Skip to main content

Michael Harris is an experienced litigator with a focus on handling complex matters for industry-leading clients, including high-stakes utility patent, design patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret, and unfair competition lawsuits. He has litigated before juries and judges in federal district courts and at the International Trade Commission, and has appeared before numerous federal appellate courts. He also practices before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Throughout his career, Michael has provided clients with strategic guidance, oversight, and direction on intellectual property matters worldwide; managed a diverse caseload of intellectual property lawsuits around the world; prepared intellectual property licenses and agreements; assisted in due diligence reviews and acquisitions; and managed a global trademark portfolio consisting of thousands of marks.

He is a contributing author of the Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook, Third Edition, and its yearly cumulative supplements. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, teaching a course on Patent Office Litigation.

Michael previously was an electrical engineer for the Illinois Commerce Commission, where he performed operational and financial analyses, policy development, and public safety and enforcement activities related to the electric utility industry.

Recognition

Managing Intellectual Property
"Patent Star" (Illinois) (2024)
"IP Star" (Illinois) (2018–2023)
"Practitioner of the Year (Litigation)” (Illinois) (2021)
IAM Patent 1000
Enforcement and Litigation (Illinois) (2021–2024)
The Legal 500 US
Trademarks: Litigation (2021–2022)
Copyright (2021)
Patent Litigation: Full Coverage (2021)
IPRs (2018–2021)
More

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, cum laude, Internet Editor, The University of Illinois Journal of Law Technology & Policy
  • B.S.E.E., Electrical Engineering, Valparaiso University, summa cum laude

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • District of Columbia
  • Missouri
  • Supreme Court of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Overview