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UDRP UDRP complaint has been filed against me. Which law firms have the most successful defense stats?

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Hi guys,

A UDRP complaint has been filed against me, and wouldn't mind some advice.

Basically, I think I have a good case, and I think there's a good argument it's a case of a reverse hijack. The company registered their trademark quite a few years after I registered the domain, but what could count against me is I'm not actively using the domain for any real purpose at the present time, and was actively trying to sell the domain (they basically threw the UDRP at me when we couldn't agree a price. It all comes over a bit petulant and arrogant on their part).

So, although I have considered fighting the case myself, I think, as the domain is classed as a "premium domain" it's too valuable to risk it, so I want a good UDRP law firm with a good success rate...hopefully also at a reasonable price. I think I might some sort of balance between results and value. So, are there any statistics around on who gets the results for "Respondents", or failing that, recommendations?

I think I'm also after a fixed sum for the whole thing, agreed in advance (maybe split in two with a "success fee" - although I'm undecided on that, yet). I don't want the bill growing like Topsy. What price should I be looking at for a decent defense?

Thanks for any help.
 
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Hello my name is Jessica and I'm a lawyer within a law firm specializing in domain names, that includes UDRP defense, so we have the experience to help you with your dispute

I leave our website in case you want us to help you with your domain name, we can negotiate the price directly with you, to give you the best rate


web: Kalpa ProteccionDigital

Thanks Jessica. I'm going to email a few firms for quotes, so I'll add you to the list.

Can you provide me any links to recent successes? Thanks.
 
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Yes, particularly if it is WIPO. NAF is usually a little quicker. Often, your first notice of the proceeding will be if the dispute resolution provider finds a formal deficiency in the complaint, since you will be copied on correspondence from the dispute resolution provider to the complainant.



Brett's a great guy, and fun to work with.

http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2007/d2007-0148.html
Complainant is TLR, Davis, California, United States of America, represented by Lewis & Hand, LLP, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America.


Respondent is United Engineering Services LLC, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States of America, represented by John Berryhill, Media, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
...
For all the foregoing reasons, the Complaint is denied.

http://www.adrforum.com/domaindecisions/1126697.htm

Complainant is Register.com, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Brett E. Lewis, of Lewis & Hand, LLP, New York, USA. Respondent is Domain-it!, Inc. c/o Domain-It Hostmaster (“Respondent”), represented by John Berryhill, Pennsylvania, USA.
...
The Panel concludes that relief shall be DENIED.

Thanks a lot John, lots of useful information in your posts.
 
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so we have the experience to help you with your dispute

Hi Jessica. Do you also have experience with ethical rules on attorney advertising and direct solicitation of clients?
 
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Can you provide me any links to recent successes?

Because the UDRP providers usually, though not always, identify counsel in decisions, you can search for attorney or firm names by using the full-text search feature at:

NAF:
http://www.adrforum.com/SearchDecisions

WIPO:
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/

ADR.EU
http://udrp.adr.eu/adr/decisions/index.php

...and if you are just looking at outcomes, be mindful of whether the lawyer was representing the complainant or the respondent.

In the case of Ms. Alonso here, their Facebook page claims that the firm was founded in June 2016. There are a grand total of zero search results from any of the links above identifying her or her firm. Hence, the claimed "experience" of her firm, if any, would be a couple of months with either UDRP defense or placing punctuation at the ends of their sentences. So, I too await with great expectation for Ms. Alonso to tell us of her firm's claimed experience in defending UDRP disputes.

One thing to look out for is that you will receive solicitations via email from lawyers who are unable to obtain clients by referrals from others in the domain industry because (a) nobody has had a good outcome with them, and/or (b) they don't actually have any substantial experience in this area. What you should know about lawyers who do that sort of thing is that they are often already violating the poorly-enforced regulations which lawyers are supposed to abide on the subject of client solicitation. You might ask yourself whether you want to hire a lawyer who cares about collecting a fee from you more than they care about professional ethics.
 
