I. Name, position, length of time with firm (and last firm).
II. Interview questions:
1. KB: What does quality mean to you?
LB: Do the best job you can at a reasonable price. You can go overboard and work a case to death. Proofread (your work) carefully – judges and clients hate spelling mistakes.
KB: How does your firm compete on the level of quality?
LB: The firm has an excellent worldwide reputation for quality.
KB Note: Greenberg Traurig’s teams of lawyers strive to establish GT as a premier international firm and build on its reputation as a leading law firm. According to their website at www.gtconsulting.com, GT “uses Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) strategies to resolve most disputes. ADR refers to a broad range of strategies and techniques for resolving and avoiding disputes, separate from traditional methods. ADR methods include mediation, arbitration, and internal and neutral claim evaluations.”
GT also states that they use ADR to assist companies in handling even complex claims and disputes with a non-adversarial approach. ADR Strategies were created “to assist companies by designing and administering tailored programs that will resolve mass claims and recurring disputes in a cost-effective, timely manner while maintaining customer relations and their business reputation.”
Also on GT’s website, they state that ADR Programs Provide:
- Easy, efficient and predictable administration.
- Clear and easily applied guidelines.
- Strategies for efficiencies.
- Realistic projections of time frames and costs.
- Quality assurance of evaluators and neutrals through careful selection, intensive training, and monitoring of performance.
- Broad customer acceptance by providing a fair review and meaningful solutions and relief.
- Customer communications that are effective and enhance customer relations.
- The Benefits of ADR Strategies
- Resolves large numbers of claims and recurring disputes efficiently and economically.
- Avoids the uncertainty of the judicial system and the expenditure of large amounts of time, money and resources that are part of traditional litigation.
- Provides experience in areas in which in-house counsel may lack experience and time.
- Fosters customer relations, rather than fueling the hostile relationship that often arises in the adversarial environment of litigation.
3. KB: Could you describe your education and it’s relationship to your success?
LB: Obviously, a law degree is critical to being a lawyer, but I also have an engineering degree which helped me get into the patent field even before I became a lawyer.
KB Note: Lou has a Juris Doctorate degree from the Catholic University of America School of Law, 1966, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Mechanical Arts, Newark College of Engineering, 1961.
4. KB: You’ve described the importance of education to your success. Could you now briefly describe your career path chronologically?
LB: B.S.M.E. in 1962, J.D. in Law in 1966, then I joined the U.S. Patent Office in 1962 as an examiner right out of engineering school. After I received my law degree I joined Shell Oil in San Francisco in 1966 (I was there for four years). I then went to Los Angeles and joined a private law firm in 1972 - Poms, Smith, Lande, and Rose. Poms, Smith, Lande, and Rose merged with Oppenheimer Wolff and Donnelly (OWD) in 1990 and OWD closed their California operations in 2003. I moved to Greenberg Traurig in April of 2003.
5. KB: Which career assignment contributed most to your development as a patent attorney?
LB: Obviously, that would have been going to the U.S. Patent Office as an examiner with a technical degree. I realized if I wanted to move up career-wise in the patent office that I had to have a law degree.
6. KB: Can you cite an individual who has been particularly influential in your development? (i.e. work, family, school)
LB: My mother. She pushed all of the boys ((not the girls) I have two sisters and four brothers) to go to college.
7. KB: Have you ever experienced a major setback, obstacle, or significant adversity in your career?
LB: Closing the Los Angeles office at OWD after being in, essentially, the same place for 30 years.
8. KB: How do you stay abreast of developments in your field/area of expertise?
LB: Continuing my education. A MCLE is required in California for all lawyers. Also, my fellow attorneys keep each other abreast by email of new developments and cases.
KB Note: The MCLE is ‘Minimum Continuing Legal Education,’ licensing by the State Bar of California.
9. KB: What do you feel are the most important qualities of leaders?
LB: Respect, Consistency, Fairness, and Knowledge.
10. KB: If you had to do it all again, would you do it differently?
LB: No, I have been very lucky career-wise.
11. KB: What advice do you give to people early in their careers?
LB: Listen to the advice of those above you; those who have advanced further in their careers. Look at what a client looks for in a lawyer. For example, a pet peeve of clients is that their lawyers do not return phone calls, so I return all calls immediately.
12. KB: It’s been said that anyone who consistently puts in 70-plus hours per week is either incompetent or unable to delegate. Do you agree?
