Perkins Coie Sued for Malpractice by Inventor

Perkins Coie has been sued in a New York trial court by Muzik, Inc., a company that developed a remote-control headphone system, for allegedly failing to file patent applications relating to the system and then lying about it.

Incommunicado: Muzik alleges a firm partner said he filed patent applications, but he never did, and then manufactured fake patent application numbers to make it seem like they were filed. It also alleges that Perkins Coie didn’t communicate with it about U.S. Patent & Trademark actions relating to the system.

Lost Money: The firm’s failures to act caused it to lose rights to royalties, the complaint says. A Perkins Coie spokesman said: “We do not comment on pending litigation, but be assured that we intend to defend this case vigorously.”

Melissa Heelan Stanzione has the story.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Blank Rome Signs Veteran Litigator Lawler from Vinson & Elkins
Veteran litigator William “Bill” Lawler III is joining Blank Rome’s white collar defense and investigations practice group after a lengthy stint with Vinson & Elkins.

DLA Piper Taps Former HHS Official for Chief Administrative Role
DLA Piper has hired Joanne Chiedi, former acting inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services, as its new chief administrative officer.

BakerHostetler Adds Partner to New Digital Assets Practice
BakerHostetler hired David Sherman as part of its new minted practice group called Digital Assets and Data Management.

In-House

Coty Looks to Keurig Dr Pepper for New Global Legal Chief
Coty Inc., the global beauty care company behind CoverGirl and Clairol, has hired a new in-house legal chief as it prepares to relocate its corporate headquarters from New York to Amsterdam.

Business of Law

Worker Accuses Dechert, Services Provider of Disability Bias
International law firm Dechert LLC is accused in a new lawsuit of causing an administrative services provider to discriminate and retaliate against a site manager because he had a stroke, in violation of federal and local law.

Ethics

Avenatti Being Held in Solitary for ‘His Own Safety,’ U.S. Says
Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti is being held in solitary confinement in the same New York jail cell that once housed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman “for his own safety” as a high-profile defendant, prosecutors told a judge.

New York Attorney Disbarred for Practicing While Suspended
A New York attorney was disbarred by a New York court for continuing to practice law while suspended for the past several years.

WAKE-UP CALL

Fired Grammy’s Chief Accuses Greenberg Partner of Harassment
In today’s column, Chief Justice John Roberts had to scold Democrat and Republican sides for lack of decorum in the first day of President Trump’s impeachment trial. Baker McKenzie is again the world’s top-ranked law firm brand; and several Big Law firms got “perfect” scores for their support of LGBTQ employees.

LAW X.0 PODCAST

ANALYSIS: J.W. Verret on Bending Biotech Money Rules (Podcast)
J.W. Verret explains why current SEC regulations hobble small-cap firms, including biotech firms aiming to deliver life-saving advances. Verret, who is a law professor and SEC investor advisory committee member, discusses changes to rules for public and private placements that he argues could even the playing field and improve liquidity for small businesses—and maybe even lead to cures in the process.

Listen now or subscribe: Via Apple Podcasts | Via Stitcher | Via Spotify | Via Overcast

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: The Decade-Long Self-Driving Honeymoon Is Over. What’s Next?
The driverless car industry recently failed to deliver on its much-hyped promise of mass-market commercial deployment. Public policy advisers at Dentons take a look at the reality of industry trends and what to expect in the coming year.

INSIGHT: Did HouseCanary Stretch the Limits of Trade Secret Protections Too Far?
Former Congressman George Nethercutt Jr. (R-Wash.) says stakes in the appeal of HouseCanary’s $740 million damages award are high and involve the very definition of what qualifies as trade secrets and the process for valuing intangible and often ambiguous intellectual property. He argues the verdict was reached erroneously and must be overturned or it could set a dangerously low bar for future litigation.

INSIGHT: Shareholder’s Intention to Start Proxy Fight Not Enough to Inspect Corporate Books
A Delaware court recently held that a stockholder’s disagreement with a business decision of the board of directors and the intention to pursue a bone fide proxy contest is not a “proper purpose” to support a demand to inspect the corporation’s books and records. Tucker Ellis attorneys say the court’s decision clarifies what had been a “murky” legal landscape.

WORKFLOWS

Ice Miller added associate Sarah Sweet in the Trusts, Estates and Private Wealth Practice Group in Indianapolis, and associate Robert Waterson in the Real Estate Practice in Columbus | Barnes & Thornburg hired Misty Holcomb as Director of State Government Affairs-Georgia in Atlanta | Porter Wright added corporate attorney Yuanyou (Sunny) Yang to the Pittsburgh office, and Garrett R. Marshall as a staff attorney in Columbus | Withers hired Martin Auerbach as leader of the White Collar and Investigations practice in New York | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan added Dennis H. Hranitzky as a partner who will become head of the Sovereign Litigation practice from Dechert LLP | Dickinson Wright has appointed John Desmond and Scott Knapp as Co-Division Directors for the firm’s Litigation practice | Latham & Watkins said that Adam Perlman has joined as a partner in the Litigation & Trial Department and Intellectual Property Litigation Practice in Washington | Stoel Rives added real estate attorney Catherine L. “Trina” Sjoberg as a partner in its Minneapolis office from Gray Plant Mooty | Kleinberg Kaplan hired Maya D. Cater as a partner in its Litigation Practice from Quinn Emanuel, and promoted litigator Joshua Bromberg and corporate lawyer Arinze Ike to partner | Duane Morris added N. Gordon Knox as a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in Baltimore from Miles & Stockbridge P.C., and Phillip Hudson III as a partner in the Trial Practice Group in Miami from Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP | McDermott Will & Emery announced that Paul Ferrillo has joined as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group in New York.