312-616-5600 (phone)
312-616-5700 (fax)
Chicago Office

Related Practices

Education

University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2007

Managing Editor for Journal of Law, Technology and Policy
Harno Scholar Fall 2005
Dean’s List: Fall 2004, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007

Miami University, B.A. in Physics and Political Science, magna cum laude, 2004

Phi Beta Kappa, inducted 2004
Sigma Pi Sigma, inducted 2003
National Society of Collegiate Scholars, inducted 2001

Michelle L. Calkins

Associate

Ms. Calkins is involved in trademark and trade dress prosecution and litigation, copyright law, unfair competition law, and internet law. She represents clients in a variety of industries, including insurance and financial services, consumer goods, and industrial and commercial products.

Ms. Calkins has experience before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), both in prosecuting and defending oppositions and cancellations. Her involvement with litigation in federal courts includes research, drafting and filing pleadings, discovery and deposition preparation, assisting with defending a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and assistance with trial preparation. In addition, she has supervised and coordinated trademark litigation in several foreign jurisdictions, as well as opposition and cancellation proceedings before foreign trademark offices, on behalf of clients based in the U.S.

Active in non-judicial trademark enforcement and defense, Ms. Calkins handles domain name policing matters and claims under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. She has assisted in domestic and international trademark prosecution, and has prepared the successful appeal of a Trademark Examiner’s final refusal before the TTAB. She also has negotiated settlements, co-existence agreements, and licenses.

Before joining Leydig, Voit & Mayer, she was employed as a summer clerk at Wood, Herron & Evans, L.L.P., in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to that, she worked as a judicial extern for Judge Susan Zwick, Circuit Court of Cook County, in Chicago.

Professional Affiliations

Chicago Bar Association
Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International
Kappa Delta Sorority

Representative Matters

Nike, Inc. v. Maher (T.T.A.B. 2011). Successfully represented opposer in opposition, including assisting with preparation of trial briefs and associated documents. After trial, the Board issued a final decision declaring the JUST DO IT. mark famous as a matter of law and granting the opposition.
Walgreen Co. v. Wyeth (N.D. Ill. 2009). Represented plaintiff in an appeal of a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision, assisting with discovery and trial preparation.

Bar Admissions and Registrations

Illinois, 2007

Courts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin