Jim Hafertepe is a Shareholder at McAndrews, having joined the firm after graduating from law school in 1995. Jim practices in all areas of intellectual property law with a particular emphasis on patent and technology-related disputes (e.g., litigation, arbitration, and post-grant proceedings). He has successfully represented clients in Federal district courts throughout the country, the Federal Circuit, other appellate courts, and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. His practice also includes counseling clients on licensing, clearance opinions, patent and trademark prosecution, portfolio strategy, and portfolio management.

Jim has managed all aspects of complex, high-stakes intellectual property litigation and arbitration, including multiple cases where sales of the client’s accused products exceeded $1 billion. For example, he has extensive experience handling complicated discovery, working with technical experts, writing and arguing dispositive motions, conducting patent claim construction hearings, conducting multi-week trials and arbitrations, and writing appellate briefs. In addition, Jim has spearheaded the damages portions of at least seven major patent cases, obtaining substantial awards and settlements for firm clients (e.g., $166 million, $63.75 million). One of the awards is among the top patent damages awards of all time.

Beyond court litigations and arbitrations, Jim has successfully handled multiple post-grant proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including inter partes review and inter partes reexamination proceedings.

Jim also has coordinated litigation strategies across multiple forums (domestic and international). For example, working with OUS counsel, Jim recently handled multiple related high-stakes litigation matters simultaneously pending in several U.S. district courts, the UK, Germany, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the European Patent Office.

Jim’s experience encompasses a broad spectrum of medical devices and other technologies, including continuous glucose monitors, coronary angioplasty catheters, drug-eluting stents, cardiac defibrillators/pacemakers, biotechnology, satellite systems, bar code printers, semiconductors for hard disk drives, and internet communications technology.

Jim received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992, where he graduated with honors. While at the University of Illinois, Jim spent four semesters as a co-op engineer at the Thiokol Corporation in Utah, where he worked on the solid rocket propulsion system for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. As a result of this valuable engineering experience, Jim gained a firsthand understanding of how things really happen in industry, which has shaped his approach to practicing law. After receiving his engineering degree, Jim attended the University of Chicago Law School, graduating with honors in 1995.