Testimonials
“Best CLE program I’ve been to because it was comprehensive.” – Ronald Boggs, Esq.
“The seminar was excellent – very helpful in my development for practicing in federal court. It provided a lot of practical advice in one day. The judges were very helpful in providing the perspective from the bench.” – Rob Harrer, Esq.
“The program is well-structured and encompasses all of the most important topics.” – Yelyzaveta Altukhova, Esq.
“I’m very happy with the topics that were covered. Excellent seminar! I will recommend this to other attorneys!” – Sarah Hertz, Esq.
“A great refresher. The speakers were very good.” – Michael Conway, Esq.
“The program is fantastic! I was so impressed by the depth and content of each speaker’s oral presentations and course materials. The program was great. I am so glad I came.” – Laura Lee Robinson, Esq.
“Very interesting and informative.” – Melissa M. Cuddington, Esq.
“It was valuable to receive not only general guidance but first-hand advice from seasoned federal litigators and from a member of the bench.”
“Excellent – very thorough!” – Steve McMullen, Esq.
“I learned a lot considering most of my cases have been in state court. The program will be useful in the future.”
“Very helpful. I recently was removed to federal court and this brought me up to date.” – Thomas Duda, Esq.
“I found the materials and presentation to be very informative.” – Irakere Picon, Esq.
“Excellent speakers and content – gave me a better background for Federal Court practice.” – Leonard J. Solfa, Jr., Esq.
“Good topics and thorough presentation- great questions and answers also.” – Shayla Maatuka, Esq.
“This was an excellent seminar!” – Charles P. Romaker, Esq.
“This program allows attorneys to ask ‘dumb questions’ they can’t ask the firm, and gives the background for a lot of topics they haven’t been exposed to yet. This eliminates the need to do preliminary research on only background guidance.” – Kerri Feczko, Esq.
“I am new to civil litigation, so I found this entire program incredibly helpful. Thank you!”
“Our firm is beginning to take on more federal cases. This covered everything I wanted. The program was fantastic.” – Peter Beake, Esq.
“Great summary on topics and a “refresher” for those that have practiced for years. It is always nice to have a panel that includes a practicing Judge as well.”
“Excellent.” – Julia Funke, Esq.
“It is always great to hear from judges, the speakers were knowledgeable and genuine.” – Shayla Maatuka, Esq.
“Good program, good content, and good tips.”– Daniel Lindsey, Esq.
“The presenters were informative and engaging. There was a great range of perspectives.”
“A lot of information to process but good guidance for how to navigate this new journey. It was nice to hear from a judge about how the judiciary views actions that litigants and practitioners take.” – Rob Alexander, Esq.
“Good refresher.” – Michael Conway, Esq.
“Very satisfied. The seminar had well-prepared presenters, good written materials and the staff/facilitators were well-organized.” – Michael P. Coghlan, Esq.
“Excellent overview of complaint and answer strategies.” – Jenna Milaeger, Esq.
“I thought the deposition, MSJ, and trial tips were very helpful and informative. Ms. McNally was a great instructor. She had a lot of very useful tips, strategies, and practice pointers. I learned a lot from her presentations.” – Mikayla Hamilton, Esq.
“Insightful discussion as to what clerks and judges are looking for.” – Richard Lehman, Esq.
“This gave me a good overview of federal court practice, and pointed me towards other helpful resources. Thanks for giving a few spots to legal aid. We really appreciate it!” – Kathryn Socha, Esq.
“Great program. Had several people in my office attend (including younger attorneys).”
“Excellent presentations. The discovery pilot program discussion was very good.” – Colin O’Brien, Esq.
“Very informative and responsive.”– Kevin R. Anderson, Esq.
“Insightful and educational on a wide variety of federal court subjects.” – Jonathan Wassell, Esq.
“Very good program. All speakers were dynamic.”
“Loved the specific pointed feedback from experienced people.”
“All the speakers were very informative.” – Juliet Carol Gilbert, Esq.
“Excellent presentations.”– Leonard J. Solfa, Jr., Esq.
“The Federal Rules Course in Chicago was outstanding. Rick Levin, Brad Nahrstadt and their group of outstanding attorneys worked hard and delivered a most thoughtful scholarly presentation.” – B.F. Natarus, Esq.