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In the case of Ms. Alonso here, their Facebook page claims that the firm was founded in June 2016. There are a grand total of zero search results from any of the links above identifying her or her firm. Hence, the claimed "experience" of her firm, if any, would be a couple of months with either UDRP defense or placing punctuation at the ends of their sentences. So, I too await with great expectation for Ms. Alonso to tell us of her firm's claimed experience in defending UDRP disputes.

One thing to look out for is that you will receive solicitations via email from lawyers who are unable to obtain clients by referrals from others in the domain industry because (a) nobody has had a good outcome with them, and/or (b) they don't actually have any substantial experience in this area. What you should know about lawyers who do that sort of thing is that they are often already violating the poorly-enforced regulations which lawyers are supposed to abide on the subject of client solicitation. You might ask yourself whether you want to hire a lawyer who cares about collecting a fee from you more than they care about professional ethics.

I thought the same.
 
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Hmmm, no track history, no deal, I'm afraid.
 
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I want a good UDRP law firm with a good success rate
I researched this recently and compiled all of the data on UDRP decisions that I could find.

John Berryhill (www.johnberryhill.com) is ranked #1 for the most UDRP wins, according to the data I compiled.

The superb UDRP attorneys can be counted on one hand, and if you want the best, that's @jberryhill.


The statement before this statement is based on and backed by scientific data that was compiled and analyzed by a scientific scientist (redundancy is resiliency), according to the piece of paper that my university sent me when I graduated. I certify that there are no errors caused by slothfulness or intentional negligence in the observation, measurement, or formulation of scientific data or the scientific methods used to arrive at this conclusion, to the best of my knowledge. Kudos for reading the fine print.
 
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The statement before this statement is based on and backed by scientific data that was compiled and analyzed by a scientific scientist (redundancy is resiliency), according to the piece of paper that my university sent me when I graduated. I certify that there are no errors caused by slothfulness or intentional negligence in the observation, measurement, or formulation of scientific data or the scientific methods used to arrive at this conclusion, to the best of my knowledge. Kudos for reading the fine print.

I read the fine print. What was your graduation thesis about? Just wondering, if you don't mind. :)
 
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"or the scientific methods used to arrive at this conclusion"

Absent a method, it's just a number. I've never counted, personally, since I don't see the point. The one statistic I did look at once was "number of RDNH findings" at RDNH.com. At the time I checked, ESQwire.com, the firm of Ari Goldberger and Jason Schaeffer, were about tied with me, but I believe they've had quite a few more recently. Does it mean anything? I doubt it. It's just a function of the cases with which one is entrusted.

Or, take someone who has had two cases and won both, versus someone who has had 300 cases and lost five. Is a 100% "win" record better than a 98% "win" record in that context? Who knows. Each case is different, although its pretty unusual these days that I see one that doesn't fit a pattern I've seen before.

When someone is conducting a beauty pageant to select counsel, it can be kind of amusing. I've seen a case or two I thought were fairly definite losers, and told the prospective client that I could not in good faith take their money on a reasonable chance of success. Then, a month later, I see that Zak Muscovitch (muscovitch.com) won the case. I told Zak about that the other day, and he said "I had the same thing happen with Karen Bernstein!" (karenbernsteinlaw.com)

Incidentally, if you are consulting with one lawyer who tells you "Well, it could go this way, or it could go that way... this argument might be good, and this other argument might not be so good" and then you consult with another lawyer who says, "I'm going to win your case!" - do NOT, under any circumstances, hire that second lawyer. Some people will hire people who tell them what they want to hear, and some lawyers are good at doing that, and not much else.

My other favorite "lawyer beauty pageant" experience was this one guy who sent me the complaint, sent me some background info to my questions, and then during the followup call when I was going through the pros and cons, kept saying, "But Stephen Lieberman said...." Not every lawyer is going to see your case the same way, and Steve is another reliable heavy-hitter in these things. But I kept thinking that if I wanted a discussion with Steve, I can certainly do that. Steve and I always make a point to go on a bike ride whenever we're in the same place and time. I think I ended up telling the guy that if he liked Steve's ideas so much, he should hire him. (aplegal.com)

One point not addressed from the OP is cost. Everyone has their own approach to that. I think there is a no-name outfit in the UK which sends out spam emails for flat rate UDRP defenses. By "no-name", I mean whomever runs the thing operates under a trade name and does not identify an actual attorney. I've seen some craptacular work by that operation, but can they win a drop-dead simple case? Probably. Hey, there are cases where the Respondent doesn't file a response at all and wins. It's hard to beat free!

