Michael F. Borun In Memoriam 1942-2018
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our former partner, Michael Borun. Mike passed away on December 16, 2018. Born in 1942, Mike built his career, and a law firm that still bears his name, in Chicago, Illinois. Mike graduated from the University of Chicago in 1964 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Sciences and graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1970.
Mike joined Merriam, Smith & Marshall on November 1, 1969 and passed the Illinois Bar in 1970. Mike worked with the firm through multiple mergers and a few name changes. By the time the firm became Marshall, O’Toole, Gerstein, Murray & Bicknell in 1984, it had grown its expertise and client base to cover all areas of technology and all phases of an intellectual property practice. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the firm also gained a position of national prominence in the field of biotechnology, due in no small part to Mike’s efforts and expertise. In fact, many of the client relationships that Mike began in the 1980s, at the dawn of biotechnology, still exist today at Marshall Gerstein & Borun.
Although Mike officially “retired” as a partner in 2005, he stayed on as a Patent Agent with the firm. Mike’s presence will be greatly missed at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun, but his influence remains. The biotechnology group that Mike built continues on representing clients at the forefront of biotechnology innovation. And, just like Mike, the group remains personally devoted to their clients’ success.