Flaster Greenberg patent attorneys participated in an engaging panel discussion at this year’s Association of Corporate Counsel Greater Philadelphia In-House Counsel Conference (ACCGP IHC) at the Philadelphia Convention Center on April 20, 2023.
Pictured L to R: Seth Kramer, assistant deputy general counsel at Comcast Cable Communications; Michael Bonella, intellectual property shareholder at Flaster Greenberg; Aakash Patel, intellectual property associate at Flaster Greenberg; and Melissa Gibson, senior counsel, intellectual property, and litigation at Amgen.
The panelists discussed Delaware’s Chief Judge Colm Connolly issuing a standing order requiring a party to disclose certain third-party litigation funding arrangements and how this disclosure requirement is broader than that required by the Federal Rules and most local court rules because it requires a party to disclose an entity that has only a contractual relationship to a party. They explored how litigants are being scrutinized by the Court for failure to comply with this Order, the impact on litigation, concerns that the interest of the funded party are not being protected, the potential for conflicts of interest, and how the disclosure can open the door to claims being brought against the third-party.
Flaster Greenberg is a sponsor of the ACCGP, and a regular participant in the annual conference, which drew more than 750 in-house counsel professionals from the tri-state area.
Michael J. Bonella is a shareholder in the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and serves as a member of the firm's Board of Directors. Bonella has more than 25 years of experience in handling complex litigations and intellectual property matters. He is a first-chair litigator and has argued cases before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, Bonella has led numerous district court litigations, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, and is well‐versed in all aspects of district court litigation. His approach to litigation is to develop a legal, factual, and equitable case theory and focus on trial from the onset of litigation through resolution. By developing a case theory early in the case, Bonella is able to strategically manage the entire case with specific purposes and goals in mind.
Aakash Patel is a associate in Flaster Greenberg’s Intellectual Property Department and Patent Practice Group. Aakash focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation in the electrical, mechanical, semiconductor, medical device, and computer fields. Based on his education and prior work experience as a computer engineer for a fortune 100 technology company, Patel also manages patent prosecution and patent portfolios in technologies ranging from electrical systems, lighting control, telecommunications, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and medical devices. Patel is a skilled litigator having litigated complex cases in the International Trade Commission, Federal District Courts, and the Federal Circuit.
Flaster Greenberg, a midsize business law firm with offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic and in Florida, has been providing legal services to publicly traded corporations, privately held and family owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals for 50 years. With locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Florida, Flaster Greenberg serves a broad range of clients in dozens of industries and practice areas including aviation law, bankruptcy, business & corporate, cannabis, commercial litigation, elder & disability law, environmental, family law, gaming, healthcare, insurance recovery, intellectual property, labor and employment, real estate, taxation and trusts and estates.
