John J. Powell

• Represented a New York hedge fund as plaintiff, obtained emergency injunctive relief in the Southern District of New York against a former portfolio manager in Shanghai, China and Amazon Web Services, resulting in the successful recovery of computer source code and encryption keys used in the client’s quantitative trading operations.
• Successfully defended leading provider of artificial intelligence software against state-court claims for breach of contract, fraud, and misappropriation of intellectual property in the Supreme Court of New York.
• Successfully defended portfolio manager against state and federal claims arising from failed New York real estate transaction, obtaining complete dismissal.
• Represented leading medical device companies in patent infringement litigation in federal courts across the country.
• Represented leading knife manufacturer in design patent infringement litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• Defended SEPTA in a two-day federal trial of a First Amendment challenge asserted by a news organization represented by the ACLU, resulting in a judgment upholding SEPTA’s right to prohibit political advertisements on city buses.
• As new counsel on appeal, obtained reversal of five felony convictions for unlawful use of a computer, resulting in a decision that significantly altered Pennsylvania law by requiring prosecutors to obtain expert witnesses in cases involving crimes allegedly committed over the internet.
• Defeated class action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging fraud and professional negligence against a large accounting firm arising out of its work as administrator in a $490 million securities class action settlement. John’s briefing on complex choice of law issues resulted in the court entering summary judgment sua sponte soon after class certification.
• Defended a leading medical device company against patent infringement claims brought by a competitor in the United States District Court for the District of Utah, and in related proceedings in the Southern District of California.
• Successfully obtained full recovery for a prominent attorney in a AAA arbitration against the client’s former law firm, alleging breach of a partnership contract. John’s cross examination of the law firm’s managing partner helped secure the client’s victory.
• Successfully represented the European CEO of a global equipment manufacturer in civil and criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning potential FCPA violations arising from the company’s operations in Angola, Africa. The DOJ declined to bring charges against John’s client.
• Defended directors and officers of a Fortune 25 company in shareholder derivative lawsuits.
• Represented the Board of Directors of a major corporation in derivative lawsuits and a Delaware Section 220 books and records proceedings based on the equity compensation awarded to the company’s CEO.
• Defended a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in actions brought by private plaintiffs and two dozen state attorneys general alleging fraud related to the use of certain drug pricing metrics.
• Successfully obtained emergency injunctive relief for the minority owner of a commercial real estate brokerage firm against the majority owners on grounds of breach of contract and fiduciary duties.
• Defeated federal class action alleging fraud and breach of contract against a consortium of more than 100 U.S. law schools, related to complex transactions concerning the financing of student loans.
• Defeated claims of intellectual property theft against Autotrader.com by persuading state trial and appellate courts to apply principles of adverse possession to proprietary computer algorithms.
• Defended a global chemical manufacturer in ICC arbitration against claims of intellectual property theft asserted by a Korean manufacturing conglomerate, successfully excluding certain European affiliates from the proceedings, opposing U.S. discovery in related federal actions in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and favorably resolving the dispute.
• Represented an international energy company in state and federal criminal investigations of environmental claims, and successfully moved to quash multiple grand jury subpoenas issued by state attorney general on the basis that the subpoenas violated the fourth amendment.
• Persuaded a federal judge in Iowa to recuse himself in a business dispute involving John’s client, a large national gaming company, because the judge previously had been affiliated with a non-profit organization connected to the dispute.
• Defended a global consumer products company in a products liability mass tort action in which a state trial court excluded plaintiffs’ expert testimony, offered by several professors of medicine, on the grounds that the scientific testing supporting the experts’ opinions lacked sufficient epidemiological rigor.
• Defeated criminal charges filed against a business executive in New York by moving to dismiss the charges and helping to secure sealed disposition of the proceedings.
• Obtained an order from a Pennsylvania trial court requiring state-of-the-art touch DNA analysis of murder evidence on the basis that the testing could prove the innocence of John’s client, a prisoner represented in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

• Board of Advisors, Text IQ
• Secretary and Member, Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Advocates for Innocence Board
• Former Executive Committee Member, Temple American Inn of Court
• Regional Board Member, Indego Africa

John maintains an active pro-bono practice. He has worked closely with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project on several wrongful conviction cases.

John also provides free legal representation to underprivileged Philadelphia residents in a wide variety of matters through the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program.