Articles from Brithem LLP

Brithem LLP has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging that The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and its outside consultants misappropriated trade secrets and other proprietary information of the small Zimbabwean social enterprise company Mobility for Africa (MFA), which is dedicated to improving the lives of African women and rural communities by providing a sustainable ecosystem of EV mobility. The complaint alleges that TMF and its consultants induced access to MFA’s intellectual property by promising to joint venture with MFA in providing similar mobility solutions throughout Africa. After securing that access, however, TMF and its outside consultants abandoned MFA financially and excluded it from their ongoing mobility efforts that they launched and expanded using MFA’s hard-earned intellectual property. Taking full credit for the solution, TMF bolstered its reputation and goodwill in Africa while its consultants used that technology in for-profit ventures.

Michele (“Mike”) Materni, a seasoned litigator known for his work on high-leverage financial litigations and investigations, has joined Brithem LLP as a partner. Mike is joining Brithem from Kaplan Martin LLP and previously spent eight years at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

Prominent trial lawyers Michael Bowe and Lauren Tabaksblat today launched Brithem LLP, a boutique firm singularly focused on elite courtroom advocacy in matters of outsized commercial and societal consequence. This ethos is reflected in the founders’ two National Law Journal “Trailblazer of the Year” awards and many other recognitions and in the firm’s name. In Old Irish, Brithems were preeminent legal practitioners on whom both the powerful and the weak relied. The firm, based in New York, launches with 13 legal professionals: nine lawyers, two investigators, and two paraprofessionals. They include a former Supreme Court clerk joining as of counsel and two Quinn Emanuel alumni joining as partners. The firm expects more partners and associates to join in the next month and to be at least 20 lawyers in Q1 of 2026 based on its strong pipeline of current and new cases. The firm will be located at 565 Fifth Avenue.