McAndrews Welcomes New Associates
11.07.24
William Danziger, Manuel (Manny) Franco, Christian Hallerud, and Khalfani Maatuka all previously worked at the firm as summer associates.
- William focuses on patent litigation in the medical device industry, and he has experience working on a variety of utility and design patent matters. He received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law, where he served as a staff editor for the school’s Journal of Law and Policy and was on the board of the Intellectual Property Law Society. Prior to law school, William graduated with High Honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering and a minor in Electrical Engineering.
- Manny specializes in patent and trademark litigation. He has experience in pre-suit investigations and assessment, motion practice, discovery, and inter partes reviews. He received his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a B.E. in General Engineering, magna cum laude, with minors in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Mississippi. While in law school, Manny served as a judicial extern at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where he worked on a patent matter involving two-way radios. Manny is fluent in spoken and written Spanish and maintains his language proficiency through pro bono work at the firm.
- Christian focuses on intellectual property (IP) litigation, including proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and patent prosecution. His work has involved technology areas including mechanical, electrical, and industrial devices. Christian graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law and received a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. During his final semester of law school, he worked for the College of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, where he represented clients in Freedom of Information Act litigation and helped prepare an oral argument for an appeal of a trademark matter before the Sixth Circuit.
- Khalfani focuses his practice on IP litigation. He has worked on a variety of IP matters, including patent prosecution and trademark, copyright, and contract disputes. He earned his J.D. from Washington University School of Law, and he graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCATSU) with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. During law school, he worked at Abbott Laboratories’ Rapid Diagnostics Group, where he focused on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution.