Jeffery Handelman Image

Jeffery Handelman

Shareholder, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione

With more than 30 years of handling complex intellectual property (IP) litigation, Jeffery A. Handelman 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, Guide to TTAB Practice (Wolters Kluwer, Supp. 2016), updated annually. He is a frequent author and speaker on trademark-related topics.

His clients own some of the world’s most iconic brands, including American Airlines, The Coca-Cola Company, Alticor and its related Amway companies, Kimberly-Clark, Little Caesars, National Association of Realtors, oneworld Alliance, Raytheon, General Mills, and Jockey.

A past co-chair of Brinks’ Litigation Department and past chair of its Trademark Practice Group, Jeffery has represented these and many other 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).

On the strength of this experience at the TTAB, Jeffery wrote the two-volume Guide to TTAB Practice (Wolters Kluwer, Supp. 2016), 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).

In addition to his litigation practice, Jeffery counsels 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. Jeffery has served as an expert witness. He is also deeply experienced in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, and has served as a mediator for the International Trademark Association and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Jeffery 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.