Committee

Focus

Chair

Vice Chair

Liaison

Advertising and Internet

Plans presentations on legal issues relating to advertising and hot topics in the internet arena.

Liz Brodzinski
Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. 
lbrodzinski@bannerwitcoff.com

Kerianne Strachan
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP
kstrachan@fitcheven.com

Anisha A. Mehta
K&L Gates LLP
anisha.mehta@klgates.com

Agents

Plans presentations and meetings on topics of interest to patent agents.

Jagriti Ritu Chander
Helix Patent Services LLC

ritu@helixpatents.com

Natasha Sansone
natashadanielle36@gmail.com

Jagriti Ritu Chander
Helix Patent Services LLC

ritu@helixpatents.com

AIA Trials Committee

Issues related to PTAB AIA trials.

George "Trey" Lyons, III
MBHB
lyons@mbhb.com

Joshua James
Crowell & Moring LLP
jjames@crowell.com

Wasim K. Bleibel
Locke Lord LLP
wbleibel@lockelord.com

Appointments

Assists IPLAC in promoting IP attorneys for judicial and other governmental openings.

Dr. E. Kate Berezutskaya
Greer, Burns & Crain, Ltd.
kberezutskaya@gbclaw.net

Marc V. Richards
Crowell & Moring LLP
mrichards@crowell.com

Marc V. Richards
Crowell & Moring LLP
mrichards@crowell.com

Biotechnology

Plans meetings on biotechnology topics of interest.

Stephanie Nelson
Baker Hostetler
sjnelson@bakerlaw.com


 

Michael Patrick Ellenberger
McNeill Baur PLLC
michael.ellenberger@mcneillbaur.com

Wasim K. Bleibel
Locke Lord LLP

wbleibel@lockelord.com

CLE

Assists IPLAC in tracking CLE credit awarded for IPLAC programs.

Matthew Marrone
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.

mmarrone@mcandrews-ip.com

 

Jaimin Shah
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
jshah@taftlaw.com

Anisha A. Mehta
K&L Gates LLP

anisha.mehta@klgates.com

Copyright

Plans meetings on copyright topics of interest.

Adam Wolek
Fox Rothschild LLP
awolek@foxrothschild.com

Brittany Kaplan
K&L Gates

Brittany.Kaplan@klgates.com

William (Bill) Beckman
Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company
Beckman_Bill@cat.com

Corporate

Plans meetings and presentations on topics of interest to IP attorneys working in corporate law departments. Members of this committee are limited to corporate practitioners.

Kara DeAngelis
McDonald’s Corporation
kara.deangelis@us.mcd.com

Jasmine Davis
ConAgra

 

Libby O'Neill
Loeb & Loeb
eoneill@loeb.com

Creator of the Year

Solicits nominations for an award presented to a person or organization for a significant or unique creating in any aspect of IP.

Rathna Koka
JP Morgan Chase & Co
Rathna.r.koka@JPMChase.com

Vangelis Economou
Director, Patent Clinic
Economou IP Law
van@economouIP.com

Dunstan Barnes
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd
dbarnes@mcandrews-ip.com
 

Dinner (Judges and Annual)

Plans the IPLAC Annual Dinner in May and the Annual Dinner Honoring the Federal Judiciary.

Alisa Simmons
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP

asimmons@fitcheven.com
 

Madalyn Phillips
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association 
maphillips1800@gmail.com

Tiffany D. Gehrke
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP

tgehrke@marshallip.com

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion within IPLAC itself and the Chicago IP Community at-large through programming,  outreach, opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship, assessing opportunities for improving diversity, and formulating diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.

Cynthia Assam 
cynthia.assam@gmail.com

Caleb Norris
IpHorgan LTD.
caljnorris@gmail.com

Ted Mahan
Irwin IP LLC
tmahan@irwinip.com

Atanu Das
Guntin & Gust
Atanu.Das@ggip.com

Ethics and Grievances

Conducts IPLAC ethics and grievance hearings.

Per the by-laws, this committee consists of the President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

 

N/A

Field Day

Plans the golf tournament and other events for IPLAC’s Annual Field Day.

Evan Kline-Wedeen
Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP
eklinewedeen@fitcheven.com  

Michael Patrick Ellenberger
McNeill Baur PLLC
michael.ellenberger@mcneillbaur.com

Brian A. Verbus
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
brian.verbus@kirkland.com

 

Foundation Liaison

Liaises between IPLAC Educational Foundation and IPLAC leadership and Board.

Tanya Miari
McDonald's Corporation
Tanya.Miari@us.mcd.com

 

Matthew Kelly

International Relations 
Committee

Focuses on IPLAC’s international presence. Seeks, addresses, and facilitates opportunities for members to liaise concerning IP with representatives of bar associations and governmental offices outside the U.S.

Patrick G. Burns
Greer, Burns & Crain, Ltd.
pburns@gbc.law

Tron Fu
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
tfu@Steptoe.com

Ryan Phelan
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
rphelan@marshallip.com

Matthew Kelly
 

Law School Outreach

Plans programming for the local law school students. Promotes camaraderie with the law schools.

Professor Cynthia Ho
Loyola University School of Law
Cho@luc.edu

Professor David L. Schwartz
Northwestern University School of Law
david.schwartz@law.northwestern.edu

Atanu Das
Guntin & Gust
Atanu.Das@ggip.com

Litigation

Plans seminars on issues relating to IP litigation.

Leif Sigmond
Baker Hostetler
lsigmond@bakerlaw.com

R. David Donoghue
Holland & Knight LLP
david.donoghue@hklaw.com

 

Laura Miller

Litigation: Amicus Committee

Tracks and identifies amicus opportunities and proposes and prepares amicus briefs to be submitted by IPLAC.

