NEWS AND EVENTS

Best Lawyers recognized three Friedland Cianfrani lawyers in its 32nd edition released on August 21, 2025. Best Lawyers named David Kim in "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" in Litigation-Patent, Matt Pham in "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" in Intellectual Property, and Michael Friedland in "Best Lawyers in America" in Litigation-Intellectual Property.

The firm is proud to welcome Steven Friedland as a litigation associate. Steven is a third-generation litigator.  He joins the firm immediately after completing his clerkship with the Hon. Gary Klausner of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.

Steven broadens the firm's already strong technical background with his computer science degree, and he compliments the firm's already commanding IP litigation capability with his recent federal clerkship and his prior IP litigation experience.  

"We couldn't wait for Steven to get here. He has great technical expertise, great IP litigation experience, and the broad exposure to every aspect of litigation that you can only get from a federal district court clerkship," Joe Cianfrani said.

He added: "We've already doubled in size this year -- Steven is our third new attorney since January. Although we're growing quickly, we want to make sure that we grow smoothly. It's much easier to do when we're hiring great lawyers that we already know."

Steven received his law degree from the University of Southern California in 2021, where he served as Executive Editor of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan in 2018.

Prior to his clerkship, Steven was a litigation associate with Knobbe Martens in its Irvine, California office.

Michael Friedland presented at the Orange County Bar Association's Deposition Workshop on Advanced Deposition Topics on August 6, 2025 with Ryan Fawaz of Katten Muchin. The panel focused on taking and defending expert depositions.

On July 23, 2025, Law360 published Michael Friedland's article, Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion.

"With a few decades of litigation practice, I've learned something that I missed in law school, and that many other law students likely miss as well: My job is rarely to argue.

"Arguing often makes adversaries defensive. It often challenges them to dig in — or become more aggressive in their positions. As a lawyer, my job is to convince an adversary to give my client what they want. That is, to persuade."

On June 30, 2025, Michael Friedland was quoted by Packaging Digest in its article, "Mondelez Sues Aldi for Copycat Packaging in Landmark Case."  Mondelez recently sued discount grocer Aldi alleging infringement of Mondelez' packaging for products such as Oreos and Chips Ahoy! 

“'If Mondelez continue[s] to tolerate private label makers mimicking their packaging, Mondelez will lose any argument that the packaging design has enforceable trade dress rights,' [Friedland] says, noting that trademark law requires brand owners to “police” the marketplace for companies that infringe on their trade dress. 'If the brands allow third parties to make widespread use of the copied packaging, the trade dress rights evaporate. And the longer a brand waits to enforce its rights, the weaker those rights become.'” 

On June 13, 2025, the Daily Journal featured Matt Pham's move to the firm. "Pham brings a dual background in engineering and law to his practice."  His engineering experience "sparked his interest in intellectual property."

On June 17, 2025, Law360 quoted David Kim and Michael Friedland in its article, "School's Out: Summer Reading Picks for IP Attorneys."

Kim recommended "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin. The book, "explores contrasting societal views on ownership and intellectual property, prompting critical examination of traditional IP incentives and the ethical implications of controlling knowledge," Kim said.

Friedland recommended "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk. "The book is the classic tale of the crew of a Navy ship attempting to manage an egotistical, erratic, insecure and largely incompetent captain," Friedland said. "Most large firm associates will identify with the crew — and will recognize the personality type of the captain."

The article can be viewed here.

On June 16, 2025, the Orange County Register noted IP litigator Matt Pham's move to the firm.

The firm is proud to welcome Matt Pham as a litigation associate. Matt brings his outstanding background as both an experienced intellectual property litigator and material sciences engineer. “Matt’s exactly the type of lawyer we want as our patent litigation practice continues to expand,” Michael Friedland said.  

Matt graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2021, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Illinois Business Law Journal. He received his B.A.S.c. with Honors in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2018. Before law school, Matt worked as an engineer for Mondelez International. Prior to joining the firm, Matt was a litigation associate with Knobbe Martens. For more details, visit here.

