Daniel W. McDonald - Lawyer in Minneapolis, MN

Dan is chair of Merchant Gould's Litigation practice group. Dan has won jury trials in several patent infringement lawsuits, secured expedited relief, and succeeded in securing multi-million dollar awards for his clients. As an engineer registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, he has also argued, and won several inter partes review proceedings (IPRs) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. He is a seasoned litigator and trial lawyer who knows how to solve problems. He gets his clients?whom he describes as brilliant, creative, trailblazers?involved in the decision-making process, explaining the risks and benefits of different strategies so they can make smart, cost-effective, and strategic decisions. Dan represents clients in patent litigation and Patent Office proceedings, copyright litigation, trademark/trade dress litigation, and trade secret litigation with an emphasis on electronics, software, medical devices, and Internet issues. He has represented clients ranging from individual inventors to the world's largest medical device company to the British Post Office, in cases involving a broad spectrum of technologies including software, digital imaging, telecommunications, networks, and electronics as well as apparel, aerospace, printing, consumer goods, and materials handling. Dan has obtained an «exceptional» case finding after trying a patent case to verdict, obtaining attorneys' fees and punitive damages affirmed on appeal. He also obtained a significant monetary award for a client against an infringer who violated a court injunction and was found in contempt. He also helped a client secure a $4.3 million settlement against a patent owner to resolve a lawsuit alleging bad-faith patent enforcement. He has helped clients collect tens of millions of dollars in judgments and settlements, and successfully protected clients from claims of at least comparable amounts, including obtaining a judgment of $0 following a jury verdict for a client against a plaintiff seeking about $100 million. Dan is on the Executive Committee of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and has participated in the Pro Se Project of the Federal Bar Association, assisting pro se litigants in navigating the court system. He enjoys bicycling, stargazing with his telescope, and traveling with his wife and family (while leaving his dog and cat with others).