Josh Lawler’s practice focuses primarily on corporate and intellectual property transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint venture transactions, technology and media licensing transactions, corporate and securities law and general corporate/transactional counsel services.  Mr. Lawler provides not just legal advice, but practical solutions to real world problems. 

Prior to joining Zuber & Taillieu LLP, Mr. Lawler practiced as a corporate attorney in the Los Angeles office of the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meaghar & Flom LLP.  Mr. Lawler lives in Hollywood, California, and offices primarily in Los Angeles, California.

Areas of Expertise and Representative Transactions

Business, Corporate Law: Mr. Lawler has extensive experience with corporate/commercial law, including all aspects of business formation and operation, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture transactions, strategic partnerships, buy-sell agreements and other similar agreements, as well as agreements that clients require for their continuing operations. Representative engagements include a $130 million acquisition by a U.S. company of a European Union company; a $110 million high yield note transaction to finance the expansion of one of the world’s most famous hotels; a $100 million initial public offering for a technology company; a $250 million leveraged acquisition of a manufacturing company involving tranches of bank debt and derivative debt securities; as well as a variety of transactions as small as $1 million.  Mr. Lawler strives to deliver value by providing services appropriate to the size and type of transaction.

Technology/Media/Entertainment Law: Mr. Lawler represents clients in development, purchase, licensing, publishing and other related intellectual property transactions.  Mr. Lawler’s experience encompasses a large array of trademark, copyright and patent oriented transactions.  Representative transactions include: the sale of a popular celebrity blog to a major aggregator of content; representing a world renowned religious music star in a joint venture with an established Christian media company to form and operate an e-commerce platform; representing a game developer in several multimillion dollar development agreements with multiple publically listed video game companies; negotiating several software as a service (SaaS) licenses on behalf of a fortune 100 company, and advising a client in the commercialization of their proprietary high throughput DNA screening technology.  Mr. Lawler also serves on the Board of Advisors and as pro-bono counsel for Immersive Tech, a nonprofit corporation committed to supporting the development and adoption of immersive technology.

Health Care Law: Mr. Lawler has counseled large public medical device companies in investments into, joint ventures with, and acquisitions of, industry target companies; and represented medical device and healthcare oriented companies in a variety of transactions including licensing of intellectual property, company finance and management agreements.  Representative transactions include: a series of equity purchase and joint venture transactions (many with licensing components) by a public medial device company to develop and commercialize cardiac/vascular ablation technology; the license by a pharmaceutical company from a public university of rights to development and commercialize several small molecules; the purchase by a medical corporation of equity from departing shareholders; and the formation of a medical practice management company and negotiation of related practice management and other agreements.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mr. Lawler is a mediator who draws on the breadth of his transactional expertise and his experience as a former litigator.  He is especially equipped in helping participants arrive at creative and mutually satisfactory solutions through a facilitative and, if warranted, an evaluative, approach.

Representative Publications

• “Parkcentral Global v. Brown Investment: Hedge Fund Investors Are Entitled to Ownership Lists,” LawUpdates.com (12/27/2010)
• “Malack v. BDO Seidman: Rejecting the “Fraud-Created-The-Market” Theory of Reliance,” LawUpdates.com (11/12/2010)
• “PIMCO v. Mayer Brown: Adopting the “Attribution” Standard for Secondary Actors,” LawUpdates.com (7/6/2010)
• “Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO: Isolated Genes Are Not Patentable Subject Matter,” LawUpdates.com (5/25/2010)
• “Jones v. Harris: Gartenberg Is the Proper Standard to Assess Whether Advisor Fees Are Excessive,” LawUpdates.com (5/21/2010)
• “SEC v. Tambone: SEC’s Effort to Expand Primary Liability Rejected,” LawUpdates.com (4/26/2010)
• “Electronic Trading v. Banc of America: Federal Securities Laws Preclude Antitrust Laws re: Short Sale Litigation,” LawUpdates.com (2/26/2010)
• “Medical Mutual v. Indian Harbor: No D&O Coverage If Lawsuit Does Not Specifically Name Officer or Director,” LawUpdates.com (1/15/2010)
• “Florida Takes the Lead in Boosting State Securities Fraud Enforcement Rights,” LawUpdates.com (11/16/2009)
• “SEC v. Dorozhko: No Fiduciary Duty Required to Assert Insider Trading Violations Against Hacker,” LawUpdates.com (9/17/2009)
• “Alaska Elec. v. Flowserve: Loosening the Loss Causation Standard to Revive Investors’ Fraud Claims,” LawUpdates.com (8/11/2009)
• “Gallus v. Ameriprise Financial: Deepening the Circuit Split on the Standard of Review on Fund Advisor Fees,” LawUpdates.com (7/30/2009)
• “Institutional Investors Group v. Avaya: Clarifying Safe Harbor and Scienter Provisions of PSLRA,” LawUpdates.com (7/6/2009).

Representative Speaking Engagements

• Moderator, Security in the Cloud, LEGALTECH NEW YORK 2012, New York (1/31/2012).