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Laurence Berman is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm's Los Angeles office. He is a member of the Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department.
Prior to joining McDermott, Laurence was the managing principal and founder of Berman, Mausner & Resser in Los Angeles. He has served as trial counsel in over 40 trials and arbitrations and has represented a wide variety of clients across several industry sectors. Laurence focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, including copyright, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition cases.
Representative Experience
Served as lead counsel for a design company which was sued for misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information. Plaintiff requested more than $2 million in damages. After nine days at trial, the jury awarded just $47 thousand in damages.
Served as lead counsel for the world's largest food manufacturing company which was sued in state court in Texas for trade secret misappropriation, interference with contract and related claims. Plaintiff requested more than $330 million in damages. After more than two weeks of trial, the jury awarded approximately $1 million, well below the pre-trial settlement offers.
Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit against former employee of plaintiff company in an action for trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition involving Fortune 100 companies. Dismissal was secured based on favorable evidentiary rulings during a two month jury trial.
Received a $6 million jury verdict, consisting of $2 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages and attorneys' fees after a three and a half week jury trial.
Secured settlement in excess of $8 million the day before trial in an action for trademark infringement and related claims against the largest publicly traded company in the health care industry.
Won emergency seizure order of counterfeit goods and a $5 million judgment in an action for trademark infringement involving the U.S. and international distribution of a food product.
Recovered all monies client invested, plus attorneys' fees and costs, for multinational company in an action for copyright infringement and related claims involving the design and purchase of a proprietary computer software system.
Obtained seizure of counterfeit products and judgment after trial in an action by manufacturer of food products for trademark and copyright infringement.
Defeated seizure order sought by Microsoft Corporation against distributor of computer hardware and software in federal court trademark and copyright action. Secured insurance coverage for client used to achieve favorable settlement and payment of attorneys' fees.
Won emergency seizure order of counterfeit goods and judgment after jury trial that was ten times the value of the counterfeit products sold by defendant.
Defeated temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in an action for trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition involving software used to provide customer care in the automotive business. Secured dismissal of action without payment of any monies by defendants.
Secured a mid-six-figure settlement in a copyright and trademark infringement action in federal court where the infringement occurred for a limited period of time, there was no actual damage, de minimis profits earned by the defendants and all of the infringing product had been removed.
From 2004 through 2008 Laurence has been named a Southern California "Super Lawyer" as chosen by his peers and through independent research performed by Law & Politics magazine.
Laurence earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles. While in law school he served as managing editor for the UCLA-Alaska Law Review. He is a member of the State Bar of California.
Education:
University of California-Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1980.
University of Wisconsin - Madison, B.A. (cum laude), 1976. | 