Lawrence Chapa – Of Counsel
Tel: (312) 236-8500
Fax: (312) 236-8176
lchapa@cookalex.com
Lawrence Chapa has been a patent attorney for thirty years. He uses his education and experience to successfully achieve his client’s goals in a variety of ways.
Before practicing law, Mr. Chapa combined an electrical engineering degree with time spent working at Northern Telecom as an electrical design engineer. At Northern Telecom, he worked on digital voice products used with landline and cellular central office switches. He also designed circuits for use in fault tolerant computing architectures.
Earning a law degree in 1994, Mr. Chapa started his legal career as a law firm associate specializing in intellectual property law. Later, he worked in the in-house patent department of an American multinational telecommunications company for several years. Eventually deciding to return to private practice, he became a partner at two law firms before joining Cook Alex.
While Mr. Chapa has experience with the electrical, mechanical, and electro-mechanical arts, his recent work has covered:
- 5G wireless communication standards,
- antennas,
- microelectromechanical system sensors/transducers, and
- other technologies related to cellular wireless communication handsets.
Mr. Chapa has guided applications through the examination process at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), while coordinating parallel International filings directly with the World Intellectual Property Organization and in foreign jurisdictions through local counsel. He has extensive experience handling appeals at the USPTO, and beyond the USPTO with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Further, Mr. Chapa has supported his clients with patent portfolio management, defensive patent analysis, and general counseling. He has also provided litigation support as to discovery, motion practice, and expert opinion analysis.
Education
1994 University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana, J.D. Law
1989 University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana, B.S. Electrical Engineering
Admissions
US Patent and Trademark Office
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit