When asked about his philosophy as Managing Partner, Cameron Garrison said, “My number one job is to make sure Lathrop GPM always remains a firm that our clients trust and our people are proud to work for. We make it a priority to seek out diverse perspectives to help us identify and implement innovative strategies that allow us to exceed our client’s expectations. Our lawyers and legal professionals understand client needs are more complex than ever. It’s not enough to simply provide exceptional legal services. We must deliver solutions efficiently and with a thorough understanding of how our clients’ legal issues intersect with their overall business goals.” One chief legal counsel and former partner of the firm said, “Cameron is a great leader. The firm is lucky to have him in that position. He is the most sincere, genuine guy, and he is passionate about the role he has.”

Cameron Garrison leads Lathrop GPM as the firm’s Managing Partner and chairs the Executive Committee, which develops and guides the strategic direction of the firm.

As Managing Partner, Cameron is focused on developing and driving new and innovative approaches to client service that further the firm’s commitment to exceeding clients’ expectations. He is also dedicated to building and maintaining diverse teams of attorneys and business professionals who bring a well-rounded perspective to every client matter and internal initiative. He promotes a culture where all firm professionals are able to thrive and have the tools they need to deliver unsurpassed service to clients.

Under Cameron’s leadership, Lathrop GPM’s attorneys seek to build lasting relationships with clients, learning about their businesses, goals and individual needs in order to serve them better. As a servant leader, Cameron also works to ensure the firm is dedicated to the success of each of its partners and employees.

As the firm’s leader and in his personal life, Cameron is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion as a social and business imperative. He said, “I am a firm believer that an organizational commitment to diversity must start at the top for it to be truly interwoven throughout the organization.” Cameron’s philosophy reflects the firm’s holistic approach to serving a diverse and sophisticated client base. To that end, he serves on the firm’s Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and publicly shares his personal and organizational commitments through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, pledging to lead by example, demonstrate the success of DEI objectives, and foster an inclusive workplace where individuals from various backgrounds, cultures and perspectives can thrive. He is deeply committed to “maintaining a dynamic, innovative, and equitable firm that reflects the diversity of our clients and the world while leveraging a variety of viewpoints to better serve our community and achieve exceptional legal outcomes.”

In practice, Cameron is an intellectual property litigator. He represents consumer product manufacturers, retail chains, marketing and media clients, engineering firms, life sciences companies, and others across the country. He has extensive experience in high-stakes patent, trademark, false advertising, copyright and trade secret litigations, as well as in post-grant review proceedings, including inter partes reviews.

Active in the community, Cameron is a member of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and sits on the Executive Committee of the University of Missouri – Kansas City’s Board of Trustees. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of Phoenix Family, a Kansas City-based organization whose mission is to empower people living in low-income housing communities with the on-site support they need to gain stability and achieve self-sufficiency, and the Mockingbird Foundation, a national organization that broadens access and educational opportunities for young people in music and the musical arts.

When asked…

Why did you become a lawyer?

My first job after college led to a deep curiosity about the law and a passion for helping clients in need. Once I became a lawyer, the joy of helping clients fueled my desire to continue in the profession and my pride in working with my colleagues at Lathrop GPM made me realize this was the only place I ever wanted to practice.

What do you do outside of work?

Outside of work, I relish spending quality time with my family, especially my wife and two high school seniors, who are the cornerstone of our lives. My son’s football games and daughter’s swim meets are the most important events on my calendar, and the four of us love escaping to St. John and the US Virgin Islands when we are fortunate enough to be able to do so. I am also deeply committed to organizations that support children, underserved communities, and the Kansas City civic community. I am also a diehard supporter of Arsenal F.C. – Come on You Gunners! – and all things Kansas City and UVa sports-related.

Areas of Focus

Services

Sectors

Experience

Representative Litigation Matters

  • First-chaired two-week false advertising jury trial resulting in eight-figure verdict in favor of our client and defense verdict in favor of our client on all counterclaims.
  • First-chaired successful defense of major infant and toddler product manufacturer against claims of false advertising and unfair competition, resulting in denial of motions for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction; rulings affirmed by Ninth Circuit. Munchkin, Inc. v. Playtex Products, LLC, 2001 WL 2174383 (C.D. Cal. 2011); Munchkin, Inc. v. Playtex Products, LLC, 455 Fed. Appx. 748 (9th Cir. 2011).
  • First-chaired successful defense of major infant and toddler product manufacturer against claims of trademark infringement and dilution, false advertising, and unfair competition related to the client's best-selling product, resulting in exclusion of prominent survey expert, extremely favorable summary judgment ruling and ultimate voluntary dismissal of all claims against the client.
  • First-chaired representation of competitively injured false marking plaintiff that resulted in seven-figure settlement in favor of our client in one of the few cases of its kind after the passage of false marking revisions in the America Invents Act.
  • First-chaired successful prosecution of patent infringement claims that resulted in exclusion of all invalidity defenses, defendant's stipulation of infringement and extremely favorable settlement.
  • First-chaired successful defense of online service provider against claims of infringement of source-code copyright in a "bet-the-company" litigation.
  • First-chaired successful prosecution of claims under the Defend Trade Secret Act that resulted in a Consent Judgment in our client's favor.
  • First-chaired successful defense of home builder against claims of architectural copyright infringement resulting in significant discovery rulings in favor of our client and settlement on extremely favorable terms.
  • Led successful prosecution of trademark infringement and dilution claims in dispute over rights to 14 federal trademark registrations, resulting in temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction against defendant and recovery of all rights asserted by our client.
  • Second-chaired successful defense of complex patent, trademark, unfair competition and antitrust case, including a "bet-the-company" injunction proceeding, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
  • Second-chaired successful defense of potential nine-figure patent case in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire against a prominent national IP firm resulting in multiple favorable Markman rulings and ultimately summary judgment on all claims.
  • Led successful declaratory judgment action resulting in opposing party, whose federally registered trademark has been in use for over 80 years, agreeing to a Co-existence Agreement that allowed our client to continue use of its eight-year-old mark.

