Niro Scavone Named One of the Top Intellectual Property Litigation Firms Third Year in a Row

For the past three years in a row, the Chicago intellectual property litigation firm of Niro, Scavone, Haller and Niro has been named by American Law Media, Inc., publisher of 24 award-winning legal publications nationwide, as one of the top IP litigation firms in the country.

CHICAGO, IL (PRWEB) August, 2003 -- For the past three years in a row, the Chicago intellectual property litigation firm of Niro, Scavone, Haller and Niro has been named by American Law Media, Inc., publisher of 24 award-winning legal publications nationwide, as one of the top IP litigation firms in the country.

Says Joe Hosteny, a partner in the nationally known firm: "We are very proud to have 'made the cut' in this prestigious survey. American Law Media's legal magazines are known as the intellectual property community's leading business publications. The fact that we have been recognized three years in a row is, indeed, an honor."

All three years' surveys rate the nation's IP litigation firms by how many cases they litigated in a given year, and each year, Niro Scavone has made the cut. What the surveys and accompanying articles do not mention is that, of all the firms cited in all 3 years, Niro, Scavone is the smallest, as well as one of the very few that does intellectual property litigation on a contingent fee basis.

Mr. Hosteny explains: "Of the 27 firms listed in the first year's survey, and the 41 listed both last year and this year, Niro, Scavone is the ONLY true "boutique" firm, with 25 attorneys. The others all have at least 3 times, and in some cases, up to 10 times that number. In fact, our firm is one of the smallest IP litigation firms in the country." Add to this the fact that several of Niro Scavone's settlements and verdicts in almost every year have been in the multi-million dollar range -- among the largest ever awarded to solo inventors -- and you can see why its partners are proud.

Another thing that makes Niro, Scavone, Haller and Niro so unique is the fact that they specialize in contingent fee IP litigation. Says Mr. Hosteny, "In the world of intellectual property, the 'little guy' is usually at a distinct disadvantage, since he or she doesn't have millions of dollars - like the 'big boys' - ? to spend on suing a person or company that infringes on his or her invention. With contingent fee litigation, things are different: the law firm takes a risk, and does NOT get paid unless there is a victory. This changes the picture significantly."

Among the firm's recent well-publicized contingent fee victories: F & G Scrolling Mouse v. Key Tronic Corp., No. C99-995C (W.D. Wash), $16.5 million; and Philip Jackson v. Glenayre Electronics, Inc., No. 02 C 0256, (N.D. Ill.), $12 million.

About Niro, Scavone, Haller and Niro

Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro is one of Chicago's foremost intellectual property litigation firms, and is ideally suited to handle problems in all areas of intellectual property law. As intellectual property litigation attorneys, they get a bird's eye view of what can go wrong when patents are not prosecuted properly, and licenses are not negotiated correctly from the beginning. This makes Niro Scavone's attorneys especially valuable to all their clients, including those with patent, license and trade secret matters in all stages, from prosecution and negotiation to litigation.

Niro Scavone has worked with clients from Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies, as well as with individual inventors, several of whom they represent on a contingency basis. They work equally hard for all their clients, for whom they have won excellent verdicts.

About Joseph N. Hosteny

Joseph N. Hosteny is an intellectual property attorney with the Chicago law firm of Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro. He is one of the few attorneys nationwide who is both a Registered Professional Engineer and a patent attorney. Before entering law school, Mr. Hosteny spent eight years in jobs as diverse as a patent agent for the Chicago Patent Group of the U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration (now the Department of Energy), a consulting engineer for Sargent and Lundy, and a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in the Submarine Service under Admiral Hyman Rickover, where he worked on a prototype of a nuclear powered submarine, and served on a submarine, the USS Sturgeon, SSN 637.

Mr. Hosteny was admitted to the bar in 1976, after receiving his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University, as well as graduating Summa Cum Laude from DePaul University Law School in Chicago. He is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is licensed to practice law in numerous states and courts, including the State of Illinois, the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, the Northern District of California, Eastern District of Virginia, Southern District of Texas, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of New York, District of Minnesota, Central District of California, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of Michigan, the Northern District of New York, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh and Federal Circuits.

Mr. Hosteny is also a member of several professional legal and engineering organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, Tau Beta Pi (the national engineering honor society), and Pi Tau Sigma (the national mechanical engineering honor society).

Mr. Hosteny's special love is litigation, and during his tenure from 1976 to 1983 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, he litigated over 50 criminal trials. In fact, he surmises that he has litigated more trials than almost any other patent attorney in the country.

Mr. Hosteny, who writes a monthly column for Intellectual Property Today, has also written articles for publications as diverse as "Corporate Counsel Magazine," "Litigation Magazine," "Assembly Engineering Magazine," "American Medical News" and "Inventors' Digest." In addition, he has been quoted in numerous other publications, including "Entrepreneur Magazine," and has spoken before many groups, including the Chicago Bar Association, several annual meetings of Packaging Strategies, and in classes at Northwestern University and John Marshall Law School.

Mr. Hosteny has two children, Joseph, Jr., an electrical and computer engineer from Carnegie Mellon University, and Laura, a graduate of Cornell University who is a marketing representative in the Chicago office of an international company. He and his wife Cathleen live in the Beverly section of Chicago.

Contact Information:

Media call Julia Schopick at 708-848-4788, or email her at JuliaS1573@aol.com

Contact Joe Hosteny at (312) 236-0733 or send e-mail to jhosteny@hosteny.com

To learn more about Joe Hosteny and Niro, Scavone, Haller and Niro, please visit http://www.hosteny.com

Media (for PHOTO of Mr. Hosteny): http://www.hosteny.com/media.html