Paul V. Nunes

Partner, Heisman Nunes & Hull LLP

Years in current role: 3

What has been your biggest success over the past year?

I look at each success as part of the whole. Being regularly selected by my peers to serve as a mediator has been very satisfying and I would define that as a success. Marking the third-year anniversary of the launch of Heisman Nunes & Hull counts as another. Successfully negotiating a multi-million dollar settlement award for my client counts too. But playing keyboard for my daughter Julia at the CGI International Jazz Fest was a different kind of success altogether. And there are so many more days left to the year!

What are your expectations for the rest of this year?

The workplace environment changed during the pandemic. And I expect those changes (for example, flex hours and working remotely) will be long lasting, if not permanent. I also expect that court proceedings, depositions, mediations and conferences will continue to be done remotely. We live in a Zoom and Teams world.

What advice would you give someone starting an intellectual property practice right now?

Promote your practice beyond the boundaries of Rochester. It’s a big old flat world out there. Someone in East Oshkosh is looking for an IP lawyer right now.

If you could practice one area of law that you haven’t practiced in your career, what would it be and why?

When I was in law school, I clerked in the US Attorney’s Office where I was introduced to criminal law. I loved it, particularly the opportunity to do good work and serve the public. After graduation, I was offered a job in the Bronx DA’s Office. Instead, I accepted a clerkship at the Appellate Division which lead me to a job on Wall Street. Around then, my friend Sal Martoche asked me to join his team of prosecutors at the Buffalo US Attorney’s office. But the timing wasn’t right. My wife was getting her PhD. I have no regrets, but…

What is one personal goal you have for the next year?

Pick one. Spend more time with my family. Write and record more music. Read more fiction. (I don’t. I read too much law stuff.) Get more involved in supporting political candidates who value democracy. Do more yoga.