Darth is a skilled trial attorney and a certified mediator with more than a decade of litigation experience in complex commercial and plaintiff’s side whistleblower cases. He has tried shareholder disputes, fraud, insider dealing, and fiduciary duty matters worth millions of dollars. He has also represented whistleblowers from across the country helping to shed light on all manner of fraud against the government from dangerous healthcare systems, devices, and doctors to government contracting and loan fraud.
Darth's trial experience includes a federal jury trial, a Delaware Chancery Court trial, and a range of other state court trials and arbitrations. He has briefed and argued motions and appeals in various federal and state courts and helped secure an en banc Federal Circuit decision striking down a portion of the Lanham Act as unconstitutional; that decision was later unanimously affirmed by the United States Supreme Court. Examples of written decisions he has obtained appear below. Darth is also a skilled negotiator with a lengthy record of resolving otherwise intractable disputes short of trial.
Darth has been recognized by his peers and clients as an exceptionally capable and ethical lawyer. He has earned the highest possible peer rating of AV Preeminent from Martindale-Hubble and the Client Champion Gold rating. He has been selected as a Super Lawyers and to the National Trial Lawyers list of the top 100 lawyers in Pennsylvania.
An active member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, Darth is a past Chair of the Professional Ethics Committee and an elected officer of the Council of the Federal Court Section. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Professional Ethics and Federal Practice Committees. He also serves as a hearing officer for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Disciplinary Board. Darth is a member of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania and is also listed as a Federally approved mediator and Early Neutral Evaluator by the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Nationally, he is a member of Taxpayers Against Fraud, a public interest non-profit organization dedicated to fighting fraud against the government. Darth was a soccer referee long before he was a lawyer. He has officiated around the country, is still a referee and referee coach/mentor, and served as the Western Pennsylvania State Youth Referee Administrator and an ex-officio member of the Pennsylvania West Soccer Association Youth Board.
Before opening his own firm, Darth worked at national and regional firms and helped start two litigation boutiques.
Selected Decisions and Other Publications
In re Tam, 808 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2015), as corrected (Feb. 11, 2016) (en banc), aff'd sub nom. Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (2017).
Jo A. Yochum v. FJW Inv., Inc., 715 F. App'x 174 (3d Cir. 2017).
Ross Holding & Mgmt. Co. v. Advance Realty Grp., LLC, No. CIV.A. 4113-VCN, 2014 WL 4374261 (Del. Ch. Sept. 4, 2014).
FCA remains an important tool for deterring and remedying fraud against the government, Journal of the Allegheny County Bar Association, Jan. 1, 2021, at 9.
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School
(JD, 2008)
University of Michigan
(BA, With Distinction, 2004)
Admissions
Pennsylvania
New York
New Jersey
Third Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Federal Circuit
Western District of Pennsylvania
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Middle District of Pennsylvania
Northern District of New York
Western District of New York
District of New Jersey
Eastern District of Michigan
Western District of Michigan
