Jacqueline Criswell Tressler LLP

Criswell, Jacqueline A. Senior Counsel

Criswell, Jacqueline A. Senior Counsel

Practice Focus

Jacqueline Criswell chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property group and has been a commercial litigator for more than 30 years. She practices in all aspects of intellectual property law, including trademarks, trade dress, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyrights, e-commerce, and false advertising matters. Jackie acted as lead trial counsel in cases involving novel issues, including the interplay of permissible parody and the First Amendment, functionality of product designs, copyright protection for useful articles and Digital Millennium Copyright Act damages. She also litigates claims for misappropriation of trade secrets against former employees and competitors, as well as piracy and economic espionage. She is a frequent lecturer on these issues and also provides counseling on software licensing, web hosting and technology transfer agreements. Jackie is the editor of the firm’s Internet and Intellectual Property Law Update, a quarterly newsletter. 

Jackie has represented large corporate debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 proceedings. Her bankruptcy practice currently focuses on counseling creditors when their customers file bankruptcy, including obtaining critical vendor status, as well as defending preference and fraudulent conveyance actions. Her clients include manufacturing and service companies, as well as insurers.

Jackie has achieved an AV® Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank her at the highest level of professional excellence. She has been repeatedly recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by Illinois Super Lawyers® and a "Leading Lawyer" by Illinois Leading Lawyers®. Jackie is admitted to practice in a number of federal courts throughout the country.

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Professional Background

Prior to joining the firm in 1984, Jackie represented large corporate debtors in bankruptcy proceedings for a premier bankruptcy boutique firm in Chicago.

Memberships & Affiliations

  • American Intellectual Property Law Association, Member
  • The Copyright Society of the USA, Member
  • International Trademark Association, Member
  • International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Member
  • Federal Trial Bar, Member
  • Federal Bar Association, Member

Publications

Recent Articles and Blogs

Jackie publishes quarterly Intellectual Property Updates that feature important developments and cases of interest. Below is a sampling of some recent updates.

-"Intellectual Property Alert," April 2021

-"Supreme Court Rules Trademark Infringement Plaintiff Need Not Show Willfulness to Obtain Disgorgement of Profits," April, 2020

-"Intellectual Property Alert," April 2019

News

Personal Life

Jackie is the Founder and President of Sing Out Loud, an Illinois-based 501(C) nonprofit organization that focuses on bringing joy to seniors in assisted living, memory care, daycare and rehab facilities through music.

Learn More: tresslerllp.com/Attorney-Jacqueline-Criswell-Spreads-Joy-Through-Music-Sing-Out-Loud