Undue Diligence

by Paul C. Haughey

Joe Nile, a brilliant patent attorney, is on the verge of making partner and winning a big lawsuit when everything unravels. He is forced to work for his client's competitor, a company developing a treatment for the deadly Amazon virus that hit during the Olympics in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But everything is not as it seems. Joe has seen patent extortion before. The Patent Office hands out patents on non-inventions like candy on Halloween. Since the cost of patent litigation is so high, defendants pay the extorted royalty. But this time it is beyond the pale, holding up a treatment for the virus. Joe is blindsided by events, then with the help of a witty and sharp-tongued paralegal, Erika Dussex, unravels a web of greed, fraud, and extortion that threatens the world economy. Joe is forced to choose between his conscience and everything he holds dear - his career, his firm, and the love of his life.

396 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2006