But typically, I like to see the complaint, discuss relevant background facts with the prospective client, and come up with some idea of how much work might be involved. Some cases are, as noted above, drop-dead simple, and you'd have to put effort into losing them. Some cases are a long, tedious slog, and there's an Energizer Bunny on the opposing side who keeps filing additional stuff. What I like about those types is that - and I think any experienced UDRP defense attorney agrees - the overwhelming majority of "supplemental" filings made by complainants in UDRP proceedings are counterproductive for them. But I can usually get a feel for whether this is a three-hour no-brainer copy/paste from a very similar prior case; whether the case is an "interesting" one, which raises new or complex issues; or whether the case has a "fun factor" of some kind. Completely aside from the merits, time, cost, or whatever, some cases are a lot of fun, and I have a steep discount for that which drives the rest of my crew nuts. It might be a three-hour case, a fifteen hour case, or one of the few I do once in a while where the client really can't pay much, but I'd just hate to see them lose. I think I hit my quota on those for this year already.

Another thing you can't ignore is, "is this someone I'm comfortable working with". Different lawyers, different styles, different personalities. I should probably write a post for lawyers who do UDRP's along the lines of "I'm looking for a good client" some day. Some people enjoy working with me, some people find me frustrating as hell. Your mileage may vary.

One thing I can recommend NOT doing is "How about if I write my own response and have you look it over and mark it up." There is, seriously, no greater time suck in the world than that. It is hard to explain, but if you've ever had experience as, say, a contractor who has to come in and fix someone's DIY project instead of just starting fresh, you will know exactly what I mean. I can go into depth on that some other time, but those types of propositions have driven me bananas more times than I care to count.

So, who have I left out? I always get nervous about listing good UDRP lawyers, because I'm always afraid there is someone I might fail to mention, and they won't buy me drinks anymore. In the thread, we've had, in no particular order, Zak, Enrico, Steve, Karen, Brett, David, Ari & Jason, there's Paul Keating (law.es), John Di Giacomo (revisionlegal.com), Eugene Rome (romeandassociates.com), Adam Taylor (adlexsolicitors.co.uk), Marco Randazza (randazza.com) and I believe that the Great and Wise Derek Newman (www.newmanlaw.com) might still occasionally descend from the heights of Olympus to sully his masterful hands with a UDRP defense. Derek is also the best looking domain attorney, if that's important to you.

So, that's 13 names, you got 20 days, and you can't imagine how we are always thrilled to get into a low bid contest. We can't imagine it either.

And, I assure you, there is a lawyer somewhere who has never handled a UDRP case, would really like to get his or her hands on one, and is itching to do a spectacular job with it. Maybe you'll find the future 'best domain lawyer' and you'll be able say you knew them when. Just do us all a favor and make sure it's not someone who will turn into an insufferable self-promoting asshole in the process.
 
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Derek Newman

Ah, the guy who filed the bogus DomainTools lawsuit. The last I heard this self-proclaimed first amendment attorney filed suit against a web site for posting the real age of an actress. She said she lost work because the web site posted her real age. Of course that case went down in flames like the DomainTools case.
 
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It's the end of it if you registered the name before their trademark. Doesn't matter if you're not using it with a mark now being registered. It's not like you have to keep a look out for a mark being registered over it and then once there is you need to start actively using the domain or something. It's funny to think that's their angle.
 
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take someone who has had two cases and won both, versus someone who has had 300 cases and lost five. Is a 100% "win" record better than a 98% "win" record in that context?
IMO, there's no question about it: I'm taking the person with 295 wins.

Easy math for me. :bookworm:
 
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I wonder if we'll ever hear back from Jessica.
 
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I wonder how this case worked out?
 
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