Our Philosophy

David Cohen

• Congressional Investigations
• Legislation
• Software Licensing
• Government Contracts
• Litigation

"We approach complex transactions in a more sophisticated way today because we've been working with the technology sector for 15 years. In 1980, we were helping clients like Tymshare lay the foundation for future generations of information-driven businesses. Technology transactions are infinitely more complicated today. Issues that weren't even on the horizon when we started -- like disseminating software over the Internet -- now require novel and innovative contractual protections.

Although much has changed in the last 15 years, one thing has remained constant. As counsel to emerging technology companies, we stay focused on addressing cutting-edge business problems in creative and strategic ways.

"The ground rules for how the government buys and sells goods and services are constantly evolving. We want to help clients shape those ground rules as well as comply with them. By participating in the legislative process, our clients have been able to ensure a more competitive environment for procurement that anticipates future needs of the technology sector and reduces the cost of doing business with the federal government.

"The inventions and technology assets of many of our clients have been developed with government funding or support -- through cooperative research and development agreements or licenses of government-owned patents. Identifying a client's ownership interests or rights can be particularly complicated. Yet for the client, the imperative is quite clear. Get the deal one quickly, in a manner that protects our intellectual property interests worldwide and over the life of the technology. Companies have to turn on a dime when business opportunities arise. As their legal counsel, we have to respond just as quickly.

"A small team of lawyers can be extremely effective and efficient in litigation. We've successfully represented clients in intense litigation, with billions of dollars at stake, against much larger firms. We can be more creative about integrating the client's in-house resources with our own. We find ways of working with our clients as true partners. In-house lawyers work in our offices for extended periods. We use technology to coordinate work product and share documents electronically. We work creatively to strengthen our clients' cases and improve our understanding of their business needs."

Andrew Mohr

• Technology Transactions
• Business Counseling
• GSA Schedules
• Government Contracts
• Commercial Contracts

"I'm one of those guys who always needs to know exactly how things work, how all the pieces fit together. So helping clients unravel business problems involving interactive media or software is a challenge I enjoy. Structuring a legal framework that works in a business context. Finding the optimal interface between legal and business goals. I approach every deal as a complicated puzzle, in which there are any number of ways to put the pieces together effectively.

"High-tech companies -- those that are developing next generation technologies -- require a more creative approach to business partnerships and contractual agreements. Every deal we handle presents a unique set of technical requirements and competing business interests. Our ability to handle these complicated arrangements comes not just from having done many like them before, but also from knowing how to look at each one individually, identifying the opportunities and obstacles that are central to the deal and finding ways to create a structure or framework that works in that context.

"I'm as much a business consultant as a lawyer for my clients. In organizing a company's business interests, drafting an agreement, or evaluating new opportunities, we're inevitably going to talk about the factors influencing the legal decision. What is the deal worth? What are each party's negotiating strengths and weaknesses? What is the competition doing and why are they doing it? To advise a client on legal alternatives, you have to be able to factor in all of these variables and work with them intelligently to obtain a practical solution."

Victor Klingelhofer

• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Government Contracts
• Commercial Contracts
• Government Contracts
• Construction Contracts and Claims

"Law should be an adjunct to a company's business strategy -- not the other way around. My clients are in the business of selling products, not filing lawsuits. They're tired of the shoot-from-the-hip, high-decibel antics that typified the '80s. Instead of funding protracted litigation, companies want quick, fair resolution of disputes. As their lawyer, my business is finding legal positions that will help clients make sales. Litigation can be counterproductive to business goals unless its purpose is to enforce specific rights, protect intellectual property, or defend a company's good name. We have been successful over the years in resolving disputes outside the courtroom, and this is our first objective in every case." "Today more than ever, companies have to fight to preserve their trade secrets and other intellectual property. They need employment contracts and non-compete agreements that bind key employees, teaming agreements and other contracts that prevent business partners from misusing shared information, and copyright or similar protection for intangible assets. One of the firm's principal roles as counsel to innovative businesses has been to put these safeguards into place to protect proprietary information.

"We've watched libel and defamation issues take on increasing importance in business competition, with enormous implications for companies. In today's frenzied environment, some companies will say almost anything about the competitors. To close the deal, to get a sale, to protect their customer base, sales and other employees they will cross the line from selling their products to defaming the competition. While the damage from such statements can be costly and virtually impossible to overcome, we have been able to help clients defend against such acts by competitors and to help their own employees avoid crossing that line."

"We try to provide a quick read on the legal problems our clients encounter. When clients need a short answer, they get a short answer. When there's a bigger issue, we identify it. When a client's position is weak, we help evaluate alternative courses of action that may make sense of a given business objective."

Bill Savarino

• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Government Contracts
• Litigation
• Security Clearances

"There's a real satisfaction in working with clients who have an entrepreneurial spirit. I like the speed, the risk, the potential of great ideas. When I serve in a general counsel role to technology clients -- helping them develop and implement business strategies, secure financing, locate and acquire new companies or business lines, or handle day-to-day legal needs and disputes -- my focus is on providing pragmatic guidance in real time. I'm working with people who have vision. They need a framework that will open doors to success and protect against all downsides.

"Business disputes are inevitable for companies dealing with new technologies. You can't be a player if you aren't prepared to respond swiftly and effectively when disputes arise. I've devoted my career to achieving results within the technology sector. Whether defending the federal government in early litigation involving computers and computer services contracts, or, more recently, representing a large technology company in a dispute over a complex state welfare system developmental contract, I've found that the key to success lies in developing a sound strategy and knowing how to implement it.

"This is a transaction-driven economy. My clients are looking at growth strategies and exit strategies in quick succession. They've evaluation merger opportunities, acquisitions, and divestiture options. It is impossible to put together a transaction and bring it to successful closure if you don't understand the client's business, or if you can't make some predictions about future value based on competitive, demographic, and political conditions."

Russell Gaspar

• Litigation
• Employment and Discrimination Law
• Challenges to Federal Agency Actions
• Contract Disputes
• Business Torts

"The issues we deal with in the courtroom are technically sophisticated. We have a small window of time to educate a judge and jury about a complex set of facts. If we aren't comfortable with the technologies or competitive scenarios at stake, we aren't going to be persuasive. Multimedia can be particularly useful when you are trying to communicate an enormous amount of technical information to a jury. To present a compelling case and make a lasting impression, we try to use the best available medium -- whether sophisticated overlay drawings or CD-ROM presentations -- to reinforce the facts.

"Employment and partnership arrangements in the technology sector are particularly complicated because they affect the control of valuable intellectual property and trade secrets. In establishing executive incentives, drafting employment agreements, structuring collaborative partnerships, or terminating employees, the protection of proprietary information is imperative. The best way to prevent litigation is to make sure that every employment agreement and every partnering arrangement is well conceived, defensible, and thorough in protecting the client's competitive intellectual property and know-how.

"My litigation strategy begins with thorough preparation. I try to anticipate every possible contingency, every evidentiary problem that might arise. I know how I'm going to prove every fact, how each piece of evidence will be admitted, and what role each witness will play.

"Discrimination cases tend to be intractable and highly emotional. Employees who believe they have been discriminated against and employers who have been accused aren't quick to settle. We try to prevent employment issues from arising, rather than simply defending them once they've been filed. Our clients know that they can call upon us when they need to take immediate action that will impact on an employment relationship -- firing an employee for cause, implementing a reduction in force, preventing a departing employee from taking proprietary information to a competitor. Because we're accessible and can provide an immediate response when the need arises, most of our clients can prevent unnecessary workplace controversies."