“Great pointers and good checklist materials.” – Amy Wilson
“I learned a lot about depositions.” – Lucas Sun, Esq.
“Very satisfied.” – Kenderick Jordan, Esq.
“The speakers were engaging, the content helpful, and the practice pointers useful.”
“Very relevant.” – Jeffrey A. Goodloe, Esq.
“Good information on depositions, especially pertaining to entities and Mr. Bolton gave excellent advice and presentation.” – Nathan A. Frisch, Esq.
“Good overview from start to finish.” – Kevin Halverson, Esq.
“Great job!” – Delaney Hunt, Esq.
“It is useful to have speakers who bring various perspectives (plaintiffs’ counsel, defendants’ counsel, magistrate judge) to the presentations.”
“They addressed great topics.” – Zartosht Khodavandi, Esq.
“I am agency counsel, so I don’t practice in Federal Court, but rather assist the AUSAs with the case against staff. This training was very helpful to me to get a better understanding of why the AUSAs request or need certain information. It was also helpful for me to know how I can assist them better.” – Amy Standefer Mallott, Esq.
“Very informative and insightful commentary.” – Tim Lessman, Esq.
“Amazing! Loved Bhavani Raveendran’s presentation. She was very knowledgeable and she knew when to draw on the knowledge of the group.”
“Laura McNally was great! Loved the PowerPoints and MSJ advice she gave.” – Maria Magginas, Esq.
”Good straight forward presentation. Clear and concise.” – Randy Wolf, Esq.
“I thought it was very helpful! Good balance between a general overview of topics and specific information.”
“It was very well put together. It was easy to follow and listen to. I tuned in via Zoom and on my phone, both worked effortlessly which is uncommon in Zoom presentations.”
“An extraordinary amount of information, especially useful for novice federal litigators, and provided by well-prepared and seasoned practitioners.”
“I learned a lot about depositions.” – Lucas Sun, Esq.
“I liked comparisons between state and federal court.” – Lisa Clay, Esq.
“Federal law is so strict, that boot camps/seminars like this are very helpful for someone only in Federal court on an infrequent basis. I liked how the speakers showed the Illinois v. federal rules. I liked hearing a Judge’s perspective.”
“Very satisfied.” – Delaney Hunt, Esq.
“Excellent seminar with lots of practical advice.”
“Excellent program. A judge’s perspective is always great insight. Nieves Bolanos gave great strategy pointers.”
“Good program with useful info.” – Jeff Hamera, Esq.
“It was great.” – Dolores Ayala, Esq.
“I thought the program was excellent and so were the speakers.”
“Very satisfied.” Thomas Duda, Esq.
“It’s great to have the Judge’s perspective along with the litigator’s perspective.”
“I thought the presentations were really informative and helpful.”
“Speakers were all very good and I enjoyed the back and forth and the way they all contributed.”
“Great presentations by all!”
“I was looking for a tutorial/refresher of federal civil procedure and was very pleased.”
“Very informative, and I appreciated the many perspectives shared.”
“The panelists answered a lot of questions I didn’t know how to phrase, but that were long-term points of confusion.”
“This was a great topic for a day-long CLE, I would recommend it.”
“Five stars.” – Scheagbe Mayumi Grigsby, Esq.
“Great program to introduce new lawyers to federal court.”
“Useful content was presented with incisive practice tips.”
“Great program!”
“It was very informative.”
“Nice to have a refresher on federal procedures. Great advice for newer associates. Got a lot of great advice in regards to procedures and motion practice at the federal level.”
“Speakers were well-prepared and provided relevant practice tips that I will be able to use. Lots of good insights. It was very valuable hearing from a judge’s point of view.”
“Really enjoyed it! I learned so much!”
“Great practical information today, especially post-covid pointers. Really helpful.”
“It was informative!”
“It was a good basic level course. I have a lot of trial experience, so the “boot camp” on trial best practices covered familiar matters for me, but excellent advice for lawyers with little trial experience.”
“I found the examples and hypotheticals very helpful in understanding the federal rules.”
“I thought all the speakers were very knowledgeable in their topics.”
