World Trademark Review Names Three Finnegan Partners to its 2025 Global Leaders List

World Trademark Review (WTR) released its seventh edition of WTR Global Leaders, naming Finnegan partners Danny Awdeh, Douglas “Chip” Rettew, and Mark Sommers to the list.  WTR Global Leaders identifies the best trademark practitioners and corporate trademark experts from around the globe. The annual list is derived from research conducted for the publication’s WTR 1000 and WTR 300 annual rankings.

Danny Awdeh has been recognized by WTR as ”[o]ne of the best trademark lawyers there is” and is widely considered one of the nation’s top trademark litigators and counselors. In addition to obtaining favorable verdicts before district and appellate courts, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and trademark tribunals around the world, Danny has negotiated countless business-oriented solutions tailored to the needs of clients’ global business and legal objectives. He has managed high-profile litigations and disputes involving trademark infringement, counterfeiting, unfair competition, dilution, and false advertising. He has developed effective programs and corporate protocols to stop the importation/exportation of knock-off products, combat online sales of counterfeit and grey market products, and protect a brand’s strength and integrity from generic misuse. Strategic portfolio management and counseling for U.S. and international clients with extensive international portfolios is an important part of Danny’s practice. Danny serves an international clientele with some of the world’s most well-known brands, and has been involved in many global brand launches, large licensing deals, and other significant IP transactions.

Douglas “Chip” Rettew has been recognized in World Trademark Review WTR 1000 as ”[o]ne of the best litigators in the country with an unbelievable success rate,” “a go-to litigation lead for world-famous consumer brands,” and “a bigwig in the IP arena” whose “shrewd litigation and trial skills are unmatched.” Doug litigates cases involving a broad range of issues, including traditional trademarks, false advertising, product disparagement, rights of publicity, unfair competition, trade dress, design patents, and domain names. He also litigates oppositions, cancellations, and ex parte appeals before the TTAB of the USPTO. He has first-chair jury and bench trial and appellate experience and has argued appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal, Second, Fourth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits. Doug is also involved in advertising issues and counseling, right-of-publicity matters, and trademark and copyright prosecution and licensing. His clients include Under Armour, Bridgestone, the NFL Players Association, Capital One, Subaru, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and PNC Bank.

Mark Sommers is frequently recognized as one of the nation’s elite trademark litigators and practitioners and has been ranked regionally, nationally, and globally by WTR for his contributions to the fields of litigation and prosecution. Mark provides a full range of services in the trademark, unfair competition, and false advertising arena, including litigation before the federal district courts, federal appellate courts, and TTAB of the USPTO; strategic portfolio review and counseling; trademark and name clearance and prosecution; infringement analysis; empirical research and surveys; damages; intermediary liability; and rights of publicity. Given his decades of experience, he has a reputation for masterminding and implementing comprehensive strategies targeted at acquiring and enforcing core branding rights, while culling or aggregating bloated brand portfolios, resulting in substantial cost savings for clients. He has authored numerous articles about trademarks and unfair competition and frequently presents to both U.S. and international audiences and regularly provides press commentary on high-profile, newsworthy trademark and related cases, developments, and issues.