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Our Team
Christopher McHattie, Esq.
Chris concentrates on general corporate counseling; complex commercial and intellectual property litigation; and intellectual property counseling and prosecution. Chris draws on his experience resolving complex commercial litigations and the tactics and strategies used in those matters to achieve results that clients love. Decisions representative of the types of matters Mr. McHattie handles are set forth at The Value Group et al. v. Mendham Lake Estates et al., 800 F. Supp. 1228, 24 U.S.P.Q.2d 1531 (D.N.J. 1992); Florian Greenhouse, Inc. v. Cardinal IG Corp., 11 F. Supp. 2d 521 (D.N.J. 1998) and New York Citizens Comm. On Cable TV v. Manhattan Cable TV, Inc. 651 F. Supp. 802 (S.D.N.Y. 1986). Current “unreported” representative matters include (from achievements).
Chris served for many years as General Counsel for St. James Insurance Group, Inc. and St. Johns Insurance Company, Inc., both of Orlando, Florida. While representing St. James and St. Johns, Mr. McHattie concentrated on general corporate, insurance compliance and regulatory matters, and provided oversight for corporate legal affairs and litigation. Mr. McHattie continues to assist clients with Departments of Insurance issues and with the analysis and development of corporate policies and procedures based on regulatory and other industry changes, for example those created by the NAIC’s Own Risk Solvency Assessment (“ORSA”) and The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act.
Chris received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Seton Hall University and his Juris Doctorate degree from New York Law School. He was Notes and Comments Editor of the New York Law School Journal of Human Rights. He is or has been an active member of The American Bar Association and numerous Bar Association committees and sections, including Sections on Government & Public Sector, Tort & Insurance, and Intellectual Property and Franchising.
Bar Admissions: New Jersey (1987) | New York (1988)
Michael Gattoni, Esq.
Michael counsels and represents a broad variety of entities and individuals ranging from large corporations to privately owned mid‑cap enterprises and startup ventures on a wide range of transactions. As a partner of the firm, he has a strong background in general corporate and intellectual property law. Michael often serves as outside general counsel to his clients, working with closely held businesses in a variety of industries. He provides the firm and its clients with efficient and effective performance handling transactional matters ranging from day-to-day legal issues as well as more complex matters, such as mergers and acquisitions.
Michael received his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School, and also graduated with a Certificate in Business Law. He has even co-authored an article on crowd-funding in the Thomson Reuters Practical Law Magazine. Michael received his B.A. in Business/Management, with dual minors in Law, Politics, and Philosophy and Italian, from The College of New Jersey. At TCNJ, he was a member of the Men’s Varsity Track and Field team for the 2010-2011 season. When not at the office, Michael loves to spend time with his family, be outdoors and keep active with sports.
Prior to joining the firm, Michael was an intern for Practical Law at Thomson Reuters and a legal intern at the State of New Jersey Bureau of Securities Office of the Attorney General.
Bar Admissions: New Jersey | New York | United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and Southern District of New York
Robert S. Gregory, Esq.
Robert S. Gregory, the former Chief Business Officer of Atlas Development Corporation and senior member of its management team, has recently joined the firm as of counsel. Over the course of twenty-five years, initially as outside counsel, Robert helped ATLAS (a leading provider of healthcare information technology solutions to the diagnostics industry) grow from early stage technology start-up, to the market leader in its niche, with a client base of more than 200 hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers and centers of excellence throughout the country. He is particularly proud of his work as Managing Director of the company’s public health group, where he spearheaded the development of a next generation communicable disease surveillance system that remains the backbone for state and provincial governments in the US and Canada monitoring such diseases. ATLAS was acquired by Roper Technologies in 2015.
In addition to his involvement with overall corporate strategy, business development, sales and key aspects of client services, Robert was responsible for developing and managing the company’s standard contract practice, negotiating hundreds of software license agreements with clients, partners and vendors and was actively involved in numerous private and public sector RFP procurement processes. Robert regularly appeared as a speaker at industry conferences, including the Executive War College for Lab and the Lab Quality ConFab, and was the principal architect of the company’s “Coordinated Diagnostics” vision.
Robert began his career as a clerk to the Hon Roger J. Miner on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after which he was an associate in the international tax practice at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. From 1990-2001, he built a solo practice representing creative entrepreneurs in the arts, entertainment, software technology and the internet.