LB: No. In our practice, it is not unusual to work long hours. For myself, 40 hours is enough. It really depends on what you are doing. Litigation may involve 70 hours or more.
13. KB: How do you maintain a balance between your professional and personal life?
LB: Never work nights or weekends, and don’t take work home unless you are working at home (I try to do that one day a week).
14. KB: Any other insight or comments you would like to offer?
LB: Just know that there are a lot of good books on leadership and management that encompass quality and customer service.
Lou Bovasso’s Biography:
Louis Bovasso counsels and litigates a broad range of intellectual property matters focusing his practice on obtaining, enforcing and licensing both U.S. and foreign patents and trademarks. Previously, Louis served as an examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in mechanical arts and was employed for four years as a patent attorney with Shell Oil Co. in San Francisco.
Areas of Experience
- Patents
- Trademarks
- Intellectual property litigation
Significant Representations
- Successfully obtained a motion for summary judgment against a client charged with patent mismarking. Resulted in a reported leading case in that area.
- Represented small inventors in successfully selling products to large companies and have obtained many patents in the aircraft industry.
- Successfully stopped infringement on a cruise ship client's name both in the U.S. and abroad.
Professional and Community Involvement
- Past President, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, Board of Directors, California Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
- Century City Bar Association
- Member, Board of Directors
- Co-chair, Patents, Trademarks and Copyright Committee
- Editor, Century City Lawyer
- Executive Editor, Journal of the Century City Bar Association
- Editor, International Bulletin, International Committee of the U.S. Trademark Association
- Editor, New Matter, State Bar of California’s Intellectual Property Section
- Member, Editorial Board, Trademark Reporter
- International Trademark Association
- Member, Editorial Board
- Member, Bulletin Editorial Board Subcommittee
- Co-editor, R & D Strategist (an Auerbach nation-wide publication), 1990; 1991
Articles, Publications
- Author of numerous articles on trademark law in Trademark World Magazine
Education
- J.D., Catholic University of America School of Law, 1966
- B.S.M.E., Mechanical Arts, Newark College of Engineering, 1961
Admitted to Practice
- California
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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Greenberg Traurig Press Release:
Leading Intellectual Property Attorney Joins Greenberg Traurig LLP in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA -- May 9, 2003 -- The international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP today announced Louis J. Bovasso has joined the firm as a Shareholder in the Intellectual Property practice in its Los Angeles office.
Bovasso counsels and litigates a broad range of intellectual property matters focusing his practice on obtaining, enforcing and licensing U.S. and foreign patents and trademarks. Previously, Bovasso served as an examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in mechanical arts and was employed for four years as a patent attorney with Shell Oil Co. in San Francisco. Bovasso holds a law degree from the Catholic University of America School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Newark College of Engineering.
Bovasso is on the board of governors of the Century City Bar Association, and co-chair of the Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights Section. He is past president of both the Century City Bar Association and the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association (LAIPLA). He is a member of the International Trademark Association and an editor on the editorial board of its Trademark Reporter. Bovasso also serves as editor of Century City Lawyer and is a past editor of New Matter, published by the State Bar of California’s Intellectual Property Section, of which he is a past member of the board of directors.
"Louis’ experience complements and builds on the experience of the diverse Intellectual Property Group we have built in the Los Angeles office," said Richard F. Davis, Los Angeles Managing Shareholder. |
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Related Reports:
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS by Stephen Van Drake in South Florida’s The Business Journal, from the October 26, 2001 edition: CEO at Greenberg Traurig honored for firm diversity
“Diversity is the right thing to do, but it's also a winning business strategy.” That's the mantra, message and model of Cesar Alvarez who is gaining recognition and awards as he leads 800-lawyer Greenberg Traurig. The excerpt also states that Greenberg Traurig was ranked number 1 for employing the highest number of Hispanic lawyers nationally.
Lawyer Cesar Alvarez was named lawyer of the year and stated: "It's personally gratifying to be recognized for this," he said. "I have fought all my life and want to make sure that all minorities make it to the top not just bringing them into the firm or profession, but making sure they have the opportunity to reach every level of the firm." He eschews tokenism and wants his lawyers to be role models for young people, who need to be convinced, "I can do it; I can get there because other people have done it." Clients care, too. Diversity also remains vital to many of the firm's clients, he said.
