New York, NY, January 26, 2009 LAWFUEL – Legal Newswire – Daily Law Announcements …Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, a national law firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, today announced the addition of a four-attorney team to its Intellectual Property Practice Group in New York City, effective immediately.
Led by Partner Joseph Diamante, the team includes Partners Ronald M. Daignault, Kenneth L. Stein and Special Counsel Richard H. An, all formerly of Jenner & Block LLP, in New York City. Before joining Jenner & Block, all four worked together at Jones Day and the former IP boutique, Pennie & Edmonds.
“I have known Joe for over 20 years. Stroock is very fortunate to have attracted such an accomplished, terrific group of litigators, ” said Steven Pokotilow, co-chairman of Stroock’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. “The specialties that this group brings, plus their high energy, will make their practice a great fit with our IP group.”
Mr. Diamante has extensive experience litigating intellectual property and unfair competition issues and has been involved in over 25 trials. Mr. Diamante’s clients have included G.D. Searle, Citigroup, Monsanto, Merck & Co., The Culinary Institute of America, Dictaphone Corp., Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp., Diesel Jeans, S.p.A., New York Cruise Lines/Circle Line/World Yacht, Tanabe-Seiko, Swedish Match North America and Yale University. Early in his career, Mr. Diamante was one of the lead counsel in Liggett Group, Inc. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., which involved predatory pricing and unfair competition. After an 11 month trial, the jury awarded Liggett Group $148.8 million plus attorneys’ fees and pre-judgment interest. This remains one of the largest verdicts in North Carolina. Mr. Diamante has co-authored several articles for the New York Law Journal and has contributed to a chapter in Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions.
“I used to work with Stroock’s Brian Rothery at Pennie & Edmonds and the growth of Brian’s practice, together with the quality and support that was offered by Stroock’s IP Group, encouraged us to move to Stroock,” said Mr. Diamante. “I feel fortunate that Stroock is expanding its litigation presence at a time when our team was seeking a larger platform from which to enhance our practice.”
Mr. Daignault has represented companies across a broad range of industries in a variety of patent, trademark, unfair competition, false advertising, trade secret and copyright cases. Though he has represented clients in various technology areas, including consumer electronics and proprietary business methods, over the past nine years, Mr. Daignault’s practice has focused on pharmaceutical products and ANDA/Hatch-Waxman litigations, including trials on both the branded and generic sides of the business. Mr. Daignault is involved in domestic and international trademark prosecution, due diligence, counseling, and licensing. He has been involved in combating trademark counterfeiting, and has brought and conducted numerous ex parte seizures of counterfeit goods.
Mr. Stein has broad experience litigating patent, trade secret and copyright cases, including cases involving digital devices, PC cards, e-commerce systems, and telephony devices. Mr. Stein’s practice includes patent validity and infringement opinions, patent prosecution, intellectual property aspects of due diligence, intellectual property licensing, and other matters. He has handled numerous matters involving complex technologies, including database systems, optical switching and communications systems, cellular communications systems, smart cards, fault tolerant computer systems, local area networks, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, digital watches, e-commerce systems, semiconductor devices, and many other software systems and electronic devices. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Stein spent eight years at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a software engineer.
Mr. An’s practice focuses on all phases of intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on patent litigation. He has litigated patent cases from many different fields, including electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and Internet technologies. Mr. An’s experience includes the direct and cross-examination of fact and expert witnesses at bench and jury trials and arbitrations; first-chair responsibility at summary judgment and Markman hearings; arguing a variety of motions before district courts; and conducting oral arguments on appeal, including before the Federal Circuit. Mr. An is also a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and is experienced in the prosecution of utility and design patents and drafting opinions of counsel regarding patent infringement and patent validity.
