Local firm's lawsuit vs Apple causes big headaches for Morgan Lewis

Tom Paine

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A little over a year ago, I posted about a lawsuit filed by FlatWorld Interactives LLC, a Villanova-based firm founded by U of Arts Professor Dr. Slavko Milekic against Apple, claiming it violated at least one patent he was awarded related to touch screen technology. The lawsuit was dismissed by many observers at the time of being typical "patent troll" behavior. The FlatWorld lawsuit claimed that virtually every Apple device incorporating touch screen technology violated its patent(s).

Although FlatWorld made some small efforts at commercialization, they didn't seem to get very far.

Ars Technica revealed in an article by Joe Mullin published last week that John McAleese, an attorney (as of know, formerly) with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which does considerable IP work for Apple, controlled 35% of FlatWorld and played a key role in initiating the legal action. My report from last year had identified his wife, Jennifer Wilson McAleese, as a partner in FlatWorld, but did not make the connection to her husband. John McAlesse was an environmental law litigator at Morgan Lewis, not typically involved in technology patent issues.

John McAleese claims that he did not dip into proprietary, confidential data that Morgan Lewis maintained for Apple, but Apple disputes that, and is arguing that the Seattle law firm the McAleeses used to file the suit, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, be removed from the case since it is now tainted by alleged access to privileged information obtained through Mr. McAleese at Morgan Lewis.

Beyond the scope of the case itself and its potential impact on Morgan Lewis' important relationship with Apple in the future, the situation may also raise broader issues about controls at Morgan Lewis regarding client confidentiality and potential conflicts of interest.

Ars Technica provides much more detail on the story.




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