Paul Mersino, Butzel Long Photo

Paul M. Mersino is the President and CEO of Butzel and serves on the firm's Board of Directors. Mr. Mersino’s primary focus is continuing Butzel’s storied tradition of excellence for the firm’s clients. When not running the firm, Mr. Mersino is a commercial litigator by trade, focusing on complex commercial litigation and bet-the-company litigation.

Overview

Paul M. Mersino is a Shareholder in the Detroit office of Butzel.  He is the President & CEO of Butzel and serves on the firm's Board of Directors.  Prior to joining the firm's Board, he served as the Chair of the Litigation Practice Department.  Mr. Mersino represents public and private companies, both as plaintiff's attorney and defendant's attorney, in a number of areas including complex commercial litigation, contract disputes, non-competition and trade secret disputes, automotive supplier disputes, construction litigation, and First Amendment litigation. Mr. Mersino also represents and advises a number of Startup companies, assisting them with their legal needs and matching them with potential venture capital funding. Mr. Mersino also handles appeals in the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court, and in federal courts across the country. He has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer, as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine, as one of Oakland County’s Elite 40 under 40, as one of DBusiness's "30 in their 30s," and as an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Mr. Mersino is admitted to the State of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the United States, and has been admitted on a temporary basis in several state and federal courts across the United States.

Mr. Mersino's publications include Patents, Trolls, and Personal Property: Will eBay Auction Away a Patent Holder's Right to Exclude?, 6 AVE MARIA L. REV. 307 (2007); Five Things Every Startup Needs to Know, Corp Magazine, December 19, 2013; New Law’s Message to Business: Protect Trade Secrets, Crain’s Detroit Business, May 23, 2016; Understanding the New Defend Trade Secrets Act, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2016; The New Federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016: Some Things Old, Some Things New, and How Courts Have Already Begun to Apply It, The Detroit Lawyer, October 2016; and Lesson from Autonomous Vehicle and Tech Companies: Protect Your Trade Secrets, In-House Defense Quarterly, Summer 2018. He has presented nationally on the topic of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Chicago, Illinois and internationally on the same subject in Milan, Italy. He has also served as a speaker and moderator on numerous expert panels discussing Startups.

Mr. Mersino has served on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Bar Association, has served as an advisor to the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Litigation Advisory Board, and is a Trustee of the Butzel Long Charitable Trust.

Credentials

Education

Northwood University 2005, B.A.

Ave Maria School of Law 2008, J.D.

Admissions

  • Michigan
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Memberships

  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Michigan State Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Detroit Bar Association, Board of Directors
  • Detroit Lawyer Magazine, Editorial Board
  • Leadership Oakland XXV
  • Leadership Detroit XXXIX
  • State Bar of Michigan 
  • American Bar Association 
  • Delta Mu Delta (Honorary Business Fraternity)
  • American Inns of Court (Past Member)
  • Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Litigation Advisory Board

Awards & Recognitions

Awards & Recognitions

Best Lawyer in Michigan, Commercial Litigation

Michigan Super Lawyers

DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Commercial Litigation & Trade Secrets, Construction Law

