Mark A. Pals

Practice focus. Mark A. Pals is a Chicago-based IP litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where court records place him in patent matters from at least 2002 (Zimmer Inc. v. Howmedica Osteonics, N.D. Ind.) through the present. His practice skews to life sciences: a Kirkland recognition page (IAM Patent Litigation 250, 2011) describes him as a "biotech and pharmaceutical patent litigator," and he holds a Ph.D. (University of Illinois, 1988) that fits that technical profile. His verified docket appearances also span medical devices (Zimmer v. Howmedica, an orthopedic-implant dispute) and wireless/consumer electronics (Motorola Mobility v. Maxell), so he is not limited to pharma.

Side and notable cases. The tracked data shows one appearance, on the plaintiff side: Motorola Mobility LLC v. Maxell, Ltd. (N.D. Ill. 1:22-cv-00256, filed Jan. 2022), a declaratory-judgment action Motorola (a Lenovo subsidiary) brought against Maxell over smartphone patents covering GPS/cellular positioning, imaging/white balance, and wireless audio/video transmission — one front in a wider Maxell-Lenovo fight that also ran in the Western District of Texas and ITC investigations (337-TA-1312/1324). Court filings show Pals has also appeared on the defense/counterclaimant side for operating companies: he was on the Kirkland team for Genentech and City of Hope in Centocor v. Genentech (C.D. Cal.), the high-stakes anti-TNF antibody dispute over Remicade, and sought pro hac vice admission for Illumina in Czarnik v. Illumina (D. Del.). His client base is thus operating companies on both sides of the v., not NPEs; the plaintiff-skewed tracked count reflects a DJ posture against Maxell, a non-practicing licensor. I found no reliably sourced information on verdicts or Federal Circuit outcomes in these matters, so none are asserted here.

PTAB/IPR and credentials. The Motorola-Maxell dispute generated IPR activity — Motorola, Pals's client, petitioned for inter partes review of Maxell's '292 patent (IPR2022-00930) in June 2022 — but the sources reviewed do not confirm Pals personally appeared as counsel of record in PTAB proceedings, so his IPR profile should be treated as unverified. He is admitted in Illinois (1989), registered before the USPTO, and admitted to the Federal Circuit and several district courts; his education is A.B. Dartmouth (1982), Ph.D. University of Illinois (1988), J.D. Northwestern (1989). No prior-firm history was verifiable from the sources located; all confirmed appearances are at Kirkland & Ellis.