“The program overall was very informative.”
“It’s been a while since I have been in Federal Court, I needed a refresher.”
“The program was excellent.”
“Great advice for newer associates. Got a lot of great advice in regards to procedures and motion practice at the federal level.”
“As a new attorney, it has been really helpful. I am learning the ins and outs of litigating in federal court.”
“Very useful information.”
“Very helpful. I recently was removed to federal court and this brought me up to date.”
“Very effective program. It was helpful to see the comparison between Federal Court and State Court. Hon. Jeffrey T. Gilbert gave real-life examples for each rule discussed which proved helpful for me as a new attorney. Nieves Bolanos provided excellent practice tips and was well prepared in answering questions.”
“Concise but effective overview of practicing in federal court.”
“I was very satisfied with this training!”
“Very satisfied. The format of the presentation, soliciting practice tips from multiple speakers on the panel, was engaging and effective.”
“Provided a great overview of Federal Court Rules and Procedures.”
“Great material.”
“Great content, great commentary, great perspectives.”
“Motions for Summary Judgment section was thoughtful and entertaining!”
“Very helpful overview especially for those of us who took civ pro/ bar exam what seems like an eternity ago. Good nuts and bolts overview along with real-world examples.”
“Good.”– Daniel Lindsey, Esq.
“The practice tips were the best part.”
“Highly informative.”
“Very informative and had people who were clearly knowledgeable!”
“The program was well organized and informative.”
“Great.” – Erica Hollar, Esq.
“Good program. Andrew Porter was excellent. Bhavani Raveendran is a bright new star with a great firm.”
“They were all very informative and held my attention well. It was great having a judge on the panel. That was a very rewarding experience.”
“Great!”
“My personal objectives have been satisfied fully.”
“The whole panel was helpful.”
“I enjoyed the tips on preparing for a deposition and trial strategy.”
“Really enjoyed it. Great overview of all aspects of a fed court case.”
“Hon. M. David Weisman provided great insight on what judges expect and how to be well prepared when appearing in Federal Court. His comments were very valuable!”
“I thought the program provided a nice general overview.”
“Pre-trial matters are typically rushed and glazed over. Mr. Porter made it a point to emphasize their importance and gave a good overview for new attorneys. Great conversation about what to do when preparing for depositions and how to act during them. Great perspective on Motions for Summary Judgment from the Plaintiff’s point of view. Good advice on strategies for responding as well. Ms. Church presented a lot of information in a really short time! Great discussion about what to expect and how to prepare for trial.”
“Laura McNally was personable and conveyed her experience well. Her spotlight analogy regarding direct- and cross-examination was terrific.”
“Well run and informative.”
“Panelists interacted well together.”
“All speakers were knowledgeable and well-spoken.”
“Got practical tips on answers and MSJ.”
“All relevant topics for my practice areas. Great refreshers and updates on recent federal rule changes.”
“This was a great refresher course.”
“Good overview before delving into specifics of each topic, easy to keep up with all the information.”
“Overall good overview of the subject.”
“Valuable content and information.”
“A great teacher! Appreciated his giving context for the topic he covered. Intro on e-discovery was very helpful.”
“I think that the program was informative and touched on the key areas that attorneys should be aware of in federal practice. I think overall that the program was very good and detailed.”
“Great presentation with thorough content!”
“The speakers were very informative.”
“The information, especially about the 2015 FRCP amendments, was very helpful. My practice has increased in Federal Court so this information is increasingly relevant to me. Great presentation by Matt Bills. I learned a lot of new things that are extremely pertinent to my practice.”
“Brad Nahrstadt’s presentation was extremely informative – lots of good ideas and tips. I also liked having the judge’s input on attorney practice, rule changes, and goals met by said changes, etc.”
“I thought the afternoon presentations were extremely helpful.”
“Enjoyed the panel. Good, practical information.”
“Fantastic content on trial presentation. Enjoyed content and presentation on pre-trial matters.”
“Very interesting and useful information.”
“General tips about oral argument were most helpful.”
“It was great. I got a lot of information.”
“The speakers were very informative and kept me engaged. I particularly enjoyed hearing from the judges and getting their perspectives.”
“The program was very thorough, which is why I attended.”
