Airplane against sunset

Still Calculating: Exploring IP as a WeekendJD Student at Loyola

I often hear this question: “But what are you going to do after law school?”

Right now, it’s an unsolved equation. But I’m working through the terms.

Patent Law = Engineering + Law

I’m exploring patent law because it represents the sum of two important interests in my life, engineering and law.
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Trouble in Vermont: A Case Study on Artists Moral Rights

The New York Times recently reported a story about Vermont Law School and a mural on their campus that gave rise to a copyright dispute.  The mural, painted by a white man, depicts slavery and the evils around it.  Many who have seen the mural objected to how African Americans were depicted.  Indeed, they found that the depictions were racist caricatures of black people.

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Networking in IP: Identifying Your Interests And Finding A Job

Networking. I’m sure you’ve heard the word thrown around in various professional and academic settings. It’s a term sure to send shivers down the spines of every first-year law student. The reason many students fear networking is likely because they aren’t sure exactly what it entails. For many students with an interest in IP, however, networking can be the key to success once you learn how to use it to your advantage.

My goals for a career in IP have evolved substantially since I started law school at Loyola. Much of this progression has been thanks to networking with students, faculty, and professionals with experience in IP. Because networking has helped me so much throughout my law school career, I’d like to take you through my own networking experiences and how they helped me get to where I am today. But first off, let’s briefly define the buzzword “networking” and help take some of the fear away from the term.
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IP Colloquium: An Engaging Discussion of Intellectual Property

I have loved my experience taking IP classes at Loyola. My first post actually discussed how my interest in IP grew. My second post was about fun facts related to IP. My third post discussed patented pet products. I have been able to focus on everything that I love: from IP to pet-related products! Continue reading “IP Colloquium: An Engaging Discussion of Intellectual Property”

An IP Student’s Guide to Patent Law: What I Wish I Knew Before My First Interview

I came to Loyola with an interest in intellectual property, specifically patents. Patents are granted by a country to protect inventions by granting the inventor certain rights. When it came time to start my job search for my 1L summer, I knew I wanted to try and get experience in the field of IP. In every IP interview I’ve had thus far, the interviewer has always asked what kind of patent law I want to practice. Do I want to “prosecute” patents, meaning writing and obtaining a patent for an inventor? Or, do I want to litigate issues for granted patents? These are the two most common areas of patent law. In my early interviews, I would answer patent litigation. I have previous experience as a litigation consultant prior to law school, and have always romanticized being a trial attorney. However, as I gained interview experience and spoke with more attorneys, I realized there were many different areas of patent law of which I had no idea existed. I realized I had an interest in a lot of them. After learning more about these fields, I was able to better tailor my job search to firms that offered those types of patent law.

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Connections, Insights, and Valuable Lessons: The Importance of Networking

As a first-year law student, you learn almost immediately that your grades are extremely important. A strong GPA is undeniably one of the main criteria employers will use to distinguish job applicants. However, I learned this year that it’s also very important to begin building your professional network and making connections in the legal world as early as you can. I had the opportunity to attend several networking events this year, where I met practicing attorneys with a lot of valuable insight to share. Each time I left feeling glad I decided to attend, even if it meant I had to stay up a little later to finish my Torts reading.

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Intro to IP Through IP Speed Mentoring

Intro to IP Through IP Speed Mentoring

At the end of my first semester of law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, I was sitting in Professor Cynthia Ho’s office, trying to figure out how to learn more about IP. I’d heard that my chemistry background is a type of a science background beneficial to a patent law career, but did not yet know what that involved. Professor Ho suggested that I attend the next IP speed mentoring event that Loyola was hosting. At that moment, I was thinking “What exactly is speed mentoring?”, “All those strangers!” and “What will I say?”

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