Vernon is a trial lawyer and counselor for the tech, biopharma and finance sectors. In his most recent trial, which he won, he was entrusted with protecting patents that protect the world’s fifth best-selling biologic. He has been ranked in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Managing IP, and Who’s Who Legal, and has been an American Lawyer Litigator of the Week. Since 2011, Vernon has served on the patent litigation Neutral Panel and, since 2015, Early Neutral Evaluation Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. For eight years, he co-taught Patent Litigation at UC Berkeley's School of Law. He currently serves on the Planning Committee for Stanford Law School’s Advanced Patent Law Institute. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Robert C. Bonner of the Central District of California and was an extern law clerk for Justice Stanley Mosk of the California Supreme Court.