Berger Montague Announces Launch of Full-Service Intellectual Property Practice

Led by Renowned IP Litigator Alfred Zaher, Seven Senior-Level IP Lawyers Join Berger Montague with a Mission to Provide Premier IP Legal Services to Clients Worldwide

Philadelphia, PA / June 21, 2023 / Berger Montague is pleased to announce that effective today, it has added one of the leading intellectual property groups in the country to represent clients worldwide in all facets of intellectual property law. In doing so, Berger Montague, an award-winning national complex litigation firm, will fill a critical need in the marketplace for a full-service IP firm that can represent clients in all their IP legal needs on a cost-effective basis. The new practice area is opening with a group of seven senior IP lawyers plus staff, who have joined Berger Montague after leaving a large defense-side law firm in Philadelphia.

The head of the new IP Group is Alfred W. Zaher, and joining him are his longstanding colleagues, Shawn S. Li, Ph.D., Richard L. Moss, Patrick J. Farley, Ph.D., Aaron S. Haleva, Stephanie K. Benecchi, Maryellen Madden, and an accomplished staff.

In the current market environment, clients seeking top quality IP representation concerning patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, have often been limited to working with large firms that do not offer creative hybrid/contingent arrangements, reasonable hourly rates, or the opportunity to represent clients both as plaintiffs and defendants. By retaining Berger Montague for their IP legal needs, clients will benefit from more personalized, boutique, and bespoke service. Rather than be slowed down by red tape, Berger Montague’s IP practice will have autonomy to operate for clients with flexible and reasonable billing arrangements, while providing thoughtful, cutting-edge legal services. Berger Montague’s goal is to build out the IP practice by attracting the best and brightest IP lawyers who desire more autonomy and a better work environment and culture in which to serve clients.

As the group led by Alfred Zaher remains intact from their previous law firm, they have hit the ground running at Berger Montague with a large portfolio of clients and legal matters. The group focuses on patent, trade secret, and trademark prosecution involving healthcare, medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, among many other industries. For example, the group is currently engaged in patent litigation against C.R. Bard on behalf of Medical Components Inc., including allegations of infringement involving implantable port devices. With previous successes representing global manufacturers, including those in China, the group can support clients in the most complex intellectual property matters worldwide.

Berger Montague Chairman Eric L. Cramer stated, “We’re thrilled to be building out an intellectual property and patent infringement litigation practice at Berger Montague, and there isn’t a better group of attorneys than Alfred’s team to usher the firm into this area of law. The combination of our resources and litigation abilities, with the experience in complex IP work that this group of lawyers brings, will provide creativity, flexibility, and unparalleled service to our existing and new clients. We are committed to building one of the top IP boutique litigation firms in America, and this is a great start.”

This has been a record-breaking year of expansion for Berger Montague. In the past year, the firm has opened new offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and Toronto, and has hired many lawyers and staff. Berger Montague is helping more businesses and consumers than ever before and looks forward to continuing to shape the legal industry by pioneering new litigation strategies while delivering unequaled client service and successful outcomes.

The IP group at Berger Montague includes the following talented professionals:

Alfred W. Zaher focuses his practice on patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation, licensing, and counseling. He counsels companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electronics, and software industries. Mr. Zaher has a particular focus on managing clients’ patent and trademark portfolios in the United States, China, and worldwide, including securing and prosecuting infringers in both the U.S. and foreign countries. Mr. Zaher will also join Berger Montague’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task force. Mr. Zaher remarked, “Joining a premiere complex litigation law firm such as Berger Montague is an honor. I look forward to helping more U.S. and international businesses navigate patent infringement and other intellectual property matters. With Berger Montague’s support, I know we can continue to reinvent how IP legal services are delivered and ensure our clients receive the best services possible.”

Shawn S. Li, Ph.D. joins Berger Montague as Senior Counsel. Dr. Li has developed global protection strategies, drafted and prosecuted U.S. and international patent applications, prosecuted patent reexaminations, and negotiated and prepared complex licenses and related agreements. Relying on his education in the medical sciences, he provides counsel to clients in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical, medical device, and other technology-related industries. He also advises U.S. and multinational clients on issues related to protecting intellectual property in China, including patent, trademark, and trade secret enforcement actions, as well as cross-border technology transfers and joint ventures.

Richard L. Moss joins Berger Montague as Senior Counsel. Mr. Moss focuses his practice on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution matters in electrical, electromechanical, general mechanical, medical device, computer software, and process technology areas. Mr. Moss also represents clients in intellectual property litigation matters and post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as well as in business transactions involving intellectual property assets, including licensing and corporate due diligence matters. 

Patrick J. Farley, Ph.D. joins Berger Montague as Senior Counsel. He has more than 20 years of international experience in intellectual property law and concentrates his practice on all aspects of intellectual property, including patent drafting, patent prosecution, patent litigation, patent and trademark portfolio management, and licensing. Dr. Farley represents companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries with a particular focus on patent and trademark portfolios, agreements, and due diligence. He also served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of State’s BioIndustry Initiative Program.

Aaron S. Haleva joins Berger Montague as Senior Counsel. Mr. Haleva focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, as well as patent and trademark preparation and prosecution in various industries. These include healthcare, pharmaceuticals and immunology, chemical preparations and manufacturing, computing systems and architecture, digital technology and coding, memory devices and interfaces, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and complex data mining and decision-making algorithms. On the technical side, he has personally developed vision/image processing systems for autonomous robots, as well as analytical tools to process medical informatics, thus navigating the patenting and licensing arenas as both inventor and attorney.

Stephanie K. Benecchi joins Berger Montague as Senior Counsel. Ms. Benecchi focuses her practice on commercial litigation, including IP litigation. Her practice focuses on the healthcare sector, where she represents entities and individuals from health systems, medical practices, and medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, in conjunction with government investigations, including billing, labeling, and monitoring of medical devices, and pharmaceutical sales practices. Ms. Benecchi is a member of the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility committee for the Pennsylvania Bar Association and has devoted time to speaking and writing articles on legal ethics issues which have been published by the ABA Section of Litigation Ethics and Professionalism.

Maryellen Madden joins Berger Montague as Of Counsel. She brings a wealth of experience in complex litigation and commercial disputes, including those involving securities, corporate governance, real estate, commercial contracts, healthcare, and the sale and distribution of goods. Ms. Madden has led litigation—including complex, multidistrict litigation—in 22 states, as well as before domestic and international arbitration panels, administrative agencies, and industry self-regulatory organizations.

Berger Montague PC is a national law firm focusing on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. For 53 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in consequential, precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $36 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Toronto. Berger Montague encourages U.S. and international businesses and individuals to contact the firm for more information concerning representation in intellectual property matters, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and domain names.

Media Contacts:

Alfred Zaher, Chair, Intellectual Property Group

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 215.875.4625

Melania Stepanenko, Marketing Project Manager

Email: [email protected] 

Telephone: 860.634.7114

Meet The Team