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Calista J. Mitchell
“It is rewarding to work with inventors to understand and protect their inventions and to see the process inspire them to think of their inventions in a new way.”

Calista J. MitchellPartner

Chicago
120 South LaSalle Street
Suite 2100
Chicago, IL 60603VCard
312.577.7000 
312.577.7007 fax
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Education

J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2005, with Honors
B.S., Microbiology, University of Iowa, 2000

Services

Technical Areas

Bar & Court Admissions

IllinoisU.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Recognition

Named a Leading Lawyer in Illinois in Intellectual Property Law and Patent Law (2022–24)
Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers – Rising Stars for Intellectual Property Law (2009, 2014–18)
Selected as an Emerging Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law, Leading Lawyers Network (2015–18)

Calista J. Mitchell practices in all areas of intellectual property law, focusing primarily on patent prosecution and on opinions concerning freedom-to-operate, patent validity, and patentability. She has an active prosecution docket, both in the U.S. and abroad. Calista works closely with clients in the application drafting and prosecution stages so that the applications will meet their changing business needs in numerous jurisdictions around the world.

Calista has filed numerous design patent applications and works closely with clients to maximize the scope of protection sought and obtained in those applications. She also regularly advises overseas clients on how to modify their applications before filing in the U.S. to take advantage of differences in U.S. patent laws and procedures to enhance the value of their IP.

Calista counsels clients on intellectual property strategy and licensing, among other IP matters. In addition, she has experience drafting applications and developing patent prosecution strategies, including white space patent filings, with clients having interest in enforcing their IP rights to protect new technologies.

Since joining Fitch Even in 2005, Calista has worked with clients in a wide variety of industries, including these:

  • Pharmaceutical
  • Biotechnology
  • Food science
  • Medical devices, and
  • Mechanical technologies


After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Iowa, Calista remained at the school to work in their Department of Microbiology, studying virology. She later worked at Northwestern University in the Department of Pediatrics. 

Calista’s undergraduate and subsequent work led to publication of several articles in scientific journals. While in law school, she served as Executive Articles Editor for the Chicago-Kent Law Review and as an extern for the Illinois Appellate Court.

Calista is a member of Fitch Even's Executive Committee and the DE&I Committee.
 



Drafts and prosecutes numerous patent applications relating to key technologies for global food company.

Coordinates complex patent drafting and filing strategy for large international patent portfolio relating to client's commercially successful technology and related technologies.

Advises numerous clients on strategy for filing design patent applications, including coordinating design protection with utility patent filings in order to provide competitive advantage.

Presentations

  • “Knowing Your Value & Negotiating Your Salary,” Women in eDiscovery, Chicago, Ill., May 16, 2023.
  • "Design Patents in the U.S. and Japan: Leveraging the Differences in Laws to Maximize Protection," Fitch Even Webinar, with Tomohiro Nakamura, May 20, 2021.
  • "Recent Updates in Design Patent Law," Fitch Even Webinar, with Joseph H. Herron, October 12, 2016.
  • “Protecting U.S. and Canadian Patents and Designs and Understanding Your Duties Before the Patent Offices,” webinar sponsored by the Young Practitioners Committee of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, March 27, 2012 (co-presenter).

Publications

  • Maloney, T.P., Kaba, R.A., Krueger, J.P., Kratz, R., and Mitchell, C.J., “Intellectual Property in Drug Discovery and Biotechnology,” in Burger’s Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, 7th Ed., Eds. D. J. Abraham and D. P. Rotella. (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010).
  • Chicago Women in IP
    • Member, Board of Directors
    • Co-Chair, Outreach Committee 
  • Women In Bio

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