Darren S. Cahr concentrates his practice on intellectual property and advertising law, helping clients develop, protect, and defend their most critical intangible rights, marketing practices, and competitive positioning. Darren has built a national reputation as a valued courtroom advocate, boardroom counselor, thought leader, and everyday advisor on cutting edge intellectual property issues, branding, false and comparative advertising, corporate identity, consumer promotions, and the legal implications of social media and new technology.
Darren heads the Firm’s Advertising and Intellectual Property Practice, where he counsels clients on the strategic protection of intellectual property rights, advertising and marketing practices, brand selection, state and federal consumer protection regulation, copyright and creative content, sweepstakes, contests and sales promotions, licensing, IP transactions, regulatory compliance, trade secrets, unfair competition and false advertising. Darren has litigated and tried a wide variety of sophisticated intellectual property and advertising disputes both in courts throughout the nation and before the International Trade Commission, the National Advertising Division, and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Darren was recently awarded a ranking of “Lawyer of the Year” for Trademark Law in Chicago for 2022 in a peer review survey conducted by Best Lawyers® — a distinction awarded to only one attorney with the highest overall feedback for a specific practice area in each geographic location. For nearly a decade Darren has been recognized each year in World Trademark Review magazine in its listing of the world’s leading trademark professionals, with past reviews lauding his ability to deliver “smart, thorough and fast” counsel to clients and noting that he is a “nationwide thought leader on the interface between social media and intellectual property.” Darren is “AV Preeminent” peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest peer recognition for both ethical standards and legal ability, and has been repeatedly recognized as an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine.
Darren is a widely published author on topics of law, technology, social media and popular culture, an active member of professional organizations, a science fiction novelist, a painter, and a musician. His highly praised presentations on the intersection of legal ethics and social media have been featured by several major bar associations at their annual meetings. He also regularly speaks on issues involving new media and intellectual property throughout the country and around the world, and can be found on Twitter @legallysocial.
Darren received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
