Contact:
Jennifer R. Rupkey
Director, Client Development
Direct Dial: 414.225.8262
E-Mail: jrrupkey@michaelbest.com
Madison, WI (November 4, 2009) – The law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is pleased to welcome two new attorneys to the firm’s Madison office. Paul A. Jones and Jonathan M. Fritz have joined the firm’s Venture Best and Intellectual Property Groups, focusing their practices on high impact entrepreneurial ventures, venture capital and related intellectual property matters.
Paul A. Jones joins Michael Best’s Business and Venture Best Practices. Jones has extensive experience with early stage information technology and life science-based start ups and venture capital investments. Jones began his legal career in Silicon Valley in 1985, before moving to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park region in 1990, where in addition to practicing law, he was a serial venture capital-backed entrepreneur and angel investor, and later general partner of a $26 million early stage venture capital fund. Jones returned to Wisconsin in 2003 and has been active as a consultant and angel investor for Wisconsin-based technology ventures. In 2006, he co-founded the Council for Innovation, in which he is still active, and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Propel Wisconsin Innovation. He is the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh College of Business. Jones received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and his MBA, with distinction, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jonathan M. Fritz joins Michael Best as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property, Life Sciences and Venture BestSM Practices. He has a vast background in life sciences and information technology and holds a Masters Degree from Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Bioinformatics. Fritz’s practice encompasses all aspects of intellectual property law, with a focus on patent prosecution in the areas of life sciences and information technology. He has provided counsel to independent inventors and Fortune 500 companies on patent issues including right to practice, invalidity, patentability, and noninfringement. Fritz received his J.D. from Hamline University School of Law and is the President-Elect of the Wisconsin Intellectual Property Law Association.
About Michael Best’s Venture Best Group
Michael Best’s Venture Best Practice Group represents start-up and emerging companies and their investors in biotechnology, information technology and software, medical device, electronics, and other high-technology sectors. This practice allows Michael Best to introduce venture capital and private equity investors to early-stage and mid-stage investment opportunities, benefiting our clients and investors who work with us.
About Michael Best’s IP Practice
Michael Best has long been committed to the pursuit and protection of our clients’ intellectual property rights. With more than 80 members and more than a century of successes, our Intellectual Property Practice Group is recognized nationwide for providing exceptional guidance and representation to IP clients. The IP group works closely with our Life Sciences attorneys who serve the diverse needs of the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and biomedical device industries. We assist our clients in achieving their business goals and objectives by providing broad, cost-effective intellectual property counseling and portfolio management services.
About Michael Best
Founded in 1848, Michael Best has earned its reputation as a leading Midwestern law firm. The firm has more than 230 attorneys in Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha and Manitowoc, Wisconsin; and Chicago, Illinois. The firm provides a full range of legal services to clients on a local, regional, national and global basis in areas including: general corporate, health care, labor & employment, land & resources (environmental and real estate), litigation, intellectual property, tax, and wealth planning services.
Michael Best is the exclusive member firm for Wisconsin of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. Lex Mundi members are present in more than 160 countries, states and provinces, covering virtually every business market worldwide. Our firm’s membership in Lex Mundi provides us with global reach and access to legal resources that enhance our ability to serve our clients’ needs around the world. Lex Mundi is the mark of excellence for legal services globally. (http://www.lexmundi.com)
The firm is also a member of the China Alliance. The China Alliance is a unique arrangement established by four leading independent law firms in response to the increasing importance of China to the global marketplace and to North American businesses. Visit china-alliance.com for more information.
