Effective July 1, Gary Friedlander (JD 1987), Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel – International with TransUnion, will assume leadership of UIC Law’s Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Technology Law. The IP Center has been a leader in intellectual property legal education since its inception in 1940.
“For more than two decades, TransUnion has relied on Gary’s counsel on national and international matters, including those involving IP, technology and privacy law,” said Professor Daryl Lim, the IP Center’s outgoing director. “Our IP community and partners will now benefit from the goodwill and rich experience he accrued working for a multibillion-dollar global corporation. Equally important, Gary is an alumnus with deep affection for the law school and its traditions, even as he remains attuned to its current priorities. I look forward to supporting Gary and cheering him on as he transitions into a role for which he is well-placed to succeed.”
Well-known among the IP Center’s friends and supporters, Mr. Friedlander has been a featured panelist on IP counsel and management issues at the Center’s long-running annual IP Conference since 2017. He joined the Center’s Advisory Board in 2021. As Interim Director, Mr. Friedlander will lead the Center’s programming and relationships within and outside of the University of Illinois Chicago system.
“The education I received at UIC Law is the foundation upon which I was able to build a long and rewarding career,” noted Mr. Friedlander. “I am honored to have this opportunity to contribute and give back to the Law School.”
A member of TransUnion’s Top 100 Leadership Team, Mr. Friedlander is a three-time recipient of TransUnion’s Award of Excellence. He most recently managed the company’s international legal operations. During his time with TransUnion, he implemented its global IP program, led its international government relations efforts, and established a world-class international legal group consisting of in-house attorneys located in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Philippines and South Africa, along with several international and domestic outside counsel.
Throughout his 30-year career, Mr. Friedlander has built a reputation for excellence in international and domestic management and process improvement. Before joining TransUnion in 1999, he held positions with IBM, the Gas Research Institute, and Rockwell Electronic Commerce Corporation. He has also offered his expertise in service of community organizations including Cents Ability, Unlocking Communities, and WBEZ’s (National Public Radio) Community Advisory Counsel, and as well as a mediator for Chicago’s Center for Conflict Resolution.
Friedlander assumes leadership of UIC Law’s IP Center from Professor Daryl Lim, who leaves the Law School to join the Penn State Dickinson Law faculty. Professor Lim, a prolific and oft-cited scholar, joined the Law School in 2011 and became director of the Center in 2015. In his time with UIC Law, Professor Lim has earned numerous awards and appointments with prestigious IP institutions throughout the world, and his scholarship has appeared in many of the IP field’s most influential journals and publications. His leadership of the Center has greatly contributed to its continued reputation and evolution as one of the preeminent IP law programs in the United States.