Merkin, Joel

Joel Merkin serves as a Managing Director at GLS Capital – one of the world’s largest private investment firms focused on litigation finance – where he is responsible for due diligence and monitoring of patent investments.

Prior to joining GLS, Joel was a partner in the intellectual property litigation group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, where he practiced for over a decade. At Kirkland & Ellis, Joel’s practice focused on complex patent litigation before federal district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Federal Circuit.

Joel is a registered patent attorney and uses his patent litigation experience and engineering background to evaluate patent investment opportunities, particularly in the high-tech space. Joel’s patent experience includes working with a wide range of technologies, including computer hardware and software, communication systems, consumer electronics, and medical devices. Joel has represented both patent owners and petitioners in over 75 PTAB proceedings, including arguing over a dozen cases before the PTAB.

Joel holds a J.D. and B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois.