mfrench@wargofrench.com		Download V-Card		Printer Friendly Page

Practice Areas: Mr. French litigates in the following areas: Complex Commercial Class Actions Intellectual Property and Patents Technology Litigation and Licensing Antitrust and Unfair Competition

Representative Matters:

• Defended major web hosting company in class action asserted under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Defeated plaintiff's motion for class action certification.
  
  
• Defended a Fortune 50 company in a multi-million dollar fraud and deceptive trade practices class action. Obtained a complete dismissal of all of plaintiffs' claims prior to any discovery or class certification.
  
  
• Represented a Fortune 50 company in connection with claims for computer theft and unfair competition arising from misuse of the Internet. Obtained a permanent injunction and a judgment against the defendant.
  
  
• Obtained judgment as a matter of law on Lanham Act and false advertising claims brought against a national publishing company during a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
  
  
• Defended a Fortune 50 company in a multi-million dollar fraud and breach of contract class action. Obtained a complete dismissal of all of plaintiff’s claims prior to class certification.
  
  
• Retained to represent major personal computer manufacturing company after a class action was conditionally certified against the client pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Partnered with existing counsel and took lead role in briefing and oral argument that resulted in decertification of the class.
  
  
• Defended a multinational company in a securities class action. Obtained a complete dismissal of all claims prior to class certification.
  
  
• Defended a life insurance company in a breach of contract class action. Obtained summary judgment with respect to all of plaintiff’s claims prior to class certification.
  
  
• Represented a clothing designer in various trademark infringement and unfair competition actions pending in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida. Obtained civil seizure orders and executed seizures along with United States Marshals in two trademark counterfeiting cases.
  
  
• Obtained a judgment after a bench trial against an international duty-free company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for trademark counterfeiting.
  
  
• Defended a chemical manufacturer in a class action brought by local residents arising from various chemical releases. Defeated motion for class certification and obtained voluntary dismissals of all of plaintiffs’ claims.
  
  
• Defended a major insurance company in a multi-million dollar fraud class action. Opened a default previously entered against the client and obtained summary judgment with respect to all of plaintiff’s claims.
  
  
• Represented a concrete formulator in a four week patent infringement trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Obtained a jury verdict in favor of the patent holder and a finding of willful infringement of two patents by the defendant.
  
  
• Represented the world’s largest carpet manufacturer in a patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia involving technology used to manufacture carpet tile.
  
  
• Served as national coordinating litigation counsel for a major carpet manufacturer in connection with its effort to withdraw from over 100 commercial leases across the country. Managed litigation arising from the client’s withdrawal from these leases.
  
  
• Defended an international web hosting company in a Fair Labor Standards Act class action. Obtained a dismissal, prior to class certification or discovery, of all of the claims asserted by plaintiff on behalf of the putative class.
  
  
• Defended a Fortune 50 company in a multi-million dollar Fair Labor Standards Act class action. Obtained summary judgment, after bifurcated discovery, with respect to all of the named plaintiff’s claims prior to class certification.
  

Education and Background:

• Duke University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina
  Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1990
  
  
• Duke Moot Court Board
  Finalist, Dean’s Cup Moot Court Competition
  
  
• Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
  B.S., Computer Science, cum laude, 1987
  B.S., Economics, cum laude, 1987

Professional Activities:

• Member of the State Bar of Georgia
  
  
• Admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Georgia Court of Appeals
  
  
• Member of the Intellectual Property Law and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association
  
  
• Member of the Editorial Board for the American Bar Association’s Trade Secret Handbook for Franchise and Distribution Companies
  
  
• Co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Subcommittee on Inevitable Disclosure of Trade Secrets (2004-2005)
  
  
• Co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Subcommittee on the use of Contracts to Protect Trade Secret Rights (2006-2007)
  
  
• Recognized as one of Georgia's "Super Lawyers" by Atlanta Magazine in 2005, 2006, and 2007
  
  
• Recognized as one of Georgia's "Legal Elite" in the area of Intellectual Property by Georgia Trend Magazine in 2006

Publications and Presentations:

• Faculty, National Business Institute Seminar, Trade Secrets and Employee Raiding in Georgia (November 2000)
  
  
• Faculty, National Business Institute Seminar, Litigating the Class Action Lawsuit in Georgia (July 2002)
  
  
• Co-author of the American Bar Association’s Trade Secret Handbook for Franchise and Distribution Companies
  
  
• Co-author of Electronic Data Risk Management: Use It or Lose It, Corp. Legal Times (May 1999)
  
  
• Faculty, Electronic Data Risk Management, Georgia CLE (October, 1999); Author, Trick or Treat: Will Your E-Mails and Litigation Databases Come Back to Haunt You in Court?, Georgia CLE (October 1999)

Published Decisions:

• Crumley v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., 554 F.Supp.2d 933 (D. Minn. 2008)
  
  
• Hagemeyer North Am., Inc. v. Gateway Data Sciences Corp., 222 F.R.d. 594 (E.D. Wis. 2004)
  
  
• Thomas v. Interland, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:02-CV-3175CC, 2003 WL 24065651 (N.D. Ga. August 25, 2003)
  
  
• Fields v. AOL Time Warner, Inc., 261 F. Supp. 2d 971 (W.D. Tenn. 2003)
  
  
• Lipscher v. LRP Publications, 266 F. 3d 1305 (11th Cir. 2001)
  
  
• Walker v. Shield Acquisition Corp., 145 F. Supp. 2d 1360 (N.D. Ga. 2001)
  
  
• Heslop v. UCB, Inc., 175 F. Supp. 2d 1310 (D. Kan. 2001)
  
  
• Belk, Inc. v. Warner Robins Zamias Ltd. Partnership, 251 Ga. App. 633, 555 S.E.2d 19 (2001)
  
  
• Cameron & Barkley Co. v. Fabreeka International, Inc., 144 F. Supp. 2d 1382 (M.D. Ga. 2001)
  
  
• Deerskin Trading Post, Inc. v. United Parcel Service of America, Inc., 972 F. Supp. 665 (N.D. Ga. 1997)
  
  
• Boynton v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 207 Ga. App. 756, 429 S.E.2d 304 (1993)

Civic Activities :

• Member of the Lawyer's Club of Atlanta
  
  
• Member of the Cobb County Bar Association
  
  
• Board Member, Health and Education Relief organization (HERO), Inc. a non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of education and health services delivered to impoverished communities in Haiti (www.herononprofit.org)