Darrick J. Hooker is a Partner in the Litigation Practice Group and his area of focus includes: Intellectual Property Litigation.
Mr. Hooker routinely assists clients with a variety of intellectual property issues, including patent litigation and counseling relating to litigation, as well as trademark and copyright issues.
Mr. Hooker has extensive experience litigating both jury and non-jury cases. He has represented clients across numerous industries and technologies, including pharmaceuticals, chemical processes, polymers, drug delivery systems, biotechnology and consumer products, as well as a variety of mechanical and medical devices. Mr. Hooker has participated in major trials before the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of Delaware, the Northern District of California, the Western District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. He has participated in appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has also drafted independent legal opinions relating to the validity/invalidity or infringement/non-infringement of his firm's clients' intellectual property, including performing "freedom to practice" analyses of products, methods, and packaging.
Mr. Hooker's professional highlights include two major patent infringement trial victories involving two leading manufacturers which resulted in multi-million dollar jury awards: McNeil-PPC, Inc. v. Bayer Corporation (Gelcap Pills) and Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corporation and Union Carbide Corporation v. Shell Oil Company, et al. (Ethylene Oxide Catalysts).
Mr. Hooker was recently recognized in the 2010 edition of Who's Who in Black Chicago, which celebrates the "significant accomplishments and outstanding achievements of African-American citizens" in Chicago. He was also selected as a 2009 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Chicago's most promising leaders enhance their community awareness in the Chicago-metropolitan area. In 2007, Mr. Hooker was inducted into the inaugural class of the Stakeholder 100, a program designed to identify the top 100 performing attorneys of color from the nation's law firms and contribute to their long-term career development.
Prior to joining Freeborn & Peters, he was a Partner with Jenner & Block LLP in the Intellectual Property group. He also chaired the African-American Affinity Group and was a member of the firm's Hiring Committee. Prior to joining Jenner & Block, Mr. Hooker also practiced at Roper & Quigg, an intellectual property litigation boutique in Chicago.
Most recently, Mr. Hooker was named a "Rising Star" by Illinois Super Lawyers for 2012 in a survey conducted by Law & Politics magazine.