McDonald Hopkins Law Firm Elects Five Members

Todd A. Benni, Joseph J. Crimaldi, Nicole J. Gray, Lisa S. Lauer, and Scott M. Slaby

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Oct 04, 2012, 12:15 ET

CLEVELAND, Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advisory and advocacy law firm with offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Miami, and West Palm Beach, announces the election of five attorneys to the firm's membership.

Todd A. Benni (West Palm Beach and Cleveland) - Member, Intellectual Property

Joseph J. Crimaldi (Cleveland) - Member, Intellectual Property

Nicole J. Gray (Cleveland) - Member, Labor and Employment

Lisa S. Lauer (Chicago) - Member, Business Law

Scott M. Slaby (Cleveland) - Member, Intellectual Property

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"It is a pleasure to congratulate these five talented attorneys who have already achieved much success at our firm," said Carl. J. Grassi, president of McDonald Hopkins. "Our clients highly value their expertise and we appreciate their contributions to the growth of our firm."

Todd A. Benni (West Palm Beach and Cleveland) is an intellectual property attorney who has a wide range of experience advising both domestic and international clients. He helps clients obtain, manage and protect all types of intellectual property rights. Benni also has extensive experience providing legal advice and counseling to clients regarding advertising issues, such as CAN-SPAM, COPPA, sweepstakes, websites privacy policies, and terms of use of websites. Before joining McDonald Hopkins, Benni served as senior managing counsel, IP, advertising and licensing for a leading global supplier of office products and services.

Benni has a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University. He is the ambassador of the board of the Office Depot Foundation.

Joseph J. Crimaldi (Cleveland) is an intellectual property attorney who provides strategic planning and intellectual property asset management, both foreign and domestic, for start-ups, publicly traded companies and universities. He has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in a wide variety of technical areas and has drafted patent validity and infringement opinions in the areas of trademark prosecution and litigation.

Crimaldi has a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University.

Nicole J. Gray (Cleveland) counsels employers on day-to-day human resource matters to ensure compliance with complex issues arising from federal and state employment laws. Her litigation experience includes representing employers in administrative proceedings and before federal and state courts in employment-related matters, with emphasis on defending complaints and/or charges of wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment; noncompliance with wage and hour laws; protected leave violations; breach of contract; defamation; and tortuous interference. Gray works with employers to develop effective strategies for implementing difficult employment business decisions related to reductions-in-force, disciplinary matters and employee separations. A frequent speaker on workplace compliance issues, Gray provides training to employers and employees on a variety of topics, including implementation of effective personnel policies and organizational management/behavior.

Gray has a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College. Gray was named as an Ohio Rising Star in 2012 and is a member of University Hospital's MacDonald Women's Hospital Leadership Council and a Board member of the Junior League of Cleveland.

Lisa S. Lauer (Chicago) counsels businesses, business owners and investors in a wide array of industries. She has been involved in a broad range of transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions; dispositions; joint ventures and restructurings; public and private securities issuances and filings; private equity investments; corporate finance deals; 144A placements and subsequent registered exchange offers; tender offers, and going-private transactions. In addition, Lauer provides general corporate counseling and is skilled at drafting, analyzing and negotiating all types of commercial contracts and complex agreements.

Lauer has a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University. She was selected for inclusion in Illinois Rising Stars in 2012 and has volunteered with numerous nonprofit organizations that provide support to urban development projects, mentoring of at-risk youth and survivors of domestic abuse.

Scott M. Slaby (Cleveland) is an intellectual property attorney who helps clients in domestic and foreign patent preparation and procurement in the chemical, biochemical and mechanical arts, as well as preparing legal opinions regarding patentability, validity and right to market. In addition, Slaby has experience with trademark prosecution and counseling, intellectual property due diligence and assists in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation; licensing, and agreement matters.

Slaby has a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and graduated from John Carroll University with Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. He serves on the Executive Committee of The Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation.

About McDonald Hopkins

McDonald Hopkins has a more than 80-year history. The firm's comprehensive services are provided by teams of specialized attorneys and professionals in areas such as business law, litigation, business restructuring and bankruptcy, estate planning, government affairs, healthcare, intellectual property, labor and employment, and mergers and acquisitions. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com.

CONTACT:
Deborah W. Kelm
McDonald Hopkins LLC
600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100
Cleveland, OH 44114
Phone: 216.348.5733
Email: [email protected]

Available Topic Experts: For information on the listed experts, click appropriate link.

Todd A. Benni: http://www.profnetconnect.com/Todd_Benni

Joseph J. Crimaldi: http://www.profnetconnect.com/Joseph_Crimaldi

Nicole J. Gray: http://www.profnetconnect.com/NicoleJ_Gray

Lisa S. Lauer: http://www.profnetconnect.com/LisaS_Lauer

Scott M. Slaby: http://www.profnetconnect.com/ScottM_Slaby

SOURCE McDonald Hopkins LLC