McAndrews, Held & Malloy Shareholder Sharon A. Hwang to be Honored with a Vanguard Award at the Chicago Bar Association’s Vanguard Awards Luncheon
04.12.16
CHICAGO, IL – April 12, 2016 – Sharon A. Hwang, a shareholder at McAndrews, Held & Malloy and a recent “Advocate for Diversity” with the Diversity Scholarship Foundation, is a 2016 recipient of the Chicago Bar Association’s (CBA) prestigious Vanguard Award.
Each year, the CBA honors both the individuals and institutions who have made the law and legal profession more accessible to and reflective of the community at-large. Hwang, who has been a long-time advocate of diversity in the field of intellectual property law, is the Chinese American Bar Association’s 2016 honoree for the Vanguard Award, which will be presented at the CBA Vanguard Awards Luncheon on April 20, 2016. A full list of this year’s honorees can be found here.
“We’re very proud to have someone like Sharon at our firm, who can not only provide our clients with the best legal counsel imaginable, but also spends a significant amount of time supporting diversity in the profession through her dedication and service to local, national and alumni organizations and efforts,” said McAndrews Shareholder and Firm President Robert A. Surrette. “On behalf of the entire firm, I congratulate Sharon for winning the prestigious Vanguard Award.”
At McAndrews, Hwang focuses her practice on patent litigation and intellectual property counseling, and has experience with many diverse technologies, such as medical devices, orthopedic implants, surgical navigation systems, digital cellular telephones and complex communication systems. For more than 20 years, she has represented patentees and defendants in high-stakes patent litigation in federal courts and in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. In October 2015, the Supreme Court granted Hwang’s petition for writ of certiorari in Stryker v. Zimmer to consider the standard for enhancing damages in patent infringement cases.
Hwang was selected as a 2015 and 2016 Illinois Super Lawyer, and was also awarded last year the Sandra R. Otaka Leadership Award from the Asian-American Bar Association of Greater Chicago. Previously, Hwang was selected as one of the “Best Lawyers Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She spearheaded the launch of the annual McAndrews’ Diversity in Patent Law Fellowship, which encourages diversity in IP law.
###
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.