Biography
Jim manages the development and maintenance of large US and global intellectual property portfolios using process-centric prosecution that can be individualized according to client need. He has over 35 years of intellectual property law practice, 25 years of law firm management experience, and 20 years as an adjunct/clinical professor of patent law.
Jim is a coauthor of multiple editions of the textbook Cases and Materials on Patent Law: Including Trade Secrets, published by West Academic. He has helped lead the firm to a top-tier designation of Best Firms by U.S. News & World Report and continues to be repeatedly named by his peers in the legal community as a top IP attorney. Jim was the recipient of the State Bar of Michigan’s 2023 lifetime achievement award for Excellence in Intellectual Property.
When not at work, Jim enjoys time with his family, master’s swimming, paddle sports, home hobbies, and travelling, having visited all 7 continents and scuba diving various places in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Bar Admissions
- State of Michigan
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Eastern District of Michigan
Distinctions
- Best Lawyers 2017-2022
- Michigan Super Lawyer 2006, 2011-2022
- Top Lawyer by dbusiness® Magazine
- Leading Lawyers 2016-2018
- Eta Kappa Nu
Education
- University of Michigan
- (Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1990)
- (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, cum laude, 1986)
- (Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, cum laude, 1986)
Memberships and Associations
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- IPLS Section of State Bar of Michigan
- Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association
- Michigan IP American Inn of Court
Professional Experience
- Adjunct Professor and Clinical Professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy Law School
- President, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association
- Founding Master, Michigan IP American Inn of Court
- Chairman, Intellectual Property Committee of the Oakland County Bar Association
- Founding officer, University of Michigan Intellectual Property Student Association
- Chairman, Franklin Michigan Planning Commission
- Franklin Zoning Board of Appeals
Technology Specialties
- Augmented reality: Computer-based enhancements of real-time and recorded video
- Autonomous and connected vehicles: AV design, operation, and back-office integration, V2V, V2I, and V2X hardware, systems, and operation
- Telecommunications: CDMA, GSM, and other cellular-based voice and data
- Wireless networks: WiFi and other short range, personal area networks
- MEMS: Nanofabrication and applications for both electrical and mechanical devices
- Automation: Hardware, software, end-effectors, and system/line integration
- Software: OOP, complied, and web/markup programming languages; system and client/server architecture; ecommerce applications
- Hardware: Computer system and network architecture, instrumentation
- Imaging: Antenna and optical-based systems, and image processing
- Medical Devices: Surgical and operative devices, medical imaging, neural recording/stimulation, orthopedic rehabilitation
- Automotive: All electrical and mechanical components and systems, interior/exterior trim materials and manufacturing processes
- Aerospace: Ignition systems and igniters, FADEC controls and integration
Publications & Presentations
- Co-author of “Patent Law Including Trade Secrets,” seventh edition, West Academic
- Co-author of “Cases and Materials on Patent Law: Including Trade Secrets, Copyrights, Trademarks,” seventh edition, West Publishing Co.