2025 Vault Rankings
- IP Specialty#20
- Chicago#17
About Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
Premier Chicago intellectual property firm Marshall, Gerstein & Borun advises a diverse client roster made up of Fortune 500 corporations, startups, small to mid-sized companies, nonprofits, universities, research institutions, and independent inventors in its specialty areas of patent, trademark, and copyright protection and litigation. Located in Chicago’s Willis Tower, the firm is an enduring part of both Chicago’s skyline and the IP legal landscape.
Major Players in Intellectual Property
Founded in 1955 as Merriam & Lorch in the Chicago Board of Trade building, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun originally focused on the electrical, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Over the next 66 years, the firm branched out and today covers patents in a wide array of industries including nanotechnology, genetics, optics, biochemistry, microbiology, computer and software engineering, and medical devices. The firm works with clients in 100 countries and on six continents. It has advised Procter & Gamble for 30 years, Amgen since its founding in 1980, GE, Pfizer, Hollister Inc., Merck Serono, Newell Rubbermaid Inc., and Northwestern University, among others.
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun has played a major role in historic Supreme Court cases in IP law, such as Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machinery & Chemical Corp., University of Illinois Foundation v. Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc., and more recently, the landmark Amgen cases—Amgen Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Amgen Inc. v. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and Amgen, Inc. v. Hospira, Inc.
The firm and its attorneys have been recognized as leaders in their field by publications such as Chambers USA, Fortune, Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, Intellectual Property Today, and Corporate Counsel.
A Culture of Science
Only those with scientific and technical educational backgrounds need apply: staffing deals and cases with attorneys who understand the complexities of the inventions behind the patents is of prime importance to Marshall Gerstein. Over 90 percent of the firm’s attorneys hold degrees in science or engineering, and many of those attorneys have past technical and scientific work experience at companies and institutions like Abbott Laboratories, AT&T, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Motorola, Inc., and the U.S. Air Force. In addition, over 80 percent of the firm’s agents and technical specialists have Ph.D.’s or other advanced technical degrees.
Samurai Warriors Will Protect your Patent
One client was so grateful for his Marshall Gerstein attorneys’ tenacious representation that he gifted them with a samurai suit of armor. The client, a surgery professor whose invention expanded skin tissue for the purpose of reconstructive surgery, explained that his attorneys had “represented him as loyally and fiercely as any Samurai warrior.” As to his choice of samurai armor, the client explained he doubted a samurai sword would have made it past security.
COVID-19 Update
Marshall Gerstein is enthusiastically continuing to recruit for summer and full-time positions while working in a remote environment. We find that virtual OCI and job fair programs allow us to meet with a greater number of candidates from many locations across the U.S. who may not have otherwise had such opportunities due to location restrictions and other logistical challenges. This also allows more of our attorneys to participate. Interviews are hosted through Zoom meetings and we have developed a robust onboarding program to seamlessly integrate our Summer Associates and new professionals into the firm.
News & Awards
Marshall Gerstein has history in the federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court in landmark cases:
Blonder-Tongue Labs, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation which established the fundamental principle of offensive collateral estoppel;
Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machinery & Chemical Corporation which set forth the basic principles for antitrust liability under patent law;
the seminal case Amgen Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which established legal precedents in the biotechnology patent field, and serves as a pillar for Amgen’s erythropoietin patent estate upheld through the firm’s success in Amgen Inc. v. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
233 South Wacker Drive
6300 Willis Tower
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 474-6300
Chairman and Managing Partner: Jeffrey S. Sharp
Recruiting Chair: Matthew R. Carey
Total No. Attorneys (2021):
50 - 100
No. of Partners Named 2021:
2
Billable-Hour Requirement:
1,900
1st year: $180,000
Summer Associate: $3,800/week
Note: Associate salaries are lockstep for years 1-4. Progression is contingent on meeting the minimum billable hour requirement and receiving positive annual evaluations. Bonus and compensation after 4th year are nuanced to individual performance.
Michele Gudaitis
Senior Legal Recruiting & PD Coordinator
(312) 474-6800
mgudaitis@marshallip.com
No. of U.S. Offices: 2
Chicago, IL (HQ)
Raleigh, NC
Aerospace
Automotive & Transportation
Biotechnology & Life Sciences
Chemical Sciences
Cleantech & Renewables
Consumer Products
Design Patents
Electrical & Computer Technologies
Industrial & Mechanical Technologies
Internet & Cyberlaw
IP Litigation
IP Transactions
Materials Science
Medical Devices
Nanotechnology
Non-Profit Technology Transfer
Patent Prosecution
Pharmaceutical
Post-Grant Patent Proceedings
Trademarks & Copyright
*See firm website for complete list of practice areas and industries.