Jeffery A. Handelman has more than 35 years of experience handling complex intellectual property (IP) litigation and is nationally recognized for his experience and knowledge as a litigator and counselor in the field. He focuses on trademark, unfair competition, trade dress, dilution, false advertising, copyright, licensing, trade secret, and Internet-related matters, and his clients include some of the world's best-known brands. Mr. Handelman is the author of the two-volume treatise, Handelman's Guide to TTAB Practice (Wolters Kluwer), updated annually. He is a frequent author and speaker on trademark-related topics.
A past co-chair of Brinks' Litigation Department and past chair of its Trademark Practice Group, Jeffery has represented clients in U.S. District Courts and internationally, and has argued cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, the Seventh Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit. Moreover, he has practiced extensively before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (TTAB). A representative list of Handelman’s Federal Court and TTAB cases can be found here.
On the strength of this experience at the TTAB, Jeffery wrote the two-volume Handelman's Guide to TTAB Practice (Wolters Kluwer), now a leading treatise in the field. Guide to TTAB Practice includes extensive coverage of trademark cases heard at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and includes a Foreword by Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman. On its publication, Jeffery was named co-winner of the 2008 Burton Award for Legal Achievement in the category of Best Law Firm Compendium. Handelman also wrote Stretching Trademark Laws to Protect Product Design and Packaging, Landslide Vol. 4, No. 3 (January/February 2012), originally published by the American Bar Association and then translated into Chinese by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. English version is here. Chinese version is here.
In addition to his litigation experience, Jeff has an active expert witness practice focusing primarily on trademark-related issues and trademark practice and procedure in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He also has served as a mediator in a number of trademark and related cases, using his expertise to assist parties in resolving disputes.
Jeff and his team counsel clients on a variety of matters related to trademarks, including managing international trademark portfolios, conducting trademark audits, preparing trademark compliance manuals, and developing global trademark-enforcement and trademark-filing strategies.
Jeff speaks frequently on legal topics to organizations including the American Law Institute – American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education, the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law, Practising Law Institute, the International Trademark Association, and LexisNexis, as well as at some of the nation's top law and business schools, including the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Fordham University School of Law, Northwestern University School of Law, and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Outside the intellectual property field, Jeffery has a longstanding interest in American legal history. His profile of Emory R. Buckner, the great leader of the New York bar in the 1920s and 1930s, was published in the Federal Bar Council Quarterly (Dec./Jan./Feb. 2019) and can be found here.
Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Jeff was a shareholder at Brinks Gilson & Lione.
Education
- University of Illinois, B.A. (1981)
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (1984)
Affiliations
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Chicago Bar Association
- International Trademark Association
- The Lawyers Club of Chicago
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
- Intellectual Property Owners Association
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago
- The Georgetown Club of Chicago
- Georgetown University Alumni Association
- University of Illinois Alumni Association
- Mediation Activities
INTA – CPR Panel of Neutrals
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Neutral for Lanham Act Mediation Program
Involved in numerous cases successfully resolved through mediation
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