The seven-lawyer legal department at flat-screen television maker Vizio Inc. may be lean, but the talented team fashioned a mean and technology-intensive court strategy that keeps competitors and so-called patent “trolls” — who produce nothing themselves but use lawsuits to force licensing deals — at bay.
According to general counsel and vice president for legal affairs Jerry Huang, picking the right team members was critical to the department’s success. That includes outside law firms and a contract support staffer who rounds out the eight-member department.
