Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is pleased to announce that four attorneys have joined the firm’s Chicago office; Eugene “Gene” Zelek in the Business & Finance group, Derrick Thompson in Litigation group, and Donald McPhail and Adam Wolek in the Intellectual Property practice. The Chicago office has added 11 lawyers so far this year.

“We are excited to have attracted four exceptional attorneys to Taft. Each of them brings unique skill sets to their respective practice areas and are strong additions to the firm,” said Anthony Licata, partner-in-charge of Taft’s Chicago office.

Donald McPhail has more than 20 years of experience in patent and trademark matters before the U.S. district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has handled cases involving a wide range of technologies. McPhail also has experience with contested matters before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. Prior to practicing law in the private sector, he was an examiner with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, where he concentrated on applications in the drug and pharmaceutical arts. McPhail received his J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School, and an M.S. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry and a B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University.

Partner Derrick Thompson focuses on complex business and contract disputes. He has significant experience as lead trial counsel in a variety of litigation matters, including partnership disputes, real estate litigation, employment litigation, intellectual property disputes, trust and fiduciary litigation, and sports and entertainment-related disputes. In addition, he has been retained as appellate counsel in cases involving business and contract disputes. Thompson received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and a B.S. from Northwestern University, where he was a member of the football team.

Gene Zelek is a partner focusing his practice on all aspects of marketing law, including antitrust, pricing and distribution, as well as branding, licensing, intellectual property, entertainment, strategic alliances, supply relationships, complex contracts, advertising and new product development. He applies extensive counseling, transactional and litigation experience on behalf of a wide range of leading consumer and industrial businesses and consulting firms throughout the world. Zelek has been recognized by Chambers USA in Antitrust and Media & Entertainment, in addition to being named a BTI Client Service All-Star. He received his J.D. from Northwestern University College of Law, cum laude, an M.B.A., with distinction, from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and a B.S., with high honors, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Partner Adam Wolek protects the intellectual property of some of the world’s largest companies, including those in the wireless, internet, agriculture and manufacturing industries. Wolek has successfully litigated and negotiated numerous patent, copyright and trademark infringement, trade secret and business disputes for his clients. He also assists clients with intellectual property licensing. He graduated cum laude from Chicago-Kent College of Law and received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.