Daniel S. Stringfield

Dan Stringfield consistently delivers outstanding results for his clients. That explains how Stringfield has built a thriving intellectual property law practice and has earned the loyalty of a long stream of clients all before his 40th birthday.

Stringfield’s peers say this pro with Chicago’s Steptoe & Johnson is a committed student of his field, works tirelessly for his clients and boasts the ability to distill even the most complex of technical issues so that judges and juries can easily understand them.

These skills are what set Stringfield apart, says nominator Justin Paul, vice president and general counsel with Churchill Downs Inc..

“Dan brings an unrivaled level of dedication and preparedness to virtually everything he does.” said Paul.

During his career, Stringfield has earned numerous victories for his clients in district court as well as before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His success at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for an infrastructure manufacturer has been well-covered by legal publications.

“Dan combines his engineering experience, his sharp legal mind and a tireless work ethic to advise and advocate for his clients in highly technical and often high-stakes litigation,” said Kevin O’Connor, an attorney with Chicago’s Neal Gerber Eisenberg. “Dan deftly distills complex technical and legal concepts into understandable pieces and can communicate these concepts effectively to a variety of audiences, technical experts, business people, other lawyers, judges and juries.”

Despite his booming career, Stringfield has found time to maintain a busy pro bono practice. He coordinates Steptoe’s involvement with the Chicago-based Domestic Violence Legal Clinic. Stringfield and other Steptoe lawyers represent victims of domestic violence in obtaining civil orders of protection against their abusers.

Jim Williams, chief patent counsel with Panduit, has seen Stringfield’s abilities up close. Stringfield represents Panduit in several patent litigation matters before U.S. district courts and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. district courts and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Williams said that Stringfield and his team successfully challenged and invalidated seven patents asserted against Panduit by a competitor in the fiber optics space.

Williams said that this has insulated multiple Panduit product lines from allegations of infringement and has also shifted the momentum of a multi-jurisdiction patent dispute heavily in Panduit’s favor.

“Dan is a go-to strategist and problem-solver,” Williams said. “Panduit has its choice of any number of incredibly talented IP lawyers. But what sets Dan apart is that he listens to us. He understands and cares about our business, our products and our technology.”