Jay M. Ezelle

Jay Ezelle is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie and has been with the firm since 1999. Jay has served as the Hiring partner for the firm and is a current member of the firm’s executive committee.

PRACTICE

Jay has worked on a broad variety of litigation matters, concentrating on complex, high-risk litigation. He has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in a variety of matters  including national class actions and multidistrict litigation. He has also represented several universities in high-profile matters ranging from intellectual property disputes to NCAA compliance investigations.

HIGHLIGHTS

– Defended Allied Crushed Stone Company in lawsuit brought by Vulcan Materials Co. and obtained successful resolution through tax-exempt stock exchange and merger of Allied into a subsidiary of Vulcan.

– Currently representing software development company in drafting and negotiating intellectual property agreements for new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

– Currently representing The University of Alabama in a trademark dispute with sports artist Daniel A. Moore that has been the subject of press coverage by numerous news outlets including The New York Times, NPR and ESPN.

– Currently representing an insurance carrier in a purported national class action relating to premium rates.

– Currently representing a large government contractor in a fraud and breach of contract case with a former employee.

– Currently representing KKR in a securities fraud case arising from the leveraged recapitalization of the Bruno’s grocery store chain.

– Currently representing an NFL player in a civil case alleging assault and battery.

– Successfully represented UAB and the UAB Research Foundation in an intellectual property dispute relating to a universal control system for electrosurgical devices.

– Successfully represented a large hedge fund in a trade secrets and fraud case relating to the purchase of the international energy portfolio from the Enron Bankruptcy.

– Obtained declaratory judgment for General Motors allowing it to close car dealership under the Alabama Motor Vehicle Franchise Act and ruling that GM was not obligated to pay the dealer $1.2 million in alleged debt forgiveness and sales tax revenue relief offered by the City of Birmingham.

– Represented and helped obtain dismissals and/or favorable settlements for numerous global financial institutions in the highly-publicized Enron, HelathSouth, and WorldCom multidistrict litigations.

– Obtained a complete dismissal for The University of Alabama and its President in litigation stemming from the termination of Mike Price, the former head football coach, in what USA Today described as one of the “top 25 biggest sports scandals”.

– Represented the University of Alabama in Huntsville in an intellectual property dispute over PEGylation technology and helped UAH obtain a $25 million settlement.

– Represented UAB and the UAB Research Foundation in a patent dispute relating to antiviral compounds used to treat Hepatitis B and helped UAB obtain a settlement with a minimum value of $15 million.

– Obtained a complete dismissal of Emory University in an intellectual property dispute relating to compounds used to treat the Hepatitis C.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Jay has been named a “Future Star” for the state of Alabama in the 2011 – 2015 editions of  Benchmark Litigation, is recommended for General Commercial Litigation in the 2011 – 2015 editions of Chambers USA, is listed in the 2012 – 2015 editions of Alabama Super Lawyers, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America®, and has been named a 2014 Intellectual Property Star by the 2014 and 2015 editions of IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. Jay was also selected as one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” for 2012.

While in law school, Jay was elected to the Order of the Coif, the Order of the Barristers and the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society, was a Hugo Black Scholar, a Dean M. Leigh Harrison Award recipient and an editor for the Alabama Law Review. Jay was also the winner of Campbell Moot Court Competition and a member of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Jay is a member of the Board of Directors for United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, the Junior Patrons Board of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center,  and the Monday Morning Quarterback Club. He is also involved in the Birmingham Athletic Partnership and attends the Cathedral Church of the Advent.

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

* Jay M. Ezelle and Cole R. Gresham, “Big Verdicts, Limited Discovery: The Rising Importance of Trade Secrets in Alabama,” in the Cumberland Law Review, Vol. 44, pg 55 – 77(2014).

* Jay M. Ezelle and C. Clayton Bromberg, Jr., “The Internal Affairs Doctrine in Alabama“, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 72, No. 2, Pages 143 – 147 (March 2011).

REPORTED CASES

W.R. Huff Asset Management Co., L.L.C. v. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., L.P., 566 F.3d 979 (11th  Cir. 2009).

General Elec. Capital Corp. v. Emergystat, Inc., 2009 WL 4465245 (N.D.Ala. 2009).

The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama v. Nektar Therapeutics, Inc., 2005 WL 2335714 (N.D. Ala. 2005).

Price v. University of Alabama, 2004 WL 1253201 (11th Cir. Apr. 20, 2004).

Nichols v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., 364 F.Supp.2d 1330 (N.D.Ala. 2004).

Wisconsin Investment Bd. v. Ruttenberg, 300 F.Supp.2d 1210 (N.D.Ala. 2004).

Price v. University of Alabama, 318 F.Supp.2d 1084 (N.D.Ala. 2003).

W.R. Huff Asset Management Co., LLC v. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., L.P., 234 F.Supp.2d 1218 (N.D.Ala. 2002).