Crain's Detroit Business 40 under 40

Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40 Class

Experience

  • LITIGATION
  • Won Summary Disposition for real estate development fund plaintiff on claims worth $5.5 million dollars
  • Won a $1.35 million verdict for a client after a week-long trial on a breach of contract dispute
  • Obtained a $3.5 million Case Evaluation Award for a client on a breach of employment contract and shareholder dispute matter
  • Obtained a $1.9 million Case Evaluation Award for client in a Trade Secrets dispute
  • Successfully defended client in Federal Court on a $1 million commercial litigation/breach of contract matter and obtained a jury verdict of no liability and no damages on the claims against client and recovered on a counter-claim for all amounts due
  • Successfully defended against a Motion for Summary Judgment in a multi-million dollar Trade Secrets claim in the Federal Court for the Southern District of California. ESI v. Wave Six, 2021 WL 5206136 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2021)
  • Negotiated a $9 million settlement agreement resolving an automotive supply-chain dispute
  • Defended construction client in a week-long arbitration brought by the municipal project owner of a construction project alleging breach of warranty and received a verdict of no-liability for client and recovered all attorneys’ fees from the other side
  • Obtained nearly a million dollar settlement for Subcontractor on a construction dispute
  • Successfully dissolved a temporary restraining order against a media company in which the Court held the injunction was an impermissible prior restraint on speech under the First Amendment. AFT Michigan v Project Veritas, 2017 WL 6604040 (ED Mich 12/7/17)
  • Obtained Summary Judgment on behalf of Defendant in a multi-million dollar lawsuit in Federal Court alleging accountant malpractice. SG Indus., Inc. v. RSM McGladrey, Inc., 2011 WL 6090247 (E.D. Mich. Dec. 7, 2011)
  • Successfully defended against and defeated the first ex parte seizure application in the nation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016
  • Have successfully obtained Temporary Restraining Orders and Preliminary Injunctions in Non-Compete/Trade Secret matters and have defended against Non-Compete/Trade Secret claims while defeating motions for injunctions
  • Defeated a Motion to Dismiss in the Southern District of California on a Defend Trade Secrets Act case dealing with the theft of trade secrets for a major international technology company
  • Defended a client in a nearly million dollar trial of a UCC sales dispute that lasted over 7 days from start to finish
  • Conducted a multi-day trial in a lawsuit against a major utility company and obtained a judgment for contractor client in the full amount requested, plus an award of all attorneys’ fees and costs incurred
  • Obtained Summary Disposition and early dismissal of lawsuit filed against one of the largest General Contractors in the nation based on lack of jurisdiction.
  • Obtained an order clarifying the parameters of the Michigan Eavesdropping Act, upholding the state’s one-party consent precedent. AFT Michigan v. Project Veritas, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 215090 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 8, 2021).
  • Obtained dismissal for a national media outlet in a defamation claim. Marcum v. Newser, LLC, et al, Case No. 2022-191878-CZ (Oakland County Cir. Court, July 5, 2022).
  • Obtained early dismissal of a Michigan Shopping Reform and Modernization Act class action claim
  • Obtained Summary Judgment, settlement, and other resolution for manufacturers in Sales Representative Act matters in federal court
  • Successfully settled a dispute in California regarding work-made-for-hire, achieving the return of the company’s intellectual property from a former employee
  • Successfully obtained dismissals of product liability lawsuits in state and federal court
  • Obtained Summary Disposition on Foreclosure of Construction Lien claim for client for full amount of the lien, plus interest and attorneys’ fees
  • Obtained early dismissal of a Michigan Consumer’s Protection Act class action claim
  • Obtained Summary Disposition from Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of a corporate client and its owner, dismissing with prejudice a complaint containing highly complex claims of negligence, fraud, misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy
  • Represented landlords and tenants in Landlord-Tenant disputes, obtaining judgments and attorneys’ fees and costs, including negotiating over $500,000 in rent relief for a commercial tenant in a lawsuit stemming from a commercial lease
  • Negotiated a half-million dollar settlement on a UCC sales dispute
  • Obtained numerous dismissals or grants of Summary Judgment defending clients in Federal RICO claims
  • Successfully settled a shareholder’s disagreement in which a startup company co-founder asserted claim to shares in the company, ultimately retaining all contested shares for the company
  • Represented auto supplier in tooling dispute and claim and delivery suit, successfully having the tooling returned to the supplier who owned it
  • Successfully resolved matter for client under AAA Construction Industry Arbitration Rules in Arbitration in Boston, MA.
  • Have represented clients in state and federal courts throughout the country, including in Michigan, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., California, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Nebraska, and Oregon
  • APPEALS
  • Successfully appealed matters to the Michigan Court of Appeals, Michigan Supreme Court, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Received a favorable ruling in a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals published opinion, upholding Summary Judgment granted by the Eastern District of Michigan, dismissing a Federal RICO claim. Brown v. Ajax, et al, 752 F.3d 656 (6th Cir. 2014)
  • Received a favorable ruling from Mich. Court of Appeals affirming lower court’s opinion and upholding client’s Construction Lien Act claim and affirming grant of all attorneys’ fees. Dubuc v Copeland Paving, Inc., 2016 WL 1230860 (Mich. App. Mar 29 2016)
  • Received a favorable opinion on appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals, upholding a high profile property tax appeal. Detroit Lions, Inc. v. City of Dearborn, 302 Mich. App. 676 (2013)
  • Filed an amicus brief in the 8th Cir. in the “American Sniper” case, supporting the estate of Chris Kyle in successfully reversing the entire $1.85 million judgment obtained by Jesse Ventura, Ventura v. Kyle, 825 F.3d 876 (8th Cir. 2016)
  • STARTUPS
  • Mentor, consult, and represent startup companies with their general business and legal matters and assist them in obtaining venture capital funding
  • Served on the Board of Directors for a Detroit startup company
  • Serve on the Board of Advisors to numerous startup companies
  • Serve as an advisor to a Detroit-based Venture Capital group

News & Events

News

Speaking Engagements

Alerts & Publications

Client Alerts

Publications

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