It’s almost become a lawyer meme that the International Trade Commission, a once-obscure quasi-judicial body, is a hot forum for patent disputes because it handles cases quickly and offers powerful injunctive remedies. A less known fact is that intellectual property boutiques, once rumored to be going extinct, are faring well at the ITC. That, like everything at the ITC, could change in years to come, however. The agency is in flux, experts say. Its newfound popularity could become a liability, and some on Capitol Hill want to weaken its powers.

Before we get to all that, here’s the results of Corporate Counsel ‘s annual ITC survey, which ranks law firms on the number of ITC cases filed last year that they were named in. The ITC, which is based in Washington, D.C., heard 69 cases in 2011, up from 56 the year before. The firm whose name came up the most times is Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg, with 21 cases. Adduci Mastriani is an ITC boutique. While it sometimes handles cases on its own, it more often works alongside larger firms and handles ITC–specific substantive and procedural arguments. Kenyon & Kenyon, a 130-year-old firm that only does IP, nabbed second place with 16 cases. Another IP–only firm, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, took third place for a second year in a row, with 14. Fish & Richardson, also IP–only, remained in fourth place. Foster, Murphy, Altman & Nickel, a new ITC boutique modeled after Adduci Mastriani, debuted at fifth place. Our rankings may understate Foster Murphy’s rapid growth. In addition to the 11 cases from 2011 that it appeared in, the firm also worked on seven cases initiated by other firms in 2010, says name partner Barbara Murphy.

ITC Survey 2012: