Best Lawyers in Illinois, United States for Intellectual Property Law
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Jim Murphy has 20+ years of experience practicing intellectual property law, including successfully representing clients as lead counsel in jury trials across the country and proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Jim helps clients secure and maximize the value of their intellectual property. He also counsels clients on all related issues such as licensing, unfair competition, trade secrets, and copyright. Jim also represents clients with intellectual property aspects of mer...
Sanjay Murthy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property and Patent Law. Sanjay, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sanjay is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jennifer M. Mikulina is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trademark Law. Jennifer M., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jennifer M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael, chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group, provides strategic counsel to established enterprises and entrepreneurs concerning the development and protection of extensive global intellectual property portfolios. He represents clients from a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics, restaurants, retail housewares, beverage manufacturing, software, entertainment and a variety of technology-focused industries. Michael has served as lead counsel in tri...
Dan Burnham has a comprehensive intellectual property practice that encompasses a diverse range of sophisticated technologies and legal issues. He is a registered patent attorney who represents clients in federal courts and at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What do you focus on? I utilize my engineering experience to work closely with clients in the product development process, helping to avoid competitive patents and ensure commercial exploitation of new products through effe...
Robert Surrette is a Shareholder and serves as President of McAndrews. He focuses his practice on the resolution of intellectual property and technology-related disputes with an emphasis on patent, trademark, trade secret and trade dress litigation. For the last 15 years, Bob has counseled a leading global medical device manufacturer on numerous litigation and transactional matters. Bob, building on his experience as a federal district court law clerk, has extensive experience in preparing an...
Sorinel Cimpoes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Sorinel, 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 Sorinel is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael Carrillo advises individuals and businesses on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters, as well as on foreign and domestic patent and trademark protection. Michael navigates clients through and beyond developing, managing and policing small and large IP portfolios, creating practical strategies that leverage his clients’ assets while safeguarding their bottom line. A member of the firm’s Management Committee, Michael is listed among The Best Lawyers in Americ...
Brian C. Rupp is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Brian C., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Brian C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
With nearly 30 years of experience working with clients that include household brands and, in particular, mid-market businesses, John is able to remain calm and focused when encountering challenging environments. He helps clients to reduce stress in service of negotiating their desired resolution. Because copyright and trademark litigation is frequently used as a competitive tool, John works to ensure efficiency and preserve client resources throughout the litigation process, including elimin...
Richard T. Ruzich is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Richard T., who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Richard T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Christopher V. Carani is a Shareholder at McAndrews and has been at the firm since 1995. He practices in all areas of intellectual property law with a particular emphasis on design law. Chris has extensive experience litigating design patent cases, including representations before U.S. district courts, the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and the International Trade Commission. In 2019, Chris was named to the IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists list, with IAM mag...
Bill Kramer is an intellectual property attorney, focusing his practice on patent prosecution, patent threat analysis/response and intellectual property transfers. He has broad knowledge of many technical subjects, with particular experience in algorithm-based computer software, video distribution systems, cloud computing, artificial intelligence software, modern currency forms and transfers, and blockchain technologies. Bill leverages his technical aptitude and successful experience to help ...
Household names in the technology and entertainment sectors and famous brands in all areas of consumer products and services rely on Kristin as an advocate and trusted advisor on IP, general advertising and competition issues. She has counseled multinational clients in multiple high-profile disputes involving novel ecommerce issues. She also gives strategic advice to clients on exploiting their copyrights and trademarks over social media, and on how to best protect their IP rights in software...
Tom Donovan advises on patent and trademark litigation and prosecution, unfair competition and trade secret litigation, as well as a variety of licensing-related matters. Regardless of the client or the complexity of the matter at hand, Tom provides his clients with the guidance they need, in a way they can understand and apply to their daily business operations. Tom also has significant negotiation and drafting experience with software licensing, as well as patent, trademark and copyright li...
Mr. Liss is experienced in trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition counseling and litigation. He has significant experience in complex inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and has represented numerous clients in federal courts around the U.S. Mr. Liss represents clients in a wide variety of industries including health care, consumer goods and products, insurance and financial services, industrial and commercial products and online reta...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.