He holds a BA, cum laude, from Williams College and a JD, summa cum laude, from New York Law School where he was a John Ben Snow Scholar.
Bar Admission: New York (1988)
Jonathan Tyler, Esq.
Jonathan Tyler has over fifteen years of experience in representing clients on intellectual property matters. He has successfully prepared and prosecuted a large number of patent applications in an array of technical areas including computer software, electrical, and mechanical technologies. He specializes in electrical and computer-related areas such as computer software, wireless networks, optical networks, data storage, signal processing, electromechanical devices, mechanical devices, and medical devices.
Jonathan has obtained hundreds of patents for a variety of clients including large technology companies as well as smaller companies and technology startups. He is adept both at working with inventors to analyze the particulars of an invention and at working with company executives and in-house counsel to manage and build a patent portfolio.
Jonathan received a B.A. in Physics from Dartmouth College, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a J.D. from NYU School of Law.
Bar Admissions: New York | United States Patent and Trademark Office
William Smith, Esq.
Bill has extensive experience as a patent attorney and engineer and brings a broad range of technical and legal knowledge to the firm. As an intellectual property attorney, he primarily focuses on patent procurement and preparation of legal opinions on freedom-to-operate, ownership, infringement, and validity issues. He has successfully prepared and prosecuted patent applications in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental technologies, materials science, biomedical technology, tissue engineering, spinal and orthopedic technologies, and mechanical devices. He has directed patent prosecutions and investigations in a number of foreign jurisdictions.
Bill received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He then went on to receive an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a J.D. from Seton Hall University.
Bar Admissions: New Jersey | United States Patent and Trademark Office
Virginia Gorostiaga, Esq.
Virginia Gorostiaga is a skilled immigration attorney with a strong foundation in both business and immigration law. Originally from Uruguay, Virginia’s multicultural background and fluency in Spanish and English enable her to effectively serve international clients navigating U.S. immigration processes.
Virginia began her legal career at one of America’s top-100 law firms, focusing on business and commercial litigation. Her combined experience in business and corporate law provides her with unique insight into the challenges faced by international companies seeking to establish a presence in the U.S. After gaining valuable experience at a boutique firm, she transitioned into immigration law. Virginia now focuses on assisting businesses with securing visas such as EB-2, E-2, and National Interest Waivers (NIW) for key personnel and executives.
In addition to her focus on business immigration, Virginia also provides legal counsel in family-based immigration matters, including petitions and naturalization.
Jules D. Zalon, Esq.
Jules D. Zalon is a New York and New Jersey attorney, specializing in trademark (including rights of privacy and publicity), copyright and entertainment matters. He has conducted an active nationwide litigation practice, having litigated trademark, copyright and anti-piracy cases in more than 30 states.
Jules has been practicing law for over 40 years. After graduating NYU Law School, Jules worked as a business affairs lawyer in the giant talent and literary agency now known as ICM. While there he drafted and negotiated contracts that covered the entire spectrum of the literary and entertainment fields. He subsequently established an Intellectual Property department for the Marvel Comics publishing empire, and then joined the prestigious boutique law firm of Linden & Deutsch. While there, he represented publishers (Macmillan; Houghton Mifflin; HBJ) and entertainment clients including the creators of numerous Broadway shows (“Annie”; “Bye Bye Birdie”) and producers (“Pippin”), as well as the music estate of Scott Joplin.
In 1980, Jules created the federal so-called “John Doe Seizure Order,” a procedure which for the first time enabled well--known entertainers and trademark proprietors to seize bootleg merchandise being sold by anonymous street peddlers, often at rock concerts and sports events, a procedure that revolutionized the souvenir merchandising business. This procedure formed the basis for the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984.
In the ensuing years, Jules has handled litigation for Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Van Halen, Rush, U2, the Dave Matthews Band, Pee Wee Herman, Ted Nugent, Famous Amos, the Three Stooges, Michael Jackson, Dennis Rodman and a host of other celebrities.
Jules has successfully litigated against such industry behemoths as Fruit of the Loom and Amazon.
While continuing to manage his own practice, Jules has recently become “Of Counsel” to the McHattie Law Firm.
Bar Admissions: New York | New Jersey