in doing so, was named the 2018 LLS “Man of the Year.” He also regularly raises funds for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and local nonprofit organizations. Apart from charity work, John twice worked on Perkins Coie’s “Pro Bono Team of the Year,” first representing Guantanamo Bay detainee, Noor Uthman Muhammed and later helping approximately 36,000 prison inmates achieve a favorable settlement in a three-year class action lawsuit alleging that Arizona inmates receive unconstitutional healthcare and conditions of confinement.

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Professional Recognition

  • Recommended in Intellectual Asset Management Patent 1000, 2023; Trade Secrets, 2023
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America: Commercial Litigation; Copyright Law, 2023 – 2024
  • Recognized as "Young Lawyer of the Year Finalist (Beyond Practice)" by The American Lawyer, 2022
  • Recognized as a “40 Under 40” by the Phoenix Business Journal, 2020
  • Listed as a “Rising Star” in Southwest Super Lawyers, 2015 – 2023

Professional Leadership

  • State Bar of Arizona, Civil Practice and Procedure Committee
  • Arizona Asian American Bar Association, Board of Directors
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), 2014 Convention Local Host Committee
  • ABA Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy
  • Arizona Bar Leadership Institute
  • American Bar Association
  • State Bar of Arizona
  • Maricopa County Bar Association

Community Involvement

  • HustlePhx, Workshop Speaker and Facilitator 
  • Phoenix Children's Hospital, Emerging Leaders
  • 2018 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society “Man of the Year” – raised nearly $230,000 in 10 weeks

Related Employment

  • The Hon. Michael Daly Hawkins, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Phoenix, AZ, Legal Extern, 2008
  • Perkins Coie Brown & Bain, P.A., Phoenix, AZ, Summer Associate, 2008 
  • Hon. David G. Campbell, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, Legal Extern, 2007 – 2008 
  • Mariscal, Weeks, McIntyre & Friedlander, P.A., Phoenix, AZ, Summer Law Clerk, 2007 
  • Office of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Office of Boards and Commissions, Deputy Director, Phoenix, AZ, 2005 – 2006 

Clerkships

  • Hon. G. Murray Snow, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, 2009 - 2010

Experience

News

Insights

RELATED INFORMATION

Bar and Court Admissions

  • Arizona
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education

  • Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2009, Associate Note and Comment Editor, Arizona State Law Journal
  • Arizona State University, B.S., Political Science, Emphasis in Public Advocacy and Lobbying, summa cum laude, 2005