Townsend has been recognized by leading U.S. and international publications as one of the leading intellectual property law firms. Recent recognition includes:
- In 2009, Townsend was recognized as a leading patent law firm in Intellectual Property Today's survey "2009 Top Patent Firms." Townsend ranked 10th among U.S. law firms as ranked by the number of patents issued to clients in 2008.
- In 2008, Townsend was recognized by the publishers of Managing Intellectual Property (a Euromoney publication), as the "Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year" in the U.S. and regionally as the "Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year" in the Western U.S.
- In 2008, Townsend was recognized by the publishers of Managing Intellectual Property (a Euromoney publication) as a finalist in the category of life sciences and biotechnology patent litigation in the magazine's North American Intellectual Property Awards.
- Townsend was recognized among the top patent litigation law firms in the 2008 IP Law & Business annual Patent Litigation Survey.
- Townsend was recognized by Chambers Global as one of the leading IP firms in the U.S. in the "2008 Client's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers for Business."
- Townsend was recognized as a leading firm in patent litigation and interferences in the Legal 500 United States Survey, Volume II, 2007.
- In 2008, Townsend was recognized as a leading trademark law firm in Intellectual Property Today's survey "2008 Top Trademark Firms." Townsend ranked nineteenth among U.S. firms as ranked by the number of trademarks issued in 2007.
- For six consecutive years, Townsend has been awarded NameProtect's Trademark Insider Award as the No. 1 San Francisco-based trademark law firm, based upon total number of new trademark applications submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for five consecutive years (2003 - 2007).
- Townsend was recognized by the Minority Law Journal (an American Lawyer publication) in the 2008 Diversity Scorecard as the U.S. firm with the second highest percentage of Asian American attorneys; the ninth highest percentage of minority partners; and the eighth highest percentage of minority attorneys (partners and non-partners).