Hood Legal Group is a virtual law firm. We use modern technology, including video conferencing, messaging, and the good old telephone, to connect with and keep clients up to date. This minimizes our expenses which allows us to keep our fees low. When an in-person meeting is called for, we utilize on-demand space available to us nationwide.
Hood Legal Group is available to assist clients nationwide. We have experience in some of the busiest patent courtrooms, from Texas, to Delaware, to New Jersey, to Chicago. Gary Hood is admitted to practice in the states of Illinois & Washington as well as a number of specific courts. And wherever we go, we comply with professional rules and associate with local lawyers in the jurisdiction.
Gary Hood has been trying cases for 30 years. He's handled some of the most complex patent cases, competitor vs. competitor trademark disputes, and even serious criminal cases involving felonies that carried the potential for decades behind bars for his clients. He knows trial, he knows how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a case. And he knows how to win.
A 30 Year Trial Lawyer
Gary was first admitted to the bar of the State of Washington in 1996. He began his practice of law with a highly regarded regional law firm in the Pacific Northwest, taking civil and criminal cases to gain as much experience as possible trying cases to judge and jury. After several years successfully practicing general civil and criminal law, Gary transitioned his practice to emphasize intellectual property, so that he could apply his undergraduate electrical engineering degree to litigation. He took and passed the Patent Bar examination, becoming a registered patent lawyer.
With broad and deep trial and courtroom experience, Gary was eventually recruited to join an AmLaw 100 firm in its Chicago office. Gary moved his family to the Windy City in 2003, and embarked on the next phase of his legal career. Over the next 20 years, he gained extensive patent and trademark litigation experience, representing clients on everything from medical devices such as hip and knee implants, to electronics technology, to pharmaceuticals.
Gary was eventually recruited to join another AmLaw 100 firm in Chicago, to found and build a generic pharmaceutical patent practice there. He did so, building a team that represented some of the largest and most successful generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the world. He and his team exceled inside the courtroom and out, garnering many wins and generating millions in dollars of revenue for the firm. Gary was eventually tapped to lead the entire firm's IP litigation division, and serve on the firm's board of directors.
By 2022, Gary decided there was a better way to serve clients than the conventional "BigLaw" approach. To avoid the red tape and restrictive nature of the large law firm model, and always wanting at some point to have his own firm, he launched the Hood Legal Group. The firm employs an innovative approach not only to how IP cases are handled legally, but how they are billed (flat fees) and staffed (on-demand customized case teams).
A United States Navy Veteran
Before he became a lawyer, Gary first decided to serve his country. After earning an undergraduate electrical engineering degree, he decided to forego a lucrative engineering job and instead join the United States Navy. Attending Officer Candidate School in 1988, Gary earned an active duty "USN" commission by graduating in the top 10% of his OCS class.
After completing initial follow-on training, Gary was eventually assigned to active duty aboard the USS Rentz (FFG-46), homeported in San Diego, California. Serving first as Communications Officer (COMMO), and later as Combat Information Center Officer (CICO) and Assistant Operations Officer, Gary deployed to the Middle East for Operation Desert Storm as well as to Central and South America for counter-narcotics operations. He earned his Surface Warfare Officer qualification pin, and was awarded a number of medals and commendations, including the Navy Commendation Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze service star, and Kuwait Liberation Medal.
Following his honorable discharge from active duty in 1993, Gary continued to serve in the drilling reserves. At the request of his former USS Rentz commanding officer, he returned to the Rentz shortly after leaving active duty, embarking shipboard for the first portion of its Middle East/WestPac deployment. His mission was to train junior officer and other personnel to prepare them for potential combat operations in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. Later during law school, he joined Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) 102, based in Spokane, Washington, actively drilling with that unit for the three years of law school. During that time, he deployed twice to South Korea in support of various training operations. While a Navy reservist, Gary was awarded the Navy Achievement medal. After law school graduation, he remained on inactive reserve duty until he was honorably discharged in 2000.
Fighting For Others
Gary has been fortunate to succeed at the highest levels and reap the rewards of legal work for large multinational corporations. But what he truly values and enjoys is applying his legal skills and experience to helping companies and individuals fight against those who would infringe or take away their valuable rights and property. The "BigLaw" approach is not all it's cracked up to be, and Gary appreciates being able to do things the right way, at a fair price, for people who appreciate his efforts. He uses his legal skills, honed over three decades, to fight for those who cannot fight the battles alone.
