Brent A. Hawkins is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. Brent focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, counseling and procurement.
Brent has served as lead counsel in numerous patent, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition and copyright matters, representing clients in jurisdictions throughout the country. He also has represented clients across several industries, including: pharmaceutical, internet, electrical hardware and software, photo processing, diesel engine, wine import and consumer houseware companies.
In addition to his litigation experience, Brent has prosecuted patent applications in the mechanical, electro-mechanical and software arts. He has also preformed due diligence investigation, provided counseling and rendered opinions in connection with the sale or acquisition of businesses or targeted business assets involving various technologies, including: multi-band antenna technology, wireless communication technology, ethernet switching technology, semiconductor technology, diesel engine technology, paper converting technology, optical elements and current control regulators for lighting systems and polymer intermediates. Brent has also represented clients in appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Brent has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2011) in intellectual property law. He has also been recognized by Law & Politics as an Illinois Rising Star (2008, 2009). Brent is a member of the adjunct faculty of both the University of Illinois College of Law and the John Marshall Law School. Brent also serves on the Board of Directors of Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc., Goodcity, the Evening Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. He is also serves as the Treasurer of the IPLAC Educational Foundation. Brent is a member of the American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, International Trademark Association, Chicago Bar Association and the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago.
Brent is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Education
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1997
- University of Michigan, B.S., 1994
