Noonan did not remain defined by his early marriage. Instead, he forged a prominent career that stands firmly on its own merits in the legal and scientific communities. After completing his Ph.D. in molecular biology, Noonan pursued postdoctoral research, spending several years running complex gene mapping projects.
Recognizing the emerging intersection between biotechnology and intellectual property, he went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the John Marshall Law School. He established himself in Chicago as a founding partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP, specializing in patent prosecution, genetic therapy patents, and pharmaceutical litigation.
As co-founder of the influential industry publication Patent Docs, Noonan became one of the country's most frequently cited patent attorneys. He has authored hundreds of articles analyzing Supreme Court and Federal Circuit patent jurisprudence, notably on gene patenting cases such as Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics. Colleagues know him as a formidable legal scholar who approaches intellectual property with deep technical precision.
