NewsMichael Fleming Retires from Irell & Manella
Irell announces the retirement of Michael Fleming, marking the conclusion of a distinguished legal career spanning public service and private practice at the highest levels of patent law.
Before joining Irell, Mike served six years as chief administrative patent judge. For over 30 years, Mike was at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including 17 years as an administrative patent judge. During his tenure as chief judge, Mike was instrumental in drafting the post-grant provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA), enacted by Congress in 2011, which established many of the current patent procedures and policies of the USPTO. The Department of Commerce awarded Mike its prestigious Gold Medal for his work on the official examination guidelines for subject matter eligibility, which are critical to prosecuting high-tech patents.
During his nearly 11 years at Irell, Mike brought that institutional knowledge and judgment to the firm’s patent practice, providing strategic advice and counsel to clients in complex patent disputes and representing parties in proceedings before the PTAB.
“We are grateful for Mike’s many contributions to the firm and to the patent system as a whole,” said Morgan Chu. “His influence on patent law and on generations of practitioners will be felt for years to come.”
