Dean has experience litigating patent, trademark and trade secret cases in multiple jurisdictions including United States District Courts, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the Federal Circuit, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and state courts. He works with and has successfully protected many clients’ IP rights, including clients involved in bet-the-farm type litigation. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, domestic and foreign, medium to small businesses as well as individuals. He also prepares and prosecutes patent and trademark applications including appeals, inter party reviews (IPR), cancellation and opposition proceedings. He also counsels clients regarding IP related issues and prepares legal opinions including freedom to practice and invalidity opinions. Dean is a licensed attorney in Michigan and licensed as a patent attorney eligible to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is not licensed to practice in Delaware but can be admitted to practice pro hac vice in the Delaware courts. In addition to being selected three times as a “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America® he is also included in the 2015-2019 edition of Leading Lawyers at Lawyers.com® and selected by dbusiness Magazine as a 2015-2019 Top Lawyer. Other awards include: 2015-2019 IP Star by Managing IP Magazine; recognition by Acquisitions International; and by America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators. Dean has an AV (Preeminent) rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Dean’s publication, IP Strategies for Business Managers, provides practical advice for protecting IP and avoiding infringement. He contributed to the national publication, Inside the Minds: Litigation Strategies for Intellectual Property Cases (2012, Thomson Reuters) on topics including patent eligibility of software and business methods, trade secret case strategies, and discovery of electronically stored information (ESI). Dean is a frequent speaker on IP, including: IP Patent Camp at the MidMichigan Innovation Center (3 years); IP Webinar for VetBizCentral; IP Talk at TechTown Detroit; IP Talk at DC3S; and IP Talk – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about IP But Were Afraid to Ask through Midland Tomorrow in cooperation with Northwood University during Entrepreneurship Week. Dean brings an entrepreneurial spirit to his work and enjoys sharing in his clients’ successes. He is also committed to keeping open communication with his clients and is readily available to answer his client’s questions. In his spare time Dean enjoys traveling with his wife Laurie and two sons. He also enjoys running and working on his 1969 Dodge Charger RT SE. Dean is the inventor on four patents relating to an electronic securities trading system, including U.S. Patent Nos. 8,788,398, 8,175,956, 7,552,085 and 7,356,499.

Mike Cicero, now in his 35th year of private practice, continues to learn and add to his diverse array of intellectual property law experience. Although Mike primarily focuses on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, as well as opinions, his practice also encompasses trademark prosecution, copyright matters, and intellectual property litigation. Examples of patent applications that Mike drafted over the past decade include a system for remotely monitoring feed environment; a friction reduction pile jacket; a wearable interactive notification device and interactive monitoring system; broadcast messaging and methods of communicating hail messages in utility networks; and an elevator monitoring system, protected by a utility patent for the system and two design patents for graphical user interfaces. Mike’s patent litigation experience includes Markman (patent claim interpretation) proceedings, trials, motion practice, and expert-related discovery. A significant portion of his experience further extends to trademark and copyright infringement litigation, which enabled him to author the trademark and copyright infringement portions of a chapter titled “IP Litigation,” appearing in the 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2026 Editions of the book Georgia Business Litigation.

Emily Wisniewski is an intellectual property and business lawyer. Emily focuses her practice on helping businesses and individuals protect and build value with their brands. Emily’s practice encompasses a wide range of intellectual property services, including trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, and trade secrets. She advises clients on brand development, handles trademark and copyright registration applications, intellectual property licensing, and the sale and transfer of intellectual property. In addition, Emily advises clients on business formation, startup matters, contracts, regulatory matters, and everyday operations. Emily has extensive experience forming and advising tax-exempt and 501(c)(3) organizations. Emily works with clients to buy and sell businesses, including transaction structuring, negotiating, due diligence, and document drafting.