Patent and Engineering Law

I am a practicing attorney and I have been in practice since 1998 with McAndrews, Held & Malloy, one of Chicago's largest Intellectual Property (IP) specialty firms.  As a Patent Attorney, I help inventors and companies develop individually tailored IP portfolios and I help them enforce their IP rights to drive revenue and provide value.  The IP portfolios are typically centered around patents, but often include copyrights, trademarks/ tradedress, trade secrets, design patents, license agreements, and other rights.  I also analyze corporate IP holdings, for example in conjunction with licensing, a merger, or an acquisition, and perform product clearances before a new product is released.  Finally, I defend clients and respond to allegations that they are infringing the IP of others.

In recognition of my efforts I have been named a Rising Star on the Illinois SuperLawyers List for 2008, 2009, and 2010.  I have also been named to the Patent Buddy® List of Top Patent Prosecutors (representing the top 2% of Patent Prosecutors) in the areas of "Computer, Electrical, Software, and Business Methods". Further, my firm (McAndrews, Held & Malloy) is ranked #3 in the Nation for Patent Quality (#2 in the Information Technology area) by Intellectual Asset Magazine (IAM).  Additionally, U.S. News recently ranked McAndrews, Held & Malloy as National Tier 1 for Patent Law.

I also founded and direct a Patent Clinic wherein students that did well in my Patent Prosecution course draft full patent applications for student inventors that are referred to us by the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) at the University of Illinois College of Engineering, typically as part of the Lemelson Innovation Competition or Cozad New Venture Competition.  2011 is the fourth year of our clinic.

Additionlly, it was my great honor to establish the Barich Excellence in Patent Law Award at the University of Illinois CoL in 2008.  The Barich Award honors a 3L law student having interest and accomplishments in patent law, especially patent prosecution.

As a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Illinois Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering Department, I began teaching Engineering Law (GE 400) in the Fall of 2010 wherein I try to arm the next generation of engineers with an understanding the legal framework under which they will be working in their careers.  The course has been well received by the students and earned my inclusion in the "List of Teachers Ranked As Excellent By Their Students, Fall 2010" as released by the University of Illinois Center For Teaching Excellence, where my ratings were "Outstanding."  I was again ranked as "Outstanding" in the "List Of Teachers Ranked As Excellent By Their Students, Spring 2011".

I was also included in the "List Of Teachers Ranked As Excellent By Their Students, Spring 2010" with regard to my teaching at the College of Law.

Additionally, I received a 2010 Young Alumni Achievement Award from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois.