Matt Topic
Matt Topic is a partner at Loevy & Loevy. He leads the firm’s Freedom of Information and Intellectual Property practices.
Media/FOIA: Matt has litigated hundreds of state and federal FOIA cases around the country. Matt has forced the release of: video exposing the murder of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke; redacted material from the Mueller Report; Rahm Emanuel’s “private emails” about public business; and FBI records that helped lead to the exoneration of an innocent person. Matt has trained hundreds of journalists, activists, lawmakers, and individuals on the Freedom of Information Act, is a regular presenter at Investigative Reporters & Editors conferences, and is frequently quoted in the media on transparency issues. Matt has also represented journalists seeking access to court records, quashed subpoenas for sources, defended and counseled against defamation claims, and fought unconstitutional gag orders. He has litigated many First Amendment free speech and Open Meetings Act cases. Matt is the Outside General Counsel for the Better Government Association.
Intellectual Property: Matt is also an experienced intellectual property attorney and business litigator, and began his career as an associate and partner in the IP practice at Kirkland & Ellis. He represents inventors and entrepreneurs in litigation involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, non-compete agreements, fraud, and breach of contract, and often takes these matters on a contingency basis. Matt has taught intellectual property law as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Appellate: Matt has represented clients in dozens of FOIA, False Claims Act, intellectual property, and commercial litigation appeals before the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal, D.C., and Seventh Circuits, and other state appellate and supreme courts.
Matt graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law as Valedictorian in 2006, where he was a Chicago-Kent Law Review board member and an Intellectual Property Consortium Fellow. Matt clerked for Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow in the Northern District of Illinois, and externed for Justice Michael Gallagher on the Illinois Appellate Court. Prior to law school, Matt was a professional jazz musician and small business owner.
Press:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/magazine/chicago-after-laquan-mcdonald.html
https://www.muckrock.com/news/
Bar Admissions
- Illinois
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth , Seventh, Tenth, and Federal Circuits
- U.S. District Court for the District of D.C
- Various other District Courts
- Court of Federal Claims
Education
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois
• J.D., Valedictorian
• Order of the Coif
• Executive Articles Editor, Chicago-Kent Law Review
• Intellectual Property Colloquium Fellow
North Central College
• B.A.
Past Employment
• Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Publications
• Co-Author, Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms to Resolve Patent Disputes, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (2012)
• Author, The Standards Development Organization Advancement Act of 2004: A Victory for Consumer Choice?, Journal of Technology Law & Policy (2007)
• Author, Proposed New Guidance to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures in Light of the Internet and Related Technologies, 2006 Employment Law Update § 7 (Henry H. Perritt, Jr. ed.)
• Author, Proposed New Guidance to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures in Light of the Internet and Related Technologies, 2006 Employment Law Update § 7 (Henry H. Perritt, Jr. ed.)
• Author, Note: A Strategy for Renewing Trademark Negotiations in Kosovo, Chicago-Kent Law Review (2005)