View all Webinars

Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner

Close     Close Mobile Menu

Former USPTO Official Drew Hirshfeld Joins Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner as Principal

We are very pleased to announce that Drew Hirshfeld will be joining SLW on June 27 as a Principal. Drew has been a long-tenured employee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and was named one of Managing IP’s Top 50 Most Influential People in IP in 2021. (Managing IP is part of the Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC group.) Drew began his career at the USPTO as a Patent Examiner in 1994 and has held a variety of senior management positions. He was named Commissioner for Patents in 2015. He performed the functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO from January 2021 to April 2022. Most recently, Drew served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Deputy Director.

Drew brings a wealth of patent prosecution and litigation experience with him. His achievements include leading the USPTO’s response to the Supreme Court’s 2021 Arthrex decision by implementing a new process for Director review of final written decisions from the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board; serving on the USPTO’s Presidential Opinion Panel to decide issues of exceptional importance to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board; and overseeing extensive patent prosecution training for patent examiners and members of the public. He is also a frequent public speaker on important intellectual property issues.

Prior to being named Commissioner for Patents, Mr. Hirshfeld served as Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, and Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. He earned a law degree at Western New England College School of Law after earning a Bachelor of Science at the University of Vermont.

Here at SLW, Drew will work in all aspects of the firm’s patent practice, including advising on complex patent prosecution matters, litigation strategy, and USPTO patent policy, practice, and procedure. In addition, he will act as an expert witness on USPTO-related issues.

We are delighted to welcome Drew to the firm.

Share
Author:
Principal

  Back to All Resources