Eight Flaster Greenberg Attorneys Recognized in 2022 “Best Lawyers in America”

Flaster Greenberg is proud to announce that eight of its attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

The nationwide list of attorneys included in the upcoming 28th edition is based on more than 4.3 million confidential and detailed evaluations from more than 41,000 leading attorneys on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. This year, Best Lawyers recognized Flaster Greenberg’s attorneys in 12 practice areas.

The attorneys selected to The Best Lawyers in America ® 2022, listed by practice area and alphabetically, are as follows:  

Michael J. Bonella is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and serves as a member of the firm's Board of Directors. His practice focuses on complex patent litigation in diverse technology areas including, electrical hardware and software, medical device, consumer products, and telecommunications. With over 24 years of intellectual property experience, he has argued before the Federal Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and first-chaired multimillion-dollar patent cases. He has also been the lead attorney on a number of district court litigations, representing both the plaintiffs and defendants and is well-versed in all aspects of district court litigation as well as post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A registered patent attorney, Bonella is also certified by the U.S. Navy as a nuclear engineer.  This is the eight consecutive year Bonella has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Patent and Intellectual Property Litigation.     

Thomas J. Durling is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and has more than 35 years of experience handling intellectual property and business development. A registered patent attorney and a former general counsel for a manufacturing business, he helps clients obtain and defend patents worldwide; performs patent validity and right to use studies for new and existing products; and negotiates and prepares business agreements across a wide range of industries and applications. This is the sixth consecutive year Durling has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Patent Law.   

Jonathan H. Ellis is a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates and Business & Corporate Departments. For more than 30 years, he has been assisting business owners, entrepreneurs, high-net worth individuals and their families in structuring their business affairs, estate planning and succession planning needs. He also concentrates his practice on elder law and the representation of closely-held businesses. An accountant by trade, Ellis has the unique ability to provide his clients with a well-rounded approach in regards to their tax and estate planning needs. This is the ninth consecutive year Ellis has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Trusts & Estates. 

Aaron R. Ettelman is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department focusing his practice on all aspects of intellectual property rights, including patent prosecution, counseling and opinions, due diligence, post-issuance proceedings, litigation and licensing. While Ettelman’s scientific background is rooted in chemistry, his practice has spanned the technological spectrum and has included work in areas ranging from liquid crystal display technology to pharmaceuticals, vitamins and dietary supplements to cosmetics to semiconductors and nonvolatile memory to mining and mineral extraction, and more. This is the fourth consecutive year Ettelman has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Patent Litigation.

Marty M. Judge is the immediate-past chair of the firm’s Environmental and Real Estate Departments and focuses his practice on all facets of environmental litigation, transactional issues, and compliance and counseling on behalf of industrial, commercial and residential clients, including real estate developers and redevelopers. Practicing mainly environmental law for over 35 years, and barred in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Judge is a former Deputy Attorney General who at one time represented the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Aside from work for clients, he has been Counsel to and is presently a member of the Executive Committee of the Justice Stewart G. Pollock Environmental Inn of Court. He is also a current member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Additionally, he is a member of the environmental committee of the New Jersey Builder’s Association and has published and spoken extensively on many environmental topics in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as nationally. This is the seventh consecutive year Judge has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” in the environmental arena.  He has also been recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” for Environmental Law in Cherry Hill, NJ in the 2022 Best Lawyers rankings.

Jordan A. LaVine is Co-Managing partner of Flaster Greenberg and immediate-past chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. He concentrates his practice on trademark, copyright and unfair competition strategic counseling, litigation, licensing, and prosecution matters. He represents public and private companies in such industries as media and publishing, technology and telecommunications, consumer products and services, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, financial services, automotive, automotive chemicals and accessories, retail and commercial services, apparel, jewelry, software, and food products. He has been named by the World Trademark Review as one of the top three attorneys in Pennsylvania for trademark prosecution, strategy, ranking in the World Trademark Review’s highest band (gold) for his work. This is the ninth consecutive year LaVine has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Trademark and Copyright Law.

Jay M. Levin is a member of the firm’s Insurance Counseling and Recovery Department focusing his practice on representing policyholders in disputes with insurance companies involving all types of insurance coverage.  With nearly forty years of experience litigating multi-million dollar property insurance coverage cases in both state and federal court, he also has assisted clients in successfully resolving eight and nine figure Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy cases without litigation, and successfully representing other policyholders in litigating Katrina and Sandy cases. Levin also represents financial institutions and other commercial policyholders in claims arising under fidelity and crime policies, including claims arising out of defaulted mortgages and employee embezzlement. He has also litigated significant professional liability and general liability coverage cases throughout his career.  This is the fifteenth consecutive year Levin has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Insurance Law.       

Steven D. Usdin is a member of the firm’s Bankruptcy, Financial Restructuring and Risk Management Department. He focuses his practice on commercial and personal bankruptcy, general corporate and transactional matters and commercial litigation. With more than 30 years of experience in the legal services industry, he has appeared on behalf of debtors, creditors and equity security holders’ committees, and secured creditors in a variety of proceedings at the Trial and Appellate levels in State and Federal Courts. This is the fourteenth consecutive year Usdin has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer in America” for Bankruptcy Litigation and Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He has also been recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” for Bankruptcy Litigation in Philadelphia, PA in the 2022 Best Lawyers rankings.