Akerman Adds IP Litigation Partners Tim Sendek, Darrick Hooker in Chicago
Akerman LLP announced the addition in its Chicago office intellectual property litigators Timothy Sendek, former leader of Lathrop Gage’s IP Litigation Team, and Darrick Hooker from Lewis Brisbois, both as partners.
“Tim and Darrick are accomplished trial lawyers with impressive experience handling IP litigation, procurement and counseling,” said Michael Switzer, chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group. “Their arrival broadens our strengths and international reach, as we expand our presence across major business centers to better serve our clients.”
Sendek focuses his practice on patent, trademark and copyright disputes in U.S. District Courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board. His experience includes numerous Section 337 trials at the ITC, jury and bench trials in district court and patent office litigation, including more than 60 inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. A registered patent lawyer with a background in engineering, Sendek represents clients in a range of technologies and sectors, including automotive, electronics, food and beverage, and consumer goods. In addition to his litigation experience, he advises clients on IP compliance, risk management, counseling and patent prosecution. At the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Sendek has asserted and defended petitions for IPR and other America Invents Act post-grant challenges. In 2015, Patexia ranked him as one of the top five U.S. lawyers handling IPR petitions. In addition to practice, Sendek teaches patent litigation as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Hooker is a counselor and a litigator who routinely counsels and represents clients with a variety of intellectual property issues, including patent litigation and counseling relating to litigation, as well as trade secret, trademark, copyright and entertainment matters. He has transactional and litigation experience representing clients, including but not limited to, the medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, computer software, chemicals, mechanical devices, industrial, renewable energy, utility, mechanical engineering and automotive/transportation industries. He also assists his clients with licensing, risk assessment and management, internal governance, compliance, freedom to operate, and due diligence investigations in connection with licensing transactions, mergers and acquisitions. He also advises clients on entertainment matters, including licensing and branding issues. As a commercial litigator, Hooker has litigated both jury and non-jury cases involving complex commercial matters, including cyber security, product liability, premises liability and commercial agreements. As a result, he has developed a reputation for having an in-depth understanding of a client’s business and technology to successfully identify and manage global assets, and prepare for and manage litigation.
He is admitted to practice before several federal courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He also serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Science & Education Technology, Free Spirit Media, and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Hooker is also a member of the Intellectual Property Advisory Board at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University-Bloomington.
