Gregory Diskant is a senior litigation partner at Patterson Belknap, where he served as chair from 1997-2007. As part of his active trial practice, Mr. Diskant regularly tries cases in federal and state courts and before arbitration panels, focusing on complex commercial, securities and intellectual property litigation. He has secured billions of dollars in judgments and settlements for his clients, with multiple verdicts greater than $100 million. In jury trials around the country, Mr. Diskant has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants. Two of his jury victories for plaintiffs were cited as major plaintiff's verdicts of the year; two of his jury wins for defendants were cited as major defendant's verdicts of the year. In February 2010, he obtained a settlement in a series of patent cases of $1.7 billion, the largest patent settlement ever. In April 2011, he obtained a multi-billion settlement resolving distribution rights to a pharmaceutical.
Prior to joining Patterson Belknap Mr. Diskant served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1976-1980 and Chief Appellate Attorney in 1980. He also served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court of the United States and the Hon. J. Skelly Wright, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Representative Matters
Licensing/Contract Disputes
Handled a variety of contract and licensing disputes, including successfully pursuing through both preliminary injunction and two prolonged trials a major pharmaceutical company's rights to a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical, winning $164 million damage award in 1991 and $152 million damage award in 1998; as defendant in 2002, defeated effort to terminate multi-billion dollar licensing contract. Most recently, in April 2011, he obtained a settlement valued at over $3 billion resolving distribution rights to a blockbuster arthritis drug.
Patent
Tried numerous complex patent cases, focusing on medical devices and pharmaceuticals. As plaintiff, won jury verdicts of $271 million and $324 million (both cited by The National Law Journal as among the major plaintiff's verdicts of the year 2000) and arbitration award of $425 million (in 2003). As defendant, won jury verdict (in 2001) allowing client to continue selling state-of-the-art coronary stent device; 1994 jury victory was cited by The National Law Journal as one of the major defense verdicts of the year. The series of stent cases resulted in recoveries totalling $3.7 billion.
Securities Fraud
Handled a variety of securities fraud and related matters, including a leading provider of travel and real estate services that obtained a $298.5 million settlement in 2007 from a major accounting firm; has also defended shareholder class actions brought against savings and commercial banks, a major underwriter, a savings bank and the former chairman of a major broadcasting company; prosecuted on behalf of a major bank fraud charges against a major accounting firm.
False Advertising/Unfair Competition
Participated both as plaintiff and defendant in numerous false advertising cases, including successfully defending a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company from a comprehensive attack on its advertising in a case the District Court called “the largest and most complex false advertising case ever tried."
Libel
Successfully defended Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in a three month jury trial labeled by the ABA Journal one of the "Major Defense Verdicts of 1988;" handled libel and slander cases for other major media companies.
Copyright & Trademark Infringement
Multiple trademark and copyright cases, including successfully defending publisher’s right to publish parody of Cliffs’ Notes using Cliffs’ trademarks; defending the right of a magazine to print an unpublished letter by a well-known writer; defending a publisher against claimed unauthorized publication of Marilyn Monroe photographs.
Investigations
Participated in a variety of public and private investigations, including the investigation of a New York City official, at the request of the Mayor of the City of New York, and the investigation of the murder of four American churchwomen in El Salvador, at the request of the Secretary of State.