“This was a great learning experience. Particularly valued the judges’ perspectives.”
“This was a really informative webinar.”
“This whole program was excellent! Best CLE I have ever attended.”
“Extremely helpful and worth the time.”
“Well done and very informative.”
“Excellent program, everything was very informative.”
“Great! Comprehensive!”
“Laura McNally was very helpful. Excellent speaker. Very knowledgeable. Mike Leonard was really great. Stellar afternoon speakers!”
“Well done and thorough.”
“I really enjoyed Thursday’s webinar. It was very informative.”
“Loved the variant and specific practice feedback.”
“Very satisfied. Lots of techniques that can be incorporated into my career.”
“Learned some good litigation tips.”
“Brad Nahrstadt was very engaging and I learned so much.”
“Deposition strategies was a good presentation. Good practical advice. Reid Bolton also did a great job presenting – very practical advice.”
“Great program.”
“Very useful information.”
“Beneficial.”
“Liked everything.”
“There was a lot of good information provided in the program.”
“It was excellent!”
“Fantastically done.”
“Great program.”
“There were a lot of good tips and the materials were good.”
“Good overview of federal practice.“
“Great format and presentation.”
“Very good content.”
“Great to have federal judges present!”
“Well done.”
“It was enlightening.”
“Good nuts and bolts of federal practice.”
“I liked that it packed a lot into a one-day session.”
“Great content.”
“I definitely learned a lot.”
“I thought all of the speakers were great.”
“Very informative.”
Faculty
Hon. Thomas M. Durkin
Judge
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Thomas M. Durkin became a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on January 14, 2013, having been nominated by President Barack Obama on May 21, 2012. Judge Durkin received a JD degree with honors from DePaul University College of Law in 1978 and a BS degree in accounting with honors from the University of Illinois in 1975. Following graduation from DePaul University, Judge Durkin served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stanley J. Roszkowski of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1978 to 1980.
After his clerkship, Judge Durkin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago from 1980 to 1993, where he held positions as First Assistant US Attorney, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division, Chief of the Criminal Receiving and Appellate Division, and Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division. While an Assistant United States Attorney he tried over 50 jury trials.
Before taking the bench, Judge Durkin was a partner in the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP from 1993 to 2013, specializing in complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, and internal investigations.
He served on the Board of the Legal Assistance Foundation from 1999 to 2008. He has been a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2000. He was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts in 2015 to the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Hon. Franklin U. Valderrama
Judge
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
The Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Valderrama was born in Panama City, Panama and is the first Panamanian-American to serve as an Article III judge in the Northern District of Illinois.
Prior to joining the District Court, Judge Valderrama served as a judge in the General Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Judge Valderrama also served on the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Evidence. Judge Valderrama has served as an Adjunct Professor at UIC John Marshall Law School. Before joining the Circuit Court in 2007, Judge Valderrama was a partner at Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman, where he focused his practice on civil litigation.
Judge Valderrama is a commissioner on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Latino Judges Association and is a member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the Illinois Judicial Council. Judge Valderrama was awarded the 2020 Outstanding Service to the Profession Award by the DePaul University College of Law.
Judge Valderrama received his law degree from the DePaul University College of Law.
Hon. Beth W. Jantz
Magistrate Judge
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Judge Beth W. Jantz is a Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Jantz handles both civil and criminal matters, and since being appointed, has conducted close to 100 formal settlement conferences.
Judge Jantz was previously an attorney with the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois. Before that, she practiced at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, focusing on class actions and products liability. Judge Jantz was the President of the Chicago Inn of Court for 2019-20.
Judge Jantz serves on many court committees including: the Sentencing Options that Achieve Results Program (“SOAR”), which is a pretrial diversion program for criminal defendants; the 7th Circuit Criminal Jury Instructions Committee; and the Administrative Office’s “Roadways to the Bench” program.
Judge Jantz is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Northwestern University School of Law. After graduation, she clerked for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Staff Attorneys’ Office.
Nieves Bolaños, Esq.
Shareholder
Hawks Quindel, S.C.
Nieves Bolaños joined Hawks Quindel, S.C. in 2024. She has significant litigation experience at the state and federal level, as well as with local administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board.
