777 S. Figueroa St.
Ste. 3850
Los Angeles, CA 90017
,
Tel: +1 (213) 995 6800
Website: www.strismaher.com
Office Locations: Los Angeles (Headquarters), Montpelier, New York, Tallahassee
Stris & Maher is one of the nation’s premier trial and appellate boutiques. We handle complex, high-stakes, and high-profile business disputes in courts throughout the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Our diverse client-base includes leading companies and their executives, government agencies and states, and other law firms.
With fewer than 20 lawyers, every case that we touch receives the attention of an elite and carefully structured team. It shows. At trial, on dispositive motions, and on appeal, we have delivered results to our clients in their most important matters. In the last two years alone, we won a 9-figure trial, three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and more than a dozen appeals. We also resolved many cases in trial courts and arbitrations on dispositive motions or favorable settlement terms.
Our victories have earned us accolades typically reserved for the most elite large firms in the country. We were named to the National Law Journal’s elite Appellate Hot List in 2016 and again in 2018. We have been ranked by Chambers USA in two nationwide categories since 2017. And our lawyers have been individually recognized by Chambers USA, Law360, Benchmark Litigation, and other top publications.
Main Practice Areas:
U.S. Supreme Court & Appellate. We handle complex appeals in state and federal appellate courts nationwide. Our deep bench routinely represents clients at the Supreme Court’s petition and merits stages. Most recently, we prevailed 9-0 in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com, 139 S.Ct. 881 (U.S. 2019), a case that has been called the most important copyright decision of the year. We also represent clients in bet-the-company and other high-profile cases before lower appellate courts.
Complex Business Litigation. We provide sophisticated solutions to clients seeking to bring or defend complex business lawsuits, resolve disputes prior to litigation, or resuscitate failing cases. We bring our appellate chops to bear in matters involving cutting-edge legal questions. We also excel in cases that are factually complex or involve one of our core areas of expertise, such as ERISA or IP litigation.
Last Updated September 2019
California
Operating from a network of offices in a diverse array of locations including Los Angeles, New York, Tallahassee and Montpelier, Vermont, Stris & Maher focuses on litigation, including some novel varieties, at both the trial and appellate levels. Name partner Peter Stris is at the forefront of several of such matters. One found Stris at the Supreme Court, where he prevailed 9-0 in a case that resolved an entrenched circuit split on a question of statutory interpretation in copyright litigation concerning whether or not an infringement suit may be filed unless registration has been made. Stris persuaded the Supreme Court that the plain statutory text of the Copyright Act mandates that the registrar must act before suit may be filed. Stris also scored for Karen McDougal, who, months before the 2016 presidential election, was met with by representatives of the National Enquirer’s parent company AMI to pitch her a lucrative writing and fitness-modeling contract. She accepted their offer, agreeing to also sell them the rights to the story of her relationship with Donald Trump as part of the deal. Before long, the Enquirer’s parent made clear it really only wanted her silence. Stris filed suit on McDougal’s behalf and then conducted a media campaign that drove the national discourse for weeks, eventually leading AMI to yield to McDougal’s settlement demands. Stris has also been called upon to provide appellate counsel for toy company MGA in the latest installment of its decades-long legal battle with competitor Mattel in which the client is seeking more than a $1 billion in damages for trade secret misappropriation. Elizabeth Brannen, head of the firm’s intellectual property practice, has plied her trade in litigating patent matters in both in the in-house and private practice capacity.
California
Benchmark Rankings
Los Angeles/Century City/Irvine
Benchmark Rankings
Attorney | Ranking | Practice Area |
---|---|---|
Brannen, Elizabeth | Local Litigation Star | Intellectual Property |
Stris, Peter | Local Litigation Star | Antitrust, General Commercial, Intellectual Property |
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