Urmston, Randolph W.

Chuck Laff, a partner, has had a long and extensive career in representing clients in all phases of intellectual property law. Much of Mr. Laff's work relates to intellectual property litigation, where he has been lead trial and appellate counsel in hundreds of lawsuits involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition in federal and state courts throughout the United States. His experience includes both bench and jury trials and oral arguments before federal and state appellate courts and Patent and Trademark Office tribunals, including the Federal Circuit and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Mr. Laff also assists clients in obtaining, maintaining, assessing and enforcing intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and merchandising rights, throughout the world. His work has related to, among others, medical and dental devices, commercial furniture, foods, industrial ovens, packaging and packaging machinery, wheel chair vehicle lifts, business methods, outdoor advertising, chemical processes, specialty metal design, sporting goods, consumer electronic accessories, toys and tricycles. He also has helped clients establish and enforce U.S. Customs blocks and deal with U.S. Customs agents in connection with customs' seizures and other matters.

Mr. Laff was appointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to serve on a Merit Selection Panel in order to assist the Court in the selection of a magistrate judge for the court. He was also appointed to serve as a voting member on the United States District Court Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee. In addition, Mr. Laff has served as a member on the Board of Managers for the Legal Aid Society of United Charities and as a member of the Center for Intellectual Property Law & Information Technology (CIPLIT) Advisory Board at DePaul University College of Law. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Park Tennis Association.

In addition to representing clients in many mediation and settlement proceedings, Mr. Laff has received formal training as a mediator from the International Trademark Association (INTA) and has served as an arbitrator and mediator in patent and trademark infringement cases. He also has been an expert witness and consultant in patent and copyright cases. He serves on the INTA Panel of Neutrals and is listed as a mediator by U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois for its Voluntary Trademark Mediation Program. He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committees of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago.

Mr. Laff has taught intellectual property law as an adjunct professor at Loyola University School of Law in Chicago for over 20 years and is currently co-teaching at Loyola Law School's Business Law Center Clinic. He has helped prepare students for appellate moot court contests, organized and ran a patent, trademark and copyright litigation institute for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education and Loyola University School of Law, and frequently lectured on intellectual property and served on Continuing Legal Education panels.