An Anatomy of Litigation

Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP (FLH) is a premier law firm that strives to achieve results that exceed expectations, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to its clients by adding value to their business innovations. With a particular focus on the life science, pharmaceutical, and technology sectors, this New York-based firm is at the epicentre of the major ongoing legal developments in these industries, where science, innovation, and best business practices intersect.

Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP was founded in New York City in 1997. Beginning with 17 lawyers, FLH quickly grew its ranks and clientele. Now recognized as a leader in the legal industry, FLH has over 70 lawyers with diverse technical backgrounds who can handle intellectual property and related matters in a host of areas, including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, electronics, and other technical fields.

Since its formation nearly 20 years ago, FLH has expanded beyond the confines of New York City, with the opening of its first satellite office in Washington, D.C. in 2006 and ongoing partnerships with international law practices in Europe and around the world. From the outset, FLH has delivered value to its domestic and international clientele, handling complex patent litigation matters throughout the United States as well as large international patent prosecution dockets. FLH also maintains a core IP practice in the traditional areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and unfair competition. The firm’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), antitrust, and licensing practices complement FLH’s well-recognized patent litigation practice, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, where the firm has successfully handled hundreds of patent cases.

While FLH is an intellectual property firm at its core, its attorneys all have diverse backgrounds, allowing the firm to provide excellent legal services in antitrust, licensing and transactions, food and drug regulations, and commercial litigation. What this results in is an firm culture that prides itself on being accessible, efficient, responsive, and technologically sophisticated while encouraging active involvement in leadership. This extends not only across the firm but also throughout the communities in which FLH operates’communities that have rewarded FLH with appropriate recognition for excellence.

The firm also values leadership and contribution to the legal community. Its attorneys are active in the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA), a prominent bar association for the appellate court responsible for hearing all intellectual property cases, of which the firm’s Managing Partner is the past president. FLH attorneys also play a key role in organizations that facilitate dialogue between the legal and business communities, such as the Licensing Executive Society, BIO International, and the Food and Drug Law Institute.

FLH also has an enduring commitment to diversity in the workplace, empowering employees with a broad range of skills and backgrounds. Kyle Haug, the firm’s Manager of Business Development, expands upon this point, explaining:

At FLH, we value diversity and view it as a core principle. As lawyers and advisors, we rely on the intellectual capital of our professionals. Having a diverse pool of intellectual capital gives our firm a breadth of ideas and opportunities to tackle our clients’ needs. FLH’s inclusion principle not only embraces considering different viewpoints but also makes sure those perspectives are valued. We firmly believe that expanding our collaborative, inclusive environment will help us further succeed and grow because we will be relying on the collective talents, differences, and experiences of our professionals. For example, we make every effort to attract as diverse a student population as possible for recruiting on-campus or laterally. We also participate in minority job fairs, such as the Northeast Regional Black Law Students Association, and sponsor minority organizations at law schools. Our ongoing commitment to hiring and retaining a diverse, creative, and ethical workforce provides a competitive advantage to the clients we serve.

FLH’s social consciousness does not end with promoting diversity. The firm has an outstanding record of providing pro bono representation to individuals in need. Through a dedicated program encouraging 100 percent attorney participation, FLH logs thousands of hours every year in pro bono service. FLH attorneys handle pro bono cases that include veterans’ appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the representation of pro se litigants at all levels in the federal court system. In this capacity, FLH has helped numerous veterans who were wrongly denied their claims to recover their unpaid medical bills and unpaid disability benefits from the U.S. government. FLH has also been intimately involved in the representation of federal prisoners on the grounds of human rights violations in connection with their incarceration.

The firm’s FDA attorneys have decades of experience helping clients bring new FDA-regulated products to market and keep them there. This includes counselling and representing companies in proceedings before the FDA and in the federal courts. Providing a unified front of FDA regulatory expertise, along with the firm’s very own complex Hatch-Waxman litigation, antitrust evaluation, and licensing transaction expertise, the group has represented a diverse group of companies in the food, drug, biologic, medical device, cosmetic, and tobacco product industries over the years.

‘Our attorneys are not only experts in food and drug law but also have prior experience at the FDA, working on regulatory, enforcement, and policy issues in the Agency’s Office of Chief Counsel, the Office of the Commissioner, and the FDA’s Centers. This gives us intimate knowledge of agency procedures and invaluable continuing contact with key FDA officials,’ says Haug.

FLH’s New York office is at the forefront of this endeavour, as it provides the group with key links to the country’s financial centre as well as to a vibrant pharmaceutical industry community. Conveniently situated in midtown Manhattan, within walking distance of numerous cultural attractions and a wide array of hotel and dining options, Frommer Lawrence & Haug’s New York office occupies three floors of the historic Plaza District building on Fifth Avenue, offering soaring views of Central Park. This magnificent building houses FLH’s industry-leading Trial Advocacy, Appellate, FDA/Regulatory, Licensing and Transactions, Life Sciences, Patent Prosecution, and Trademarks & Copyrights practices and is also home to a brand new, state-of-the-art litigation suite that features a fully functioning mock courtroom complete with war rooms, conference space, witness-preparation rooms, and document services.

Further south, along the Potomac River, FLH’s Washington, D.C., office is centrally located, assuring quick access to the courts and governmental agencies in the metropolitan D.C. area where the firm’s attorneys routinely practice. The office is a short walk away from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and is convenient to most of the major intellectual property agencies within the city, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. International Trade Commission, numerous federal antitrust agencies, the FDA, and the federal district courts for the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. FLH’s attorneys also meet with agency officials, attend advisory committee meetings, and participate in various public policy forums from their key location in metropolitan Washington, D.C.

FLH’s decision to establish a presence in the U.S. capital 10 years ago has borne bountiful fruit, not least for its close proximity to the beating heart of U.S. litigation practice and law-making bodies. The firm’s attorneys based in the D.C. office are practically assured the breadth of experience to handle any client’s needs in any of these courts or governmental agencies. As Haug says, ‘Our attorneys obtain results for their clients faster than even the governmental agencies can do; in part, this is because of their prior experience working in governmental agencies, such as in state attorney general offices, the Department of Justice, and the FDA.’ The attorneys of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office work seamlessly with the attorneys in the firm’s New York office.

FLH has proven expertise in intellectual property, transactional, regulatory, and antitrust law. With more than 70 attorneys and scientific advisors, many with advanced technical degrees, FLH is ideally situated to generate practical, creative, multidisciplinary solutions to their clients’ legal and business concerns. Whether enforcing intellectual property assets, navigating complex federal regulations, or negotiating deals that avoid antitrust scrutiny, the lawyers and partners that make up its ranks have all proven to have the dedication and expertise necessary to efficiently and competently solve their clients’ problems. FLH’s attorneys pride themselves on their immediate responsiveness and open communication with clients, and the firm’s results speak for themselves.

Email: [email protected]
Web Address: www.flhlaw.com
Address: 745 Fifth Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10151
Telephone: +1 (212) 588-0800