Tom Thorelli was born in Sweden and speaks Swedish and French fluently, and has a working knowledge of German. He has studied in Lausanne, Switzerland and at the Université de Strasbourg, France. Having obtained a Masters of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor, Mr. Thorelli is able to combine his business expertise with his experience as an attorney to provide appropriate business-oriented legal advice.

In addition to having assisted over 1,000 foreign companies in minimizing legal risk in the U.S., Tom is currently the President of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, Chicago, an organization that he has served as a member of the board of directors for over 20 years. He is Secretary, a member of the Executive Committee and the Director of the Services to Companies Committee of the French American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago. He was appointed Chairman of the Chicago-Göteborg, Sweden Sister City Committee by Mayor Richard M. Daley in January 1997, a position he held for over 4 ½ years.

Tom is a trusted advisor of numerous European trade associations and foreign trade commissions in Chicago. He has spoken at seminars organized by Fabrimetal and the Federation des Industries Mecaniques, Belgium and France’s largest trade associations, the Swedish Trade Council, French Trade Commission, Netherlands Foreign Trade Department, ICEX, Spain’s foreign trade association, and the Consulates of Denmark, Hungary, Finland, etc. His speeches focus on how to be successful in the U.S. from a lawyer’s perspective; taking advance action to minimize the risk of legal problems; negotiating with Americans; key provisions to negotiate in contracts; product liability preventive management; getting paid by U.S. customers; etc.

Tom is frequently in Europe meeting with companies on a one-on-one, cost-free introductory basis. Please feel free to contact the office concerning his next visit to Europe.

For a list of Tom’s references and publications, please contact the office. A copy of the firm's manual on The Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the U.S. is available on request.

Mary J. Owen is admitted to practice law in Illinois and is a senior associate with the law firm. She practices in the areas of corporate law and contracts, employment matters from both employer and employee perspectives, intellectual property law and provides the firm with thorough research on many other matters.

Education:

• Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D. 2002
• Received CALI Awards for the highest grade in the classes of Employment Law and Advanced Research In Intellectual Property Law.
• Pomona College, Cum Laude, B.A. 1995
• ADMISSIONS: Illinois

Ted Koerth concentrates his practice in business and intellectual property litigation, including the defense and prosecution of claims of breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, defamation, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and conversion. Mr. Koerth’s experience includes trial and motion practice in state and federal courts, as well as numerous matters involving requests for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions throughout the United States. In addition to his litigation expertise, he has extensive experience drafting and evaluating restrictive covenants, employment agreements, and separation agreements.

Mr. Koerth received his B.A. in American government and Spanish language/linguistics in 1999 from the University of Virginia. He earned his J.D. in 2002 from the George Washington University Law School, where he represented clients in the GW Law Administrative Advocacy Clinic and served as a legal intern with the U.S. Department of Justice—Executive Office of Immigration Review. Mr. Koerth was also a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge David G. Lowe, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Mr. Koerth is admitted to practice in the state of Illinois and before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois. In 2005, Mr. Koerth was admitted into the Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Mr. Koerth is the co-author of “How to Admit E-Mail and Web Pages into Evidence,” as published in the December 2006 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal. He also authored an article that appeared in the April 2006 installment of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Flash Point series. The article was entitled, “An Early Holiday Gift: The Second District Clarifies a Key Standard of Review for Restrictive Covenants.” More recently, Mr. Koerth served as a moderator at Mealey’s Wrap Insurance Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in June 2008.

Steven L. Wiser is a senior litigator and an accomplished intellectual property practitioner. Mr. Wiser practices in the areas of business law, intellectual property and litigation. Mr. Wiser brings to the firm's clients a broad range of legal experience. He is responsible for successfully resolving a variety of business disputes for clients in federal and state courts as well as at arbitration for claims based on contract, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, defamation, misappropriation, fiduciary duty, business tort, deceptive trade practices and the fraudulent transfer of assets. Mr. Wiser regularly advises the firm's clients concerning general corporate matters, employment issues, day-to-day operations, project financing, mergers, acquisitions. His practice incorporates negotiating and preparing intellectual property and related business agreements involving software development, master services and technology development, marketing, product and media distribution contracts and related information technology related arrangement. His day to day counsel involves advising clients with respect to sophisticated internet transactions and strategies, privacy policies and web site terms of use, trade secret protection with a focus on technology based companies.

Mr. Wiser is admitted to practice in: the State of Illinois and the State of New York as well as the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, including the Federal Trial Bar. He is a graduate of Loyola University School of Law and The John Marshall Law School where his received his LL.M. degree in intellectual property. His Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science was received from Loyola University.

Craig brings almost 5 years of experience as an attorney focused on both immigration law and employment litigation. Craig has worked extensively with all types of business related immigration matters, including H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, E-1, E-2, PERM cases, I-140 petitions, as well as many other specialty visa categories. In addition, Craig has extensive experience working with family based immigration cases, asylum cases and removal hearings.

Craig is licensed in Illinois and has also practiced in the immigration law courts. He prides himself not only the quality of work and the exceptional success he has had in immigration law, but also on the timeliness of the provision of service.

Craig is a constant researcher of new developments within immigration law and in bringing innovative ideas to solve the most difficult immigration issues. He is also a fearless and enthusiastic marketer who looks forward to being in touch with you and to working with you to quickly, efficiently, and smoothly navigate America’s ever increasingly complicated immigration laws.

Don’t hesitate to contact Craig at his email address: craig@thorelli.com.