Nieves’ experience includes representation of single plaintiffs, class and collective actions at all stages of litigation, and she has litigated False Claims Act cases and large class action cases with exceptional results.
Nieves is a 2009 graduate of DePaul University College of Law. She serves on the Executive Board of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and is VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on its Executive Committee.
She also chairs NELA’s Low Wage Worker Practice Group and serves on its Legislative Action Committee and is a member of NELA’s Illinois affiliate, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the National Lawyers Guild’s Chicago Labor and Employment Committee. Nieves serves on the ARISE Chicago Legal Advisory Board and on the Board for In These Times Magazine.
Megan Cunniff Church, Esq.
Partner
MoloLamken LLP
Megan Cunniff Church is a highly accomplished trial lawyer who represents companies and individuals in high-stakes civil litigation and criminal and regulatory matters. She conducts corporate internal investigations in the U.S. and abroad, and she advises clients on crisis and risk management.
As a former federal prosecutor, Ms. Church has extensive experience investigating, litigating, and successfully resolving white collar criminal and regulatory matters. She served as a Deputy Chief of the Financial Crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where she prosecuted and supervised complex health care fraud, tax fraud, and corporate and financial crimes cases. She also served as a Deputy Chief of the General Crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she trained and supervised new prosecutors on federal criminal practice.
In her nine years as an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Church investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, public corruption, money laundering, narcotics and weapons violations, international drug trafficking, identity theft, cybercrimes, embezzlement, human trafficking, and organized crime. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the Public Corruption section, Ms. Church prosecuted and convicted numerous public officials and law enforcement officers for fraud, bribery, extortion, and tax offenses. She has tried 18 cases to verdict, and she has briefed and argued nearly a dozen matters in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ms. Church has taught trial advocacy at the University of Chicago Law School and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness.
Ian H. Fisher, Esq.
Partner
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
A Chambers USA-ranked attorney, Ian represents clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies in commercial litigation matters involving real estate, privacy, trade secret misappropriation, restrictive covenant, consumer, contract, and business tort disputes.
Ian has substantial experience defending against class actions and navigating multidistrict litigation proceedings. He has successfully defended on appeal many of his trial court victories and is skilled at identifying strategies that align with his clients’ business goals. Having served as a general counsel for both a law firm and a small company, Ian has a unique understanding of in-house counsel’s perspective.
Ian counsels clients on a wide range of issues central to their business needs, including Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), insurance policies and claims, risk mitigation, and restrictive covenants.
Among his many accolades, Illinois Super Lawyers ranks Ian as one of its “Top 100 Attorneys” in Illinois and has included him on its Super Lawyers list for more than a dozen years. For more than 18 years, the Leading Lawyers Network has named Ian as a “Leading Lawyer” in both Commercial Litigation and Class Action/Mass Tort Defense, and he has been ranked more recently in the area of Trade Secrets/Unfair Competition Law. Best Lawyers likewise recognizes Ian for Commercial Litigation. He is also rated AV Preeminent 5/5 by Martindale-Hubbell, its top rating for ethical standards and legal ability.
Ian is also active in the ABA Litigation Section’s Leadership, where he has chaired many committees, including the Class Action and Derivative Suits (CADS) Committee. He currently serves as a member of the Council, its executive body.
Kristen E. Hudson, Esq.
Partner
Dickinson Wright PLLC
Kristen Hudson, partner with Dickinson Wright, represents businesses and business people in complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts in Texas, Illinois and across the country. Kristen has won high-stakes challenges in a variety of substantive areas, from breach of contract, business and statutory torts, including fraud and the False Claims Act claims, to intellectual property disputes involving the protection of trade secrets and privacy. Kristen has significant experience with Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods. Kristen also has concentrated experience in lawyer professional liability and fiduciary liability, including high-net worth trust disputes.
Kristen has served as General Counsel of mid-size law firm with offices in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, she has been seconded to clients for extended periods including at a large energy company and with a UK-based insurance company. With this experience to guide her, Kristen works to avoid court wherever possible for her clients, and pursues solutions that make the most business and financial success for her clients, including advocating aggressively when litigation is required.
In addition to her commercial litigation practice, Kristen is knowledgeable about all types of third-party commercial liability policies, including directors’ and officers’ liability, professional liability, employment practices liability, commercial general liability, products liability, cyber liability, among others. Kristen has experience on all sides of an insurance coverage dispute and business disputes involving the insurance industry. As a policyholder lawyer, Kristen recovered millions of dollars in insurance proceeds for her policyholder clients. Most recently, Kristen served as coverage and monitoring counsel on behalf of insurers.
Prior to attending law school, Kristen was a French teacher in the North Carolina public schools.
Rima Kapitan, Esq.
Partner
Kapitan Gomma Law
Rima Kapitan specializes in employment litigation, consulting and advocacy on behalf of employees and small businesses. In recent years she has increasingly focused on academic issues, representing professors in appeals of tenure denials, litigating civil rights cases in the university setting, and providing consulting for faculty governance bodies. She has spoken on the topic of academic freedom at conferences and panels of the American Association of University Professors, the New York University School of Law, the Fordham University School of Law, and California State University. She also previously served as Managing Partner of a 7-attorney law firm. Ms. Kapitan was admitted to practice in the State of Illinois Supreme Court in 2005, and is a member of the Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law and Indiana University’s Individualized Major Program.
Samera Syeda Ludwig, Esq.
Partner
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Samera Syeda Ludwig focuses her practice on labor and employment and business immigration. For more than 20 years, she has represented employers in both state and federal courts and in administrative proceedings throughout the country. As an experienced litigator, Samera counsels and represents businesses on matters involving employee discipline, employee claims of discrimination, and harassment and retaliation and conducts internal investigations. Samera also advises employers on immigration policies and employment related issues including obtaining non-immigrant and immigrant visas, providing immigration related guidance during corporate mergers and acquisitions, and assisting employers with I-9 employment eligibility and verification compliance.
Daniel Meyers, Esq.
Partner
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Daniel Meyers represents clients in complex litigations with a focus on products liability, consumer fraud, and class actions. He has extensive experience representing clients as national counsel in mass tort litigations including all phases of litigation. Daniel has worked on teams that have tried cases to defense jury verdicts in multiple jurisdictions in both state and federal court. He also has experience litigating appeals.
Daniel is committed to pro bono legal services, having represented clients in matters ranging from employment contract disputes to child custody disputes. Recently, he was part of an innocence project team that secured the exoneration of an innocent man who spent 14 years in prison — 10 of them on Florida’s death row — after being wrongfully incarcerated and convicted of two stabbing murders in 2004.
Prior to joining the firm, Daniel volunteered as a Special Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Labor Division where he represented the City in hearings before the Chicago Police and Human Resources Boards, as well as in arbitrations.
Jaimin H. Shah, Esq.
Partner
Taft
Jaimin Shah is an intellectual property litigator focusing on patent, trademark, and trade secret cases in federal courts across the country.
Jaimin’s patent litigation practice is industry-agnostic, spanning diverse technology areas such as pharmaceuticals, automobile accessories, smokeless firepits, smartphone messaging apps, digital data compression systems, and LED luminaires. Jaimin’s trademark cases have involved footwear, cannabis, spice, outdoor recreation, and live entertainment industries. He also litigates a variety of trade secret misappropriation cases and complex commercial disputes.
Jaimin brings depth and maturity to his litigation practice due, in part, to his prior in-house experience, where he gained first-hand knowledge in litigation strategy and the business realities that inform company decisions.
Jaimin is compelling on paper and quick on his feet. He has argued case-critical motions and Markman hearings; deposed key inventors and experts; and crafted winning summary judgment and appellate briefs. Jaimin brings a lot of energy and out-of-the-box thinking to each matter, going above and beyond on each task to make significant inroads in the case in alignment with client goals.
Jaimin served as a judicial extern for the Hon. James F. Holderman and the Hon. Virginia M. Kendall in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. That experience enabled him to build priceless “behind the bench” perspectives on how judges decide cases.
Jaimin has a strong technical background in biochemistry and biotechnology. He has a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. His J.D. is from University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, cum laude, where he received the CALI award in Professional Responsibility and International Law.
Additional faculty and judges TBA
