Flaster Greenberg Continues IP Growth With New Shareholder

Flaster Greenberg PC expanded its intellectual property practice by adding an attorney with more than 20 years of patent experience, part of the firm's goal to become a full-service platform for IP services.

According to Law360 Pulse reporter James Boyle, Aaron Ettelman joined Flaster Greenberg last week as a shareholder in the intellectual property department and member of the patent practice. He is based in the firm's offices in the Philadelphia suburbs and part of an IP and patent team that has been actively growing since early 2020. Ettelman told Law360 Pulse on Thursday that he started talking to Flaster Greenberg's co-managing shareholder Jordan LaVine a few months ago about becoming part of the expansion.

"Jordan and I have known each other for close to 25 years," Ettelman said. "I welcomed the opportunity to join a more regional firm with local roots, become part of a growing IP practice and reunite with a good friend. The people, the clientele, the culture, everything was a good fit."

According to the publication, Flaster Greenberg's push in the IP practice industry kicked off in January 2020 when eight attorneys and three paralegals joined the firm from Condo Roccio Koptiw LLP, a boutique Philadelphia firm. In February, Mark R. Luderer was added as of counsel to Flaster Greenberg's IP department and works out of the Philadelphia office. 

"I've dealt with pretty much anything with a chemical background," Ettelman said. "I've been involved with semiconductors, liquid crystal displays, material science manufacturing and operation, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics. Basically, if a product is made out of something from the periodic table, I've dealt with it."

Ettelman said his experience covers all aspects of the patent process and IP litigation, including procurement of patent rights and appearing before federal and state courts to defend trade secrets.

LaVine told Law360 Pulse that Ettelman's extensive background made him an important part of Flaster Greenberg's strategy for its IP practice growth.

"It has been our intent to create at Flaster Greenberg a full-service group," LaVine said. "Aaron joining us is a significant part of that goal. He has some really varied experience, especially with chemical patents. We are excited to bring that experience to bear for existing clients and market the firm to new clients."

The article goes on to highlight the fact that Flaster Greenberg's push in the IP practice industry kicked off in January 2020 when eight attorneys and three paralegals joined the firm from Condo Roccio Koptiw LLP, a boutique Philadelphia firm. In February, Mark R. Luderer was added as of counsel to Flaster Greenberg's IP department and works out of the Philadelphia office. 

With the recent addition of Ettelman, the IP department has 16 attorneys, with 12 of those attorneys also patent lawyers. Expertise covers a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, electrical devices, software, medical device, pharmaceutical and manufacturing. LaVine said the firm's size coupled with the quality of its attorneys has helped national and international clients looking for a full menu of services.

"Our client base has found out they can get quality service from excellent lawyers at our more competitive hourly rate than at larger, global firms with all the overhead that comes with that size," LaVine said. "Those larger companies are keen to conserve their resources whenever they can."