On July 25, Western District of Texas Chief Judge Orlando L. Garcia shook up the patent status quo by issuing a new standing order that may end District Judge Alan D. Albright’s time as the nation’s top patent judge. While plaintiffs could previously select Judge Albright by filing directly in the Waco Division, where he is the only district judge, the order now requires that all patent cases filed there be randomly assigned among a group of 12 judges from throughout the district, including Judge Albright. Filing levels have now begun to drop in West Texas as result, while Judge Albright’s new caseload has unsurprisingly started to dry up as well.