Taft attorneys Robert W. McDonald and Jonathan G. Polak will speak at FailFest 2016, an event sponsored by Launch Fishers that spotlights the role failure plays in innovation. Taft is also a sponsor of the event, which will take place on July 28 at Fishers High School. FailFest brings together Indiana’s most important business leaders to share the lessons they have learned from the mistakes they have made, both personally and professionally, in a day-long conference designed to inspire, inform and ultimately change the way failure is perceived in society. Learn more here.

McDonald is a partner in Taft’s Business & Finance group and a co-founder of The Brandery, routinely a top 10 business accelerator located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Brandery has graduated six cohorts of companies, and they have received over $130 million in venture capital financing. In addition to his work with The Brandery, McDonald is the co-founder of and co-manages Vine Street Ventures Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in web and mobile technology companies. At Taft, McDonald focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, financing and general corporate work.

Polak is a partner in Taft’s Intellectual Property, Business and Litigation groups and concentrates his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. He has litigated complex, multi-party cases in state and federal courts around the country. In addition, Polak has litigated intellectual property infringement claims on behalf of nationally-recognized rights holders.