Long before laptops and LexisNexis became standard tools of the legal profession, patent attorney James Sprowl was working to connect his colleagues with technology.

A lifelong resident of the North Shore, Mr. Sprowl taught computer law classes at Northwestern University, the University of Illinois, Loyola University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Chicago-Kent College of Law, his wife said. He also was an expert witness in several high-profile computer patent cases, including one lawsuit brought by Apple against the manufacturer of a clone computer.

Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune