Mark Willard chairs the firm's Technology Committee and is a member of the firm's Budget & Finance Committee. He formerly served on the firm's Executive Committee and for many years served as Chairman of the firm's Hiring Committee. Mark focuses his practice on civil litigation and arbitration matters, where he has an extensive background in complex commercial litigation, multidistrict litigation, class action litigation, technology litigation, patent, trademark and copyright infringement litigation, corporate governance litigation, directors and officers liability litigation, derivative shareholder litigation and securities fraud litigation. Additionally, Mark is certified as an arbitrator and E-Discovery Special Master by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Representative Matters
· Provided general commercial transactional counseling;
· Handled securities fraud class action and derivative shareholder litigation, insurance coverage litigation, intellectual property litigation, environmental litigation, product liability litigation, business tort and unfair competition litigation, defamation litigation and commercial arbitration and mediation and electronic discovery;
· Served as general outside counsel to privately held companies providing legal advice on a broad range of commercial law matters;
· Defended patent false marking cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas;
· Defended employers in connection with theft of trade secrets including actions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act;
· Represented both patentees and accused patent infringers in litigation across the United States;
· Represents major securities rating agencies in connection with securities fraud actions involving mortgage backed securities.
Professional Affiliations
Allegheny County Bar Association, Practice Lecturer, as well as a member of the Opportunities for Minorities in the Legal Profession Committee and Technology Utilization Committee
Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Faculty member, National Institute for Trial Advocacy
Chairman, Lex Mundi E-Commerce, Privacy, Outsourcing and Technology Practice Group, Member of the Lex Mundi College of Mediators and Chairman of the Lex Mundi Law Firm Technology Committee
Member, American Arbitration Association Commercial Arbitration Panel
Certified in electronic discovery by Lexis/Nexis Applied Discovery
Special Recognition
Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Articles/Speeches/Presentations
· "E-Discovery in Complex cases in Federal Court" and "E-Discovery in Complex and Injunctive Relief cases in Common Pleas Court," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute/ Allegheny County Bar Association Legal Technology and E-Discovery Committee E-Discovery Symposium, April 2012.
· "Alternative Dispute Resolution," co-presented at Eckert Seamans' Continuing Legal Education Seminar, August 2011.
· "New Judicial Guidance on the Nuts and Bolts of E-Discovery, " February 2011.
· "Navigating the Logistics of E-Discovery," The Legal Intelligencer, February 2008.
· "Digital Information Management," presented at Eckert Seamans' annual CLE program, August 2007.
· "Ethical Considerations in Retention and Production of Evidence," continuing legal education program, May 2007.
· "Document Retention Strategies," continuing legal education program, May 2007.
· "What You Don't Know About Electronic Discovery Can Hurt," The Legal Intelligencer, January 2007.
· "Plaintiffs Face New Hurdles In Securities Fraud Litigation," client alert, March 2006.
· "Document Retention Strategies for Healthcare Organizations," continuing legal education program, February 2006.
· "Electronic Discovery: Preserving and Producing Electronic Information. Are You Ready?" continuing legal education program, August 2005.
· "A Good Document Retention Policy Can Lower Litigation Costs," client alert, January 2005.
· "The Need For A Document Retention Policy," client alert, January 2005.
· "Private Sector: Virtual Documents," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 2004.
· "Lawyers Mobilize for the November Election," quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 2004.
· "Deletion Deliberations," Smart Business Magazine, September 2004.
· "The Duty To Preserve And Collect Electronic Evidence," client alert, August 2004.
· "Primer On E-Discovery for Litigators," The Lawyers Journal, July 2004.
Quoted
· "New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers," quoted, The Wall Street Journal, August 2010.