Creative Representation | Expert Litigation

Bartko’s Patrick M. Ryan Named Top 100 Lawyer

September 15, 2023

San Francisco, CAPatrick M. Ryan—Bartko’s Co-Managing Partner, head of litigation, and Chair of its Antitrust and IP and Brand Protection groups, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee—was selected by the California Daily Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California” for 2023.

The Daily Journal highlighted the fact that Patrick handles major complex cases on behalf of both Defendants and Plaintiffs, including his role in the Sutter antitrust trial that resulted in a 9-0 defense jury verdict for Sutter in a case seeking more than $1.3 Billion. The Daily Journal also highlighted his recent plaintiff-side work on Laatz v. Zazzle, where he represents a leading graphic designer who created the popular “Blooming Elegant” trio of fonts. Laatz’s complaint alleges that Zazzle misappropriated her fonts when it instructed an engineer to obtain a single-user license for the fonts in his own name and loaded the software onto its server so that millions of customers could use the fonts without permission and without any compensation to Laatz. The Court rejected Zazzle’s motion to dismiss the second amended complaint entirely. The Daily Journal also highlighted Patrick’s victory in a major antitrust case on behalf of plaintiffs earlier this year in VHS Liquidating Trust, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Ass’n, et al. when the court rejected the defendants’ second demurrer and motion to strike, allowing the case to proceed and plaintiffs to continue to seek damages of more that $100 million.

Read the Daily Journal Top 100 Lawyers article (PDF).

About Bartko LLP

Bartko, established more than 45 years ago, is a boutique law firm specializing in national and international complex litigation and investigations, as well as real estate and franchising transactions. It is a 45+ lawyer firm dedicated to strategic cutting-edge representation of clients in California, nationally, and internationally. Bartko’s practice areas include representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex business, intellectual property, antitrust and competition claims, trade secret litigation, anticounterfeiting, complex employment litigation, employment/labor strategic advice and collective bargaining, and real estate litigation, among others.

Contact: Patrick M. Ryan | pryan@bartkolaw.com | 415.291.4540