Barroway Topaz Launches Patent Litigation Practice, Adds Noted Patent Trial Lawyers Michael Bonella and Paul Milcetic as Partners, Co-Chairs

RADNOR, Pa., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading plaintiffs' shareholder and corporate governance law firm Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP has added a patent litigation platform and brought in two established intellectual property lawyers to direct the initiative.

The firm announced that noted patent litigators Michael J. Bonella and Paul B. Milcetic have joined as co-chairs of the new practice.  The two attorneys were formerly partners with the national intellectual property law firm of Woodcock Washburn LLP in Philadelphia.  

The launch of a patent litigation practice furthers Barroway Topaz's focus on plaintiffs' advocacy for nearly 25 years in shareholder, ERISA, consumer and antitrust litigation.

"Broadening our practice to include patent litigation is a key part of our overall strategy," said partner Joseph Meltzer. "Patent work is a great fit for what we excel at – complex litigation on a national stage for clients seeking top-flight representation under an alternative billing structure."  

Mr. Meltzer noted that given the huge expense associated with enforcing patent claims, inventors and other patent holders will look to a law firm that can aggressively pursue cases on a contingency basis. 

"Barroway Topaz has the resources and proven track record in representing plaintiffs against some of the biggest corporations and institutions in high-stakes litigation," he said.  "Many traditional IP firms are either unwilling or unable to accept patent cases on a contingent-fee basis.  We plan to fill what we see as a void in the legal market, at a time when intellectual property challenges are a dominant area of litigation."

In the last two years, Barroway Topaz has secured nearly $2 billion in settlements.  The firm was co-lead counsel and part of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee managing the $586 million settlement of a sprawling IPO manipulation case that concluded earlier this year.  Other recent outcomes included the settlement of two of the largest-recorded stock option backdating suits, Brocade Communications and Marvell Technology Group, for $161 million and $72 million, respectively.  Barroway Topaz also helped settle a notable derivative suit brought on behalf of shareholders of Comverse Technology.   The $62 million settlement included significant corporate governance reforms.  

Commenting on the arrival of Messrs. Bonella and Milcetic to lead a new patent litigation practice, Mr. Meltzer said: "Mike and Paul are top intellectual property trial attorneys who have litigated major national patent cases across numerous industry sectors. We're pleased to have practitioners of their caliber join us – they will drive the new practice forward."

Mr. Bonella has served as lead lawyer on patent cases involving a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, immunoassay testing, telecommunications, signal processing, electrical hardware and software.   He acted as lead attorney on a number of notable matters, including TruePosition, Inc. v. Allen Telecom, Inc., No. 01-0823 (D. Del.) which resulted in a settlement valued at about $45 million for wireless technology company TruePosition arising from patent claims relating to its wireless location system.

Mr. Milcetic has been lead trial lawyer on multiple patent litigations.  He also achieved for TruePosition, Inc. a $45 million patent infringement verdict in 2007 as lead trial lawyer in TruePosition v. Andrew Corp. (D. Del, Civ. No. 05-747-SLR).  In 2009, he successfully argued for a $20 million post-verdict punitive damages award in the case, which was affirmed Aug. 12, 2010 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The two new partners note that successful litigation of complex cases against major corporate defendants requires the right firm to host such a practice.  

"Barroway Topaz is uniquely situated to offer patent representation," Mr. Bonella noted.  "The contingency model will  permit us to pursue meritorious claims of small-to-medium size companies, claims  which these companies might deem cost-prohibitive if pursued with another  firm."

Mr. Milcetic added: "Today's litigation billing model is changing; the focus now is more on how to service clients best, rather than the billable hour.  Practicing under the Barroway Topaz banner allows us the perfect opportunity to select from among the best cases and fight for the rights of patent holders in a variety of cases and venues."

Mr. Bonella obtained a bachelor of science degree cum laude in mechanical engineering from Villanova University, and received his law degree magna cum laude from the Duke University School of Law.  He is one of a few attorneys registered to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office and holding an LLM degree in Trial Advocacy, which he obtained from Temple University.

Mr. Milcetic obtained a Computer Science degree summa cum laude from Rutgers University, and received his law degree from the Cornell Law School. He also received an LLM in trial advocacy from the Temple University School of Law, and is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.  Mr. Milcetic is the author of the book entitled Technology Patent Infringement Case Strategies, published by Aspatore Books (2008), which analyzes standards related to patent litigation.  

About Barroway Topaz

Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP represents institutional investors and shareholders  internationally in securities class actions, corporate governance actions, as well as ERISA, consumer, antitrust and derivative litigation.  The firm has recovered billions of dollars for clients in the last five years and has been named among the top firms for shareholder recovery by RiskMetrics Group every year since 2003. For more information, please visit: www.btkmc.com  

SOURCE Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP