McAndrews, Held & Malloy Adds Five Lateral Attorneys

04.28.15

New Hires Bring Work Experience in Client Industries, Extensive Knowledge of IPRs 

CHICAGO, IL – April 28, 2015 – McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd., announced today it has added one senior lateral attorney and four lateral associates to its highly regarded team of intellectual property attorneys, patent agents and technology specialists.

Joshua A. Aldort has joined McAndrews as Of Counsel from Butler Pappas. Aldort has a diverse legal background with a concentration on intellectual property law, including trademark and copyright prosecution, trademark and copyright licensing, trademark and copyright infringement, on-line advertising law, and trade secrets litigation.  Aldort’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, insurance companies, mid-size businesses, charitable organizations and individuals. Aldort has represented clients in many industries, including medical imaging, toy and leisure, food products, telecommunications, non-profits, and social media marketing and advertising. He currently serves on the Chairman of the board of Leap Learning Systems, a Chicago-based nonprofit with a mission to improve education in underserved communities.

Rajendra A. Chiplunkar joined McAndrews as an Assocciate from Brinks, Gilson & Lione. His practice includes all areas of intellectual property law, with a focus on patent litigation and post-grant proceedings. Chiplunkar has been involved in all aspects of IP law including patent procurement, licensing and arbitration. He also has considerable experience with a wide range of technologies, such as memory systems, wireless systems and protocols, computer hardware and software, and medical devices. Prior to law school, Chiplunkar worked as an engineer for more than 11 years with Motorola, where he designed wireless infrastructure equipment.

Frank Gao joined the firm as an Associate from Sandvik Intellectual Property, where he was an in-house patent attorney. He focuses his practice on IP transactions, litigation and patent prosecution. Throughout his career, Gao has counseled corporate clients and individual inventors in a wide variety of IP matters, securing patents in such industries as chemical, mechanical, material science, and medical technologies. His specialty is patent drafting, prosecution and strategic development of high-value patent portfolios. Before entering law school, Gao worked at Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of the American Chemical Society. He speaks native Chinese and conversational Japanese.

Michael S. Tomsa came to McAndrews as an Associate from Katten Muchin Rosenman. He concentrates on intellectual property disputes, including wireless communications, software, electrical devices, and consumer products. He has practiced before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. district courts, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. As a registered patent attorney, Tomsa also drafts and has secured patents covering a wide range of technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles, computer software, computer hardware, cell phones, and countless other technologies. In addition, he has substantial experience in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) procedures, such as ex parte and inter partes reexaminations, and inter partes review proceedings under the America Invents Act.

George Wu, Ph.D., joins the firm as an Associate from Husch Blackwell in St. Louis. Wu is well-versed in all areas of intellectual property law, with particular emphasis on biomedical-related subject matters. With a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Wu counsels clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries regarding patent applications/prosecutions, and trademark and copyright registrations. In addition, he represents clients in inter partes reviews at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Section 337 actions before the International Trade Commission, and intellectual property litigations at the federal district courts. Moreover, he is fluent in Chinese and represents clients that conduct business primarily in Asia, as well as Asian clients looking to do business in the United States.

“When we look to add new talent to the McAndrews team, our goal is to attract and retain the most exceptional IP and technology-focused attorneys and staff in the nation,” said McAndrews, Held & Malloy Shareholder and Firm President Robert A. Surrette. “We are confident that these five individuals will contribute to the firm’s continued success in providing superior legal and strategic counsel to our clients and their specialized industries.”

###

About McAndrews, Held & Malloy McAndrews, Held & Malloy boasts one of the most highly regarded teams of intellectual property attorneys, agents and technology specialists in the United States. Founded in 1988, the firm offers deep bench strength in matters relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition. McAndrews attorneys have underlying scientific-based degrees and extensive prior experience in technology and IP-focused professions, and they routinely handle cases that involve innovative and cutting-edge technologies in specialized industries. While best known for their record of litigation successes, the firm also offers services in IP procurement, patent interferences, trademark oppositions and cancellations, IP/technology opinions and investigations, global portfolio management, development and licensing, M&A support, due diligence, design rights and joint ventures. Clients include multi-national corporations, Fortune 500 companies, startups and world-renowned universities. For more information, visit www.mcandrews-ip.com.