Representative Business Counseling

  • Served as outside general counsel to Silicon Beach-based media-technology company, including directing development of patent, trademark and copyright portfolio and leading sale of the company and its revolutionary content recommendation engine to Hulu.
  • Primary intellectual property counsel to two major healthcare technology companies, including directing development of patent and trademark portfolio.
  • Directed management of large, international trademark portfolios for several international corporations.

Credentials

Education

  • Washington and Lee University School of Law (J.D., 2002)
  • University of Virginia (B.A., Government; History, 1996)

Bar Admissions

  • Kansas
  • Missouri

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

Recognitions

  • Missouri Lawyers Media, "Top Managing Partners," 2023-2024
    • "Law Firm Leaders," 2020
  • Named to Ingram's "250 Most Powerful Business Leaders," 2019, 2020, 2023
  • Selected among The Best Lawyers in America®, 2017-2025
    • Litigation – Intellectual Property "Lawyer of the Year," 2020-2021
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Missouri Intellectual Property, 2017-2019, 2022, Recognized Practitioner
  • Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2013-2023
    • "Rising Stars," 2009-2012
  • Client ChoiceTM Award, Intellectual Property: Copyright, 2015
  • Kansas City Business Journal, NextGen Leaders, 2013
  • KC Business, "Rising Star," 2013
  • Ingram's Magazine, "40 Under 40," 2012

Presentations

  • Speaker, Corporate Counsel's 7th Annual IP Trademark, Copyright & Licensing Forum: Strategies for Safeguarding Your Brand in the Digital Era, The University Club, New York, NY, November 3, 2015
  • Speaker, Structuring your "All Natural," "Gluten-Free," "Organic" and "Grass-Fed" Marketing and Advertising Campaigns to Mitigate Litigation and Enforcement, ACI 3rd Annual Advanced Regulatory and Compliance Summit on Food & Beverage Marketing and Advertising, July 17, 2013
  • Speaker, Developments and Considerations in False Advertising Claims, National Law Journal Complex Litigation Series, November 2012
  • Speaker, IP Resources for Non-IP Attorneys, May 2010
  • Speaker, Lathrop Gage State of Litigation Seminar, May 2010
  • Speaker, Intellectual Property in Film, University of Southern California Graduate School of Cinematic Arts, February 25, 2009
  • Speaker, Valuing and Defending Your IP Portfolio, Lathrop Gage Webinar, January 21, 2009
  • Speaker, Protecting Your Internet Assets and Enforcing Your Rights Online, Lathrop Gage Webinar, January 14, 2009
  • Speaker, Protecting Your Trademarks and Enforcing Your Intellectual Property, Lathrop Gage Brunch and Learn, November 14, 2008

Publications

  • Author, "Good Internal Policies Are Best Safeguard to Protect Firm from Online Privacy Liability," Boulder County Business Report, July 22, 2004
  • Author, "Web Site Privacy Policies Must Give Users Notice, Choice, Access, Security," Kansas City Business Journal, March 11, 2004
  • Author, Legal Issues Relating to Internet Security and Privacy, National Business Institute Seminar - Technology Law: An Advanced Approach, December 2003

Professional Activities

  • The Missouri Bar
  • Kansas Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Missouri Biotechnology Association, Board Member, 2014 - 2019
  • Lawyers Association of Kansas City, Young Lawyers Section, Board of Directors, 2006-2010

Community Involvement

  • Mockingbird Foundation, Board of Directors, 2023-present
  • University of Missouri – Kansas City, Board of Trustees, 2021-present
    • Executive Committee, 2022-present
  • The Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, Member, 2018-present
  • Phoenix Family, Board of Directors, 2017-present
  • Saint Luke's Hospital, The Children's SPOT, Board of Directors, 2010-2015
  • Kansas City Young Audiences, Board of Directors, 2004-2008
  • Washington & Lee Alumni Association - Kansas City Chapter, Board of Directors, 2003-2006
  • Civic Council of Greater Kansas City – Graduate, Kansas City Tomorrow, Class XXXIII