On June 9, 2025, David Kim was elected to the board of directors of the Orange County Korean American Bar Association.

The firm was proud to sponsor the Harvard Law School Alumni Breakfast at the International Trademark Association's Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Michael Friedland moderated a panel for the Harvard Law School Association on May 15 on the topic, "Career Transitions: Litigation to Mediation." The panel featured expert private mediators Jeff Kichaven and Richard M. Segal.

Michael Friedland spoke to the DRA annual convention on May 3 in Ventura on "AI and the Legal Industry: What's Changed, What's Changing, and What's Next."  The speech addressed the history and technical background of AI, the impact of the rapidly changing technology on the legal profession, quality concerns, and significant ethical implications.

Michael Friedland spoke at the LA Intellectual Property Law Association's Spring Seminar on May 2 in Laguna Beach, California as panelist on the topic, "Nice to Meet You, Your Honor: Approaching IP Cases When Appearing Before a New (or New to You) Judge."  The panel provided practical advice and behind-the-bench insight from judges and practitioners about appearing in all types of IP cases before new district and magistrate judges. It discussed best practices in patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret cases, with a focus on the likelihood of assignment to a new judge based on recent court changes (e.g., many new members of the bench, end of the patent program, and adoption of magistrate judge opt-out process). The panel featured the Hon. David O. Carter, the Hon. Fred W. Slaughter, and the Hon. Patricia A. Donahue, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and Nancy Olson of Olson Stein LLP.

Law.com quoted Michael Friedland in its April 16, 2025 article, "Demand for IP Work is Robust, but Rate Pressure Prompts Some to Flee Big Law." The article reported, "Friedland, who chaired the litigation practice at Knobbe Martens, said his move to form a new firm stemmed more from the camaraderie absent from Big Law that's more accessible within smaller, more intimate boutiques. ... 'We were just excited about the idea of being able to build a firm that was exactly the way we thought firms should be.'"

On April 10, 2025, Chambers and Partners named Friedland Cianfrani in its Spotlight Guide. Chambers stated, "Friedland Cianfrani LLP is highlighted for its expert IP litigation practice.  . . . The team expertly handles cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts."    

Per Chambers, "Spotlight specifically champions outstanding boutique and mid-size firms that deliver partner-level attention, deep regional knowledge, and cost-effective solutions for sophisticated legal work . . . firms that punch above their weight."

Nicole Townes spoke as part of a panel to the Orange County Intellectual Property Law Association on April 16 on the topic, "Building and Protecting a Strong Brand Identity." The panel also featured Sui Q. Duong of Pure Storage, Inc., Eunice Yu Moller of Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp., and Cheryl Withycombe of AbbVie Inc.

IP360 quoted Nicole Townes in its March 31 article, "Duke's 'White Lotus' Cameo Not Likely an IP Problem for HBO." The article addressed Duke's public criticism of the HBO show's use of Duke's trademark in a disturbing scene. Townes explained the obstacles that Duke would face if it were to bring a trademark claim under the Rogers test. The test considers, among other things, whether a creative work's use of a trademark is artistically relevant to the plot. "HBO would be able to pass pretty easily that showing of artistic relevance, given that it's so integral to the development of that particular character and his family," Nicole Rossi Townes of Friedland Cianfrani LLP told Law360.

On March 10, 2025, the Los Angeles Daily Journal profiled the firm in its March 10 article, "Better Together: Intellectual property litigators at Friedland Cianfrani say personal connection still matters." As quoted by the Daily Journal: "A lot of learning and collaboration and great ideas come when people are together, and I found when everyone during COVID was on Zoom, it didn't work quite as well," Cianfrani said. "I learned so much just in the hallways of our prior law firm, and we decided being in the office together is the way to get our best ideas and to have best collaboration among the team, and we were both pretty resolute on that one issue."