Retirement Systems of Alabama v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 209 F.Supp.2d 1257 (M.D.Ala. 2002).

Dr. Hsiwen Lo

Leaders in Law endorses Dr. Hsiwen Lo as our exclusively recommended Patent Litigation Law expert in Taiwan. If you wish to get in touch with Dr. Lo please use the contact information provided above.

Hsiwen Lo, Ph. D., is a patent litigator in Orrick’s Intellectual Property Group. With a Ph. D. in electrical engineering, Hsiwen specializes in cases where a deep understanding of the interplay between technology and legal issues is critical to a company’s litigation success.

Hsiwen’s representations involve highly-complex technologies, sciences, and mathematics. Exemplary subject matters include mobile digital processing and publication, three-dimensional graphics rendering, the instruction pipeline of a processor, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), HDL synthesis and verification, and finite-element analysis of mechanical stress and strain.

Hsiwen has conducted invalidity, non-infringement and infringement analysis. He has handled discovery, drafted expert reports, prepared technical witnesses for deposition, and drafted dispositive and non-dispositive motions. Moreover, he has been involved in case management. He also advises his clients of issues related to patent portfolio management, IP transactions, and IP-related due diligence review. He has passed the patent bar exam.

Hsiwen received his Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering at Caltech. While in Berkeley Law, he focused on patent and intellectual property law. He was the community service chair for Berkeley APALSA. He was also the student liaison and long-time volunteer of the Asian Law Caucus immigration clinic. He received the American Jurisprudence Award.

Firm Overview:

We focus on serving the Technology, Energy & Infrastructure and Finance sectors globally. Clients worldwide call on our teams for forward-looking commercial advice on transactions, litigation and compliance matters. We bring distinctive quality, teamwork and value to the table – and innovate in everything we do.

 

Joon Chung

Joon Chung’s practice focuses on patent litigation in district courts and has participated in multiple stages of litigation from discovery to trial. In recent cases he has worked developing invalidity charts, responses to pre-trial, trial, and post-trial motions; and handling various aspects of discovery. Joon has a background in Electrical Engineering. He was a Summer Associate at Fish in 2016.

Global Reach:

As one of the world’s premier intellectual property and litigation firms, Fish works with clients to protect and enforce intellectual property rights globally, providing portfolio strategy and representation in multinational litigation. Our office in Munich, Germany—home to the European and German patent offices and the German Federal Patent Court—serves clients’ needs throughout Europe. From this office we are able to deliver significant cost savings through the efficiency of inter-office collaboration on US/EU matters. Our extensive network of relationships with counsel around the world ensures we are ready to provide comprehensive IP services in virtually any jurisdiction.

Firm Overview:

Fish has been winning cases worth billions in controversy – often by making new law – for the most innovative clients and influential industry leaders since 1878.

Shri Abhyankar

Shri Abhyankar is a member of Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group. Shri focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and counselling, with an emphasis on patent litigation and enforcement. He represents clients in patent infringement lawsuits in federal district courts across the United States as well as before the International Trade Commission. Shri has been named to the 2016 Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star list.

Shri received his J.D., cum laude, in 2007 from Georgia State University College of Law, where he served as associate editor of the Georgia State University Law Review. He earned his B.S. in neuroscience and behavioural biology in 2003 from Emory University.

Shri is active in the Atlanta community, including service as a founding board member of Buckhead Charities Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that benefits local charities across the city of Atlanta.

Firm Overview:

Alston & Bird LLP has grown to become a leading national and international firm while remaining steeped in a culture with client service and teamwork as the cornerstones of all that we do. We develop, assemble and nurture the strongest and broadest array of legal talent and expertise necessary to meet our clients’ needs in an ever-changing and fast-paced environment.

Peter Hendrick

Leaders in Law endorses Peter Hendrick as our exclusively recommended Patent Litigation Law expert in the Netherlands. If you wish to get in touch with Peter please use the contact information provided above.

Peter Hendrick focuses on international patent litigation and leads the firm’s international patent litigation group.

The group is particularly active in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, and co-ordinates litigation on behalf of clients with specialised law firms in other EU member states.

Peter is one of the most well known and respected patent litigators in Europe. He has a broad knowledge of patent litigation and acts on behalf of national and international clients in the Netherlands courts (including the Supreme Court) and in the European Patent Office, particularly in Opposition Division and Technical Board of Appeal cases.

Peter has also acted as lead counsel in a number of international patent litigation cases brought simultaneously in European and non-European jurisdictions.

In addition, he works for banks and investment institutes as their litigation and M&A strategist on patent portfolios. In all these matters he works with his own team of scientists in sectors including pharma/biotech, electronics/TMT and energy.

Peter speaks English, Dutch, German and French.

Law Firm Overview:

The world’s biggest international organisations rely on us to help them make the right decisions in a fast-changing world. We combine the knowledge, experience and energy of the whole firm to solve our clients’ most complex challenges, wherever and whenever they arise.