George H. Gerstman

March 5th, 2026

George was a treasured mentor during my early years as an attorney at Seyfarth Shaw. He passed along lessons in patent litigation that I carry today and share with junior attorneys. What I remember most was visiting restaurants around the office for lunch, where George would share stories of his adventures defending video game makers in the 1980s, when that type of work was breaking new ground in copyright law.

May his memory be a blessing.
Matt Werber

~Matthew Werber
~Former Co-Worker, Northbrook, IL

March 5th, 2026

I am so sorry to hear about GeorgeMs passing and hope his memory is for a bracha for all of his family and friends.

I worked as a associate at Seyfarth under George for a short period of time but he taught me a tremendous amount and I am indebted to him to this day for my ability to dictate memoranda, analyses and strategic plans. I was amazed that George could dictate whole contracts and so admired him that I forced myself to learn.

Even more important than his sharp mind was that he was a pleasure to work for – always respectful and patient with beleaguered and sometimes green associates; and such a great sense of humour.

I am sure that this must be a devastating loss to all of his family and friends. It is one certainly for the legal practice, and I hope you can take comfort in the fact that he has left his mark even on those of us with the whom he spent even a short time.

Baruch Dayan ha’emet.

~Inna Tsimerman
~Associate at Seyfarth Shaw who worked on some of his clients, Chicago, Il

March 5th, 2026

Dear Family of Mr. Gerstman, Associates, Colleagues, and Friends.

As a non-legal workplace support person at Seyfarth Shaw, I remember Mr. Gerstman’s welcoming smile and laughter. Most times when I had to go to his office, it was because something went wrong relating to a telephony process or device. Even then he was smiling and gracious. It was a blessing to have met him.

May you receive comfort as you reflect and mourn his passing.

~C. Hughes
~Seyfarth support co-worker, Chicago

March 5th, 2026

I am thinking about George and hope that his/your families are comforted at this difficult time.

I remember George as being a total mensch, art lover (he had a wonderful Richard Estes in his office), culturally and intellectually curious, and always bringing positive energy to work and life.

In addition to George’s significant patent work referenced above, he was an innovative and creative strategist when it came to protecting other forms of intellectual property, like copyright, trademark and trade dress. I had the privilege of working with George for several years at Seyfarth Shaw, helping his clients like Crate & Barrel and Ringling Brothers, whose rights he helped develop, defend and enforce, and for whom he obtained successful and oftentimes precedent-setting results. He describes that work so well on his website –www.gerstman.com and in his books.

One memory– Way before he joined Seyfarth, I met George when he had his own firm -he successfully protected the trade dress/format of the Blublocker informercial (talk show format, palm trees in the background, celebrity host), which probably was the first time that the format of a television commercial received that type of protection from a federal court. He was also from the old school of litigation where George aggressively represented his client while showing respect for his opponent and could disagree without being disagreeable.

May his memory be a blessing. Bart Lazar

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~Bart Lazar
~Co-worker and Partner, Chicago, Illinois

March 5th, 2026

My heart is with the entire Gerstman and Frey families and everyone who feels his loss. I have many wonderful memories of George. As a childhood friend of Gary’s, I remember how loving and unequivocally devoted and supportive George was to Roseanne, Heidi and Gary. George was incredibly smart and genuine, as was Roseanne, so it is no surprise that their children are as well. He had a thirst for learning and knowledge about virtually everything. His devotion to those he loved was unparalleled and easy to see. May he rest in peace and may his family carry him in their hearts forever.

~Jordan Rudnick
~Family friend, Los Angeles, CA