Bob Resis
Banner & Witcoff
rresis@bannerwitcoff.com

Margaret M. Duncan
Adjunct Professor, Patent Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
mduncan@luc.edu

Dunstan Barnes
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd
dbarnes@mcandrews-ip.com

Litigation: Claim Construction Committee

Prepares annual book and update on recent cases involving claim construction issues.

Kevin E. Noonan, Ph.D.
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert &
Berghoff LLP
noonan@mbhb.com

Adam G. Kelly
Loeb & Loeb LLP
akelly@loeb.com

 

Erin W. Lothson
Uber Technologies, Inc.
erin.lothson@uber.com

Membership

Develops plans for recruiting and retaining IPLAC members, evaluates applications for membership in IPLAC, and plans a reception for new members and committee chairs.

Kenneth Matuszewski
Goldberg Segalla
kmatuszewski@goldbergsegalla.com

Judy He
Haynes and Boone, LLP
judy.he@haynesboone.com

Vivian Sandoval
Nixon Peabody LLP
vsandoval@nixonpeabody.com

Peter J. Prommer
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
pjprommer@michaelbest.com

Mentoring

Manages IPLAC’s mentoring program.

Rachel Miller
Latimer LeVay Fyock LLC
rmiller@llflegal.com

Margot Wilson
MBHB
wilson@mbhb.com

Kyle Gerstner
NIU Law

Jagriti Ritu Chander
Helix Patent Services LLC
ritu@helixpatents.com

Moot Court Competition Liaison - Saul Lefkowitz Coordinates with Midwest Regional planning committee to host moot court competition and recruit volunteer bailiffs.

Tanya Miari
McDonald's Corporation

Tanya.Miari@us.mcd.com

 

Libby O'Neill
Loeb & Loeb
eoneill@loeb.com

 

Moot Court Competition Liaison - Richard Giles

 

Andrew Wood
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
awood@nge.com

   

Newsletter

Prepares the IPLAC newsletter for distribution to all members. Assists the organization in promoting IPLAC programs, events & activities.

Adam Sussman
Crowell & Moring LLP
asussman@crowell.com

Arvin Hosseini
IIT Chicago Kent Law
ahosseini@kentlaw.iit.edu

Brian A. Verbus
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
brian.verbus@kirkland.com

Paralegal

Plans presentations and meetings on topics of interest to paralegals. Plans networking and social events for members.

Cindi Schermerhorn
LMH IP Services

socks2525@gmail.com

Regina Blaskie
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
mailto:rblaskie@fitcheven.com

 

Abby Pierce
Neal & McDevitt
apierce@nealmcdevitt.com

Peter J. Prommer
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
pjprommer@michaelbest.com

Patents - U.S.

Sponsors presentations on changes in U.S. patent law and procedures and regulations at USPTO. Also recommends to IPLAC leadership and board on whether IPLAC should take action on proposed legislation and regulation.

Yoni Torchman
Torchman IP
yoni.torchman@torchmanip.com

Joshua Smith
Crowell & Moring LLP
jsmith@crowell.com

Joe Janas
Wells Fargo
joe.janas@wellsfargo.com

Symposium

Plans and sponsors annual patent seminar on developments in patent law.

James Muraff
McDonald Hopkins
jmuraff@mcdonaldhopkins.com

Matthew Marrone
McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.
mmarrone@mcandrews-ip.com

Viren Soni
Accenture
Viren.Soni@accenture.com

Margot Wilson
MBHB
wilson@mbhb.com

Kwanwoo Lee
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
klee@marshallip.com

Laura MIller

Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition

Sponsors an annual in-depth seminar on new developments in trade secret and unfair competition.

Debbie Berman
Jenner & Block LLP
dberman@jenner.com

Brad Lane
Crowell & Moring LLP
blane@crowell.com

William (Bill) Beckman
Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company
Beckman_Bill@cat.com

Trademarks & Anti-Counterfeiting

Plans and hosts presentations on changes in U.S. trademark law and procedures and regulations at USPTO. Also recommends to IPLAC leadership and board on whether IPLAC should take action on proposed legislation and regulation.

Janet Lee
Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. 
jjlee@bannerwitcoff.com



Donielle Robinson
McDonald Hopkins

drobinson@mcdonaldhopkins.com

Karen S. Hwang
KSH Law Group
khwang@kshlawgroup.com

Website

 

Assists the organization in maintaining the IPLAC website (www.IPLAC.org), emailing communications to membership, and planning website improvements.

Mary F. Fetsco
von Briesen & Roper, s.c.
mfetsco@vonbriesen.com

Rachel Miller
Greer, Burns & Crain, LTD. 
rmiller@gbc.law

Abby Neu
Greer, Burns & Crain, LTD.
aneu@gbc.law

 

Tiffany D. Gehrke
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
tgehrke@marshallip.com

 

Women in IP

Plans and hosts programs and meetings of interest to women IP practitioners. Hosts annual judicial panel and progressive networking dinner.

Laura M. Schaefer
Leydig Voit & Mayer
lschaefer@leydig.com

Jacquelyn Prom
Pattishall McAuliffee
JRP@pattishall.com

Mary LaFleur
Crowell & Moring LLP
mlafleur@crowell.com

Karen S. Hwang
KSH Law Group
khwang@kshlawgroup.com

Young Members

Plans networking and social events targeted to younger (and young at heart) members.

Prateek Reedy
Michael Best
preddy@michaelbest.com

 

Joseph Ambrose
Quarles and Brady LLP

joseph.ambrose@quarles.com

George Jonas
george.jonas@resideo.com