About Steve Vanderporten

Steven L. Vanderporten is a partner in the Litigation Law Group. Steven represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial litigation, class action, and intellectual property matters. Steven has prosecuted and defended breach of contract and fraud claims, RICO, environmental contamination, and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class actions, false advertising, defamation and unfair competition claims, and trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes. Steven has also represented the interests of shareholders and members of corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) in closely held business disputes.

Steven also provides transactional and intellectual property counseling to emerging businesses, including on trademark registration, protection and licensing. He has prosecuted numerous trademarks before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has successfully overcome “Office Actions” before the USPTO, and serves as legal counsel for several registered trademarks. Steven counsels startups in the music technology, clothing, software, and fitness industries on intellectual property matters, corporate formation, restrictive covenants, and financing issues.

Since 2018, Steven has served as co-chair for the Chicago Bar Association’s Tort Litigation Committee, Young Lawyers Division. In 2017, Steven was the Commercial Litigation Committee Annual Meeting Liaison for the Defense Research Institute (DRI). Steven was also previously a Mentor at 2112, a Chicago incubator focused on the development of business and entrepreneurs in music, film/video, and creative technology.

During law school, Steven worked for the criminal division of the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) in Washington D.C. and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Jeffrey Cole in the United States District for the Northern District of Illinois.