LCA Senior Fellow Barry Irwin, of the law firm Irwin IP LLC, in Chicago, IL, has been re-elected as President of the Board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. Barry founded Irwin IP LLC in 2014, but has been litigating mission-critical, high-profile intellectual property and technology related matters in federal courts across the country for 30 years. Barry began his legal career at a prestigious boutique intellectual property law firm in Chicago. Three years later, Barry joined the Chicago office of one of the largest, most successful general practice firms in the world. There, Barry practiced intellectual property litigation for 18 years, the last 14 as a partner, and the last 10 as an equity partner.
In addition to his active litigation practice, Barry has served on the Board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts for over a decade, the last six years as a member of the Executive Committee. In 2021, Barry was elected as Board President, and recently re-elected to the serve in that same role. Barry is also an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame Law School where he has taught both Patent Litigation and Entertainment Law for a decade. Barry was a board member of the Linn Inn American Inn of Court and still actively participates in the Linn Inn. Additionally, he also serves as an expert witness in intellectual property-related matters.
Lawyers for the Creative Arts is a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization that provides free legal services to financially eligible clients in all areas of the arts—visual, music, dance, literary, digital media, arts education, and much more. They help individuals and organizations with business issues, contracts, copyrights, trademarks and many other legal areas. Legal advice is a necessity for all businesses, and the arts are no exception. However, most artists cannot afford market rate legal services. That’s where Lawyers for the Creative Arts comes in. They are the only pro bono legal service organization in Illinois that is an expert in all areas of the arts. They have assisted thousands of artists and arts organizations of all kinds with their legal issues. The dedicated members of their Board of Directors and several hundred volunteer attorneys are the soul of Lawyers for the Creative Arts.
