Marc J. Carmel

A former chief patent counsel to a Fortune 500 communications company with deep first chair trial experience, Thomas Pasternak focuses his practice on patent, trademark, and trade secret litigation, licensing, and prosecution. He protects and defends his clients’ intellectual property rights in district courts throughout the United States, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and the Federal Circuit and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. He ...

Scott Alsterda concentrates his practice on counseling and litigation in pursuit of his clients’ business interests and opportunities in financially troubled situations. He also serves as a Chapter 7 trustee in commercial and consumer bankruptcy cases. What do you focus on? I focus my practice on a variety of issues including enforcement of contract rights, pursuit of claims and remedies against third parties, defense of claims against my clients and the pursuit of business interests an...

Melissa Caballero Dunn is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Melissa Caballero, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Melissa Caballero is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Troy A. Groetken, Shareholder Email: tgroetken@taftlaw.com Tel. (312) 775-8259 Practice Areas: Global Intellectual Property Portfolio Analysis, Counseling & Management; Complex Chemical, Small-molecule Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnological Patent Prosecution; Intellectual Property Acquisition, Divestiture, and Licensing; Clearance, Freedom to Operate & Invalidity Opinions; Trademark Prosecution; Antitrust; Intellectual Property Landscaping Education: Drake University, College of Pharma...

Edward R. Winkofsky, Chair of the Gaming Practice, focuses his practice on gaming regulatory compliance, licensure, and private equity investments in the gaming industry. He also advises clients on internal investigations and charitable gaming. Since joining the firm in 2010, Ed has served as regulatory counsel to gaming industry suppliers and operators, sports wagering and iGaming platform providers and content creators, horse tracks, video gaming route operators, lottery providers, tribal l...

Michael Reagan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice and Bet-the-Company Litigation. Michael, who practices law in Ottawa, Illinois, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jason is a litigator and strategic counselor in all aspects of labor and employment law. He litigates unfair labor practices before the NLRB, arbitrates labor grievances, negotiates and administers collective bargaining agreements, and develops long-term labor strategies to maximize the value and effectiveness of each client’s workforce. He also litigates and provides daily counsel on matters arising out of the numerous federal and state counterpart statutes governing employers, includi...

Jon Ballis is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world’s leading law firms with 6,500 professionals (including more than 3,000 attorneys) around the world committed to the highest quality legal advice and unparalleled client service. In his role, Jon is responsible for establishing and executing upon Kirkland’s strategic priorities, including advancing business initiatives and promoting a culture of performance, collaboration and collegiality. ...

Hariklia (Carrie) Karis is a Kirkland trial lawyer who has extensive lead trial experience in jury and bench trials and arbitration involving personal injury in a broad range of high profile personal injury, product liability and other commercial cases throughout the country. Hariklia was recently recognized by various legal publications as a first class trial lawyer in mass tort and commercial litigation. She was awarded Law360 MVP for Trials in 2022. The American Lawyer named Hariklia &ldqu...

With a practice that is national in scope, Bruce White has more than 35 years of experience in the litigation, arbitration and mediation of environmental disputes and administrative permitting and enforcement proceedings. Regardless of the difficulty or complexity of the matter, Bruce is dedicated to being client-focused and solving problems as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Bruce represents industrial and commercial businesses and governmental entities in Superfund, RCRA/HSWA,...