40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch

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Congratulations to

Meredith Addy for being named among the

40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 to Watch.

We are proud of her outstanding contributions

to the intellectual property field and her service

to the Chicago community. Best wishes to

Meredith and all of this year’s honorees.

NBC Tower - Suite 3600 | 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive | Chicago, Illinois 60611-5599 | 312.321.4200

brinkshofer.com

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40 Illinois attorneys under forty to watch

2004

Even though we have now published five consecutive edi-tions of our annual 40 Illinois Attorneys Under 40 toWatch, the process of putting together this issue nevergets any easier.The reason? There are so many wonderfully skilledyoung attorneys in the state that choosing only 40 has

become a momentous task. Consider this: The members of the Law Bulletin Publishing

Company’s 40 Under 40 Committee this year received more than 1100 nominationforms promoting the area’s young lawyers. And each of these young lawyers camewith amazing accomplishments on their resumes. Cutting this pile down to 40, then,was one difficult task.Most of the lawyers whose names committee members put aside are hard–work-ing, intelligent, skillful and successful. They are attorneys that clients would feel for-tunate to have handling their legal matters. To make the cut and be featured in this publication, though, young attorneys need-ed something more than just skill and know–how. To make these pages, younglawyers needed to be true leaders in their profession, and must be viewed by theirpeers, clients and, yes, even their courtroom opponents as out–of–the–ordinary tal-ents.What does it take to earn recognition as a young lawyer to watch? Intelligence, pas-sion, scores of successful verdicts, a desire to help the community and a willingnessto work hard at one of the country’s most important professions.The selection process for 40 Under 40 has remained the same for five years now:First, we examine the career achievements of our nominees, looking for successfulverdicts or settlements. Next, we consider how far our nominees have risen in theirfields. Finally, we consider the contributions our attorneys have made to their com-munities. But while the process hasn’t changed, the quality of our nominees has. Today’syoung attorneys are more skilled, compassionate and intelligent than ever. And that,of course, is good news for the industry and the state.

Sincerely,40 Under Forty CommitteeLaw Bulletin Publishing Company

Reprinted with permission of Law Bulletin Publishing Co.

Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione455 N. Cityfront Plaza DriveChicago, IL 60611Telephone: 312.321.4280E–mail: maddy@brinkshofer.com

Specialty: Intellectual Property Law

Law School: University of Georgia School of Law, J.D.John Marshall Law School, LL.M.

Patent law is one of the fastest–growing fields in the industry,and few young lawyers have made as much of a mark in it asMeredith Addy.

Addy, a patent attorney with the Chicago law firm BrinksHofer Gilson & Lione, has notched several successful decisionsfor her clients during her 11 years as a member of the bar. In doingso, she has earned the respect of her clients, colleagues, and othersthroughout the legal community.

“Ms. Addy exudes a confidence rare in attorneys within herpeer group,” said Sean Johnston, Vice President of IntellectualProperty with Genentech, Inc., a California biotech companythat is one of the firm’s clients. “She is very comfortable learningand mastering even the most arcane aspects of scientific technologythat arise in a patent litigation, and so is able to communicatethat technology very effectively to the trial court or on appeal.She has great common sense, and she never loses sight of theclients’ interests and goals.”

Colleagues, who know her as Mimi, point to several examplesof her excellence. In the summer of 2000, Mimi developed astrategic plan for patenting specialized software technology for anew generation of cell phones. She successfully led a team ofpatent attorneys and software engineers to file more than 30patent applications in a four–month period. This work laterenabled the company to use its intellectual property portfolio tosuccessfully counter multi–million–dollar licensing demands madeby a competitor.

In the biotech arena, Mimi served as part of the trial andappellate team defending Genentech against a claim that thecompany’s breakthrough drug for cancer treatment, Herceptin®,infringed a competitor’s patent. Mimi helped advise the trial teamthat eventually defeated all 25 claims of patent infringementmade against Genentech. “Ms. Addy distinguished herself bybeing vigilant that the trial counsel remained focused not only on

obtaining a good result at trial, but also focused on covering allthe issues that might be relevant on appeal,” Johnston said. “Ms.Addy was persistent without engendering resentment.”

To Johnston, this skill cannot be underestimated. “It’s difficultto find qualified attorneys, especially in the area of patent law,who also work well in team environments,” he said.

At the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Mimi,as lead counsel, successfully obtained reversal of an adversedecision of the United States Patent and Trademark Offices’Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in a case of firstimpression. The Board had denied the client’s patent on achemical catalyst. Mimi was able to present the difficult legalissue intertwined with complex technology clearly to theappellate court both in the briefs and at oral argument. TheFederal Circuit held in Addy’s favor despite the high standard ofreview applied to decisions from the Board.

Nominators report that Mimi’s devotion to pro bono work isbest exemplified by her acceptance of representation of thewidow of a disabled veteran. The widow, who had been deniedbenefits by the Veteran’s Administration, needed help in appealingto the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mimi vol-unteered her services, spending long hours on a Thanksgivingweekend researching case law and writing the widow’s appeal inan area of law wholly foreign to her. While this appeal waspending, officials with the Veteran’s Administration approachedMimi to settle the case. She not only convinced administrationofficials to award full, ongoing disability benefits to the widow,she also obtained more than 30 years of back benefits.

In addition to her heavy caseload, Mimi also teaches othersabout the fundamentals of intellectual property. She currentlyteaches patent law and appellate practice at The John MarshallLaw School.

“She is an excellent teacher and strategist in the area of patentappeals, a highly technical and complex area of the law and a specialpractice before a very specialized court,” said William Streff, withthe Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP.

Meredith Martin AddyAge: 36

“Ms. Addy exudes a confidence rare inattorneys within her peer group.”M

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