Kevin J. McDevitt

Education

McDevitt earned a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University in 1987. Purdue is a public land-grant university in West Lafayette, Indiana, established in 1869 and known for its engineering and scientific programs.

He then attended the Syracuse University College of Law, where he received a Juris Doctor in 1990. The law school was founded in 1895 with 23 students meeting in rented rooms in downtown Syracuse. It became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900, has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1923, and is one of the oldest of the thirteen schools and colleges within Syracuse University.

Admission to the Illinois bar in 1990 marked his transition from legal education to legal practice.

Career

McDevitt was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1990, the year he received his law degree, and his legal career has centered on intellectual property and marketing law. He later became licensed in the District of Columbia, where his license was acquired in 1993, and he has been admitted to several federal courts, including the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1990 and the Central District of Illinois in 1996.

In 1998 he became a founding member of Neal & McDevitt, LLC, which he formed together with Susan Neal. The Chicago-area firm practices trademark, copyright, unfair competition, marketing, advertising, and promotions law. Trademark law protects brand names, logos, and other identifiers that tell consumers where goods come from, while advertising and promotions law governs how companies market their products; the firm's practice spans both fields along with domain-name disputes.

The firm's clients include companies in electronics, financial services, fitness, manufacturing, retail food service, technology, and consumer brands. McDevitt advises on the selection, adoption, use, and protection of trademarks and domain names, the worldwide protection of copyright, licensing, sponsorship and talent agreements, and conflict resolution, including federal court litigation and proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Over his career he has litigated many trademark and advertising cases across the country and has been engaged as a mediator and arbitrator in contested disputes. He has also been a frequent speaker on trademark and advertising law internationally.

The firm has provided pro bono services in trademark, copyright, and advertising law to not-for-profit organizations. It also played an active role in creating the Trademark Pro Bono Clearinghouse of the International Trademark Association (INTA), a global association of trademark owners and practitioners that was originally founded in 1878 as the United States Trademark Association.

Susan Neal retired in 2007 after a career in trademark law, and McDevitt and Rick Biagi have since managed the firm.

Achievements

• He has litigated numerous trademark and advertising cases across the United States and has served as a mediator and arbitrator in contested trademark and advertising disputes. He has also been a frequent speaker on trademark and advertising law topics internationally.

Works

• legal treatise

  • Designing an Effective Intellectual Property Compliance Program

    (Contributing author to a work published by Clark Boardman...)

  • Current Legal Forms with Tax Analysis, Trademarks Section

    (Contributing author to the trademarks section of the Matt...)

  • Trademark Protection and Practice

    (Forms editor and contributing author for the Matthew Bend...)

    2014

Membership

McDevitt has held leadership positions within the International Trademark Association for decades. He chaired the Ladas Memorial Legal Writing Award committee and the association's Leadership Development Committee.

He also belongs to the Illinois State Bar Association, the state's voluntary bar association for attorneys, and to the American Intellectual Property Law Association, which serves lawyers practicing patent, trademark, copyright, and trade-secret law. He is further a member of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, a body of lawyers and law firms focused on the Asia-Pacific region.

McDevitt is a founding member of the Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance, a nonprofit organization that promotes intellectual property in Chicago. He is also a member of the Purdue University President's Council, and he has been involved with the Purdue alumni organization in the Chicago suburbs. In addition, he belongs to the Wine Institute and Family Winemakers of California, two California wine-industry organizations.

• Chair of the Ladas Memorial Legal Writing Award committee and of the Leadership Development Committee

  International Trademark Association

• Illinois State Bar Association , United States

• American Intellectual Property Law Association , United States

• Inter-Pacific Bar Association

• Founding member

  Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance , United States

• Purdue University President's Council , United States

• Inaugural president

  Purdue University Alumni Association, North and Northwest Suburbs of Chicago Chapter , United States

• Wine Institute , United States

• Family Winemakers of California , United States

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• A former in-house counsel for the Principal Financial Group, who worked with McDevitt on matters, described him as highly knowledgeable in the intellectual property field and said the working relationship with him and his firm had been very good.

Connections

McDevitt co-founded Neal & McDevitt, LLC with Susan Neal in 1998. After Neal retired in 2007, the firm was managed by McDevitt and Rick Biagi.

No family connections are documented in the available sources.

Collegue :

Susan Neal

Co-founded Neal & McDevitt, LLC in 1998 and retired in 2007 after a career in trademark law.

References

• Kevin J. McDevitt, Neal & McDevitt The firm's biography page describing McDevitt's co-founding of the firm, his practice in trademark, copyright and advertising law, his education and his leadership roles in the International Trademark Association.
• Kevin McDevitt - Avvo Attorney profile documenting McDevitt's Illinois and District of Columbia licensing dates, his Syracuse Juris Doctor and Purdue Bachelor of Arts, and his practice areas.
• Kevin J. McDevitt - Super Lawyers Attorney profile describing McDevitt's Illinois admission in 1990, his education, his memberships and his intellectual property and media practice.
• Kevin J McDevitt - WTR 1000 Profile in the World Trademark Review ranking guide describing McDevitt's trademark practice, his leadership in the International Trademark Association and his 2013 INTA Volunteer Service Award.