Our Attorneys:Sean Kneafsey Michele Friend Andy Byrne Shaun Swiger

Sean M. Kneafsey is an intellectual property and business trial lawyer.  Mr. Kneafsey has obtained favorable judgments both in arbitration and at trial and has successfully prosecuted and defended temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in intellectual property matters.

Mr. Kneafsey's intellectual property experience includes litigating patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret matters.  He is a Past President of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Association and was previously on its Board of Directors for eight years.

Mr. Kneafsey's business experience includes litigating business and real estate purchase agreements, partnership and corporate disputes, and general breach of contract matters.  Mr. Kneafsey was formerly an adjunct professor of real estate law at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kneafsey was previously associated with the nationally recognized law firm of Hennigan Dorman LLP.  He maintains a close working relationship with the Hennigan firm, with whom he has acted as co-counsel on a wide variety of matters.

Mr. Kneafsey graduated cum laude from Santa Clara University School of Law where he was in the top 10% of his class. He was Managing Editor of the Santa Clara Law Review, member of the Moot Court Board, received several academic scholarships, and published the comment: The Fourth Amendment Rights Of Probationers: What Remains After Waiving Their Right To Be Free From Unreasonable Searches And Seizures?, 35 Santa Clara L. Rev. 1237 (1995).

HONORS:

• Southern California Super Lawyer Rising Star 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• All state and federal courts in California.
• Admitted pro hac vice to the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Texas, and District of Minnesota.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

• Past President, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Federal Circuit Bar Association
• Past President, Irish American Bar Association
• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Real Estate Section
• Past Member of Board of Directors, Santa Clara School of Law Alumni Association

NOTABLE CASES:

• Obtained a 20 year injunction and damages for trade secret misappropriation.
• Obtained a permanent injunction for patent infringement on behalf of Nike corporation.
• Obtained a permanent injunction for copyright infringement on behalf of jewelry manufacturer and designer.
• Obtained a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction for trade secret misappropriation of a customer list.
• Obtained $1.1 million judgment for breach of contract and alter ego liability.
• Obtained $800,000 judgment for breach of contract and alter ego liability.
• Successfully prosecuted patent and trademark infringement action on behalf of multimedia corporation.
• Counsel in Trimed Inc., v. Stryker Corporation, 608 F.3d 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2010), in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's granting of a motion for summary judgment for patent invalidity.
• Successfully represented business in a FINRA arbitration involving a complicated hedging transaction used in the sale of the business to a publicly traded company.
• Successfully defended an unfair competition and trade secret action against one of the world's largest independent distributor of inductive components.
• Obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial involving a real estate dispute.
• Obtained an over one half million dollar judgment, including punitive damages, in a hotly contested partnership dispute that included successfully defending a $1.1 million counter claim.
• Successfully represented numerous insurance policyholders as cumis counsel on property damage, tort liability, and intellectual property claims.
• Successfully prosecuted and defended multiple lease disputes on behalf of both landlords and tenants.