McAndrews, Held & Malloy Attorney Sharon A. Hwang Joins ECE Illinois Alumni Board
12.08.15
CHICAGO – December 8, 2015 – McAndrews, Held & Malloy Shareholder Sharon A. Hwang will join the University of Illinois Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s (ECE) Alumni Board, beginning in January 2016. As a member, Hwang brings extensive experience in the legal industry and will help connect ECE Illinois’ 22,000 living alumni with department leadership, as well as guide the department’s overall strategy.
“I’m honored to be joining the Alumni Board and working closely with people who truly embody the ECE department’s reputation for excellence. This university has provided me with so many incredible opportunities and experiences, and I’m eager to give back,” said Hwang. “One of my personal goals is to mentor and promote ECE students and alumni, and particularly support the recruitment of more women to the ECE student body and faculty.”
In her role with the Alumni Board, Hwang will assist the ECE department in selecting recipients of departmental alumni awards, supporting several awards and scholarships for current students, meeting with alumni and students at a variety of events, and providing support in areas like corporate relations, communications and fundraising.
In addition to Hwang, the new 2016 board members include Tod Courtney, lead engineer at Jump Labs; Linda Reinhard, vice president and market leader at Penton’s Engineering and Buildings group; Glendon Schuster, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Centene Corporation; and Becky Webb, senior engineer at ComEd.
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 Illinois Super Lawyer, and was also awarded this 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 also spearheaded the launch of the McAndrews’ Diversity in Patent Law Fellowship, which encourages diversity in the field of intellectual property law.
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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.