Paul Stephens Named Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers

Marshall Gerstein is thrilled to announce that Partner Paul Stephens has been named the 2027 Best Lawyers in America® "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation - Intellectual Property in Chicago.

This distinction is among the highest honors awarded by Best Lawyers. Through its peer-review process, Best Lawyers recognizes a single attorney in each practice area and metropolitan area as "Lawyer of the Year," making it a particularly selective achievement. The honor is based on confidential evaluations from fellow attorneys, with the attorney receiving the strongest overall peer feedback earning the designation.

We congratulate Paul on this prestigious recognition and are proud to see his professional accomplishments honored in this way.

From innovative Fortune 100 companies and elite universities to cutting-edge startups, Paul partners with some of the smartest people on the planet to protect and defend their valued technological, engineering, and intellectual assets. Whether working with entrepreneurs or in-house counsel teams, professors or licensing professionals, research scientists, or corporate managers, Paul draws on his experience as a counselor, IP strategist, and patent prosecutor to help clients cut through the sea of complexity, navigate business challenges, and identify growth opportunities. He also challenges competing patents in the USPTO through reexamination and IPR proceedings.

A former IP litigator, Paul has represented clients at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and in district courts across the country, including successful litigation through jury trial. Today, his role in litigation is primarily managerial, counseling clients on cases filed by competitors and patent trolls and directing the liability phase of lawsuits, always in close concert with the firm's highly skilled litigation partners and associates.