Category: Loyola Spotlight

Loyola Spotlight

Navigating FemTech and Patents: An Interview with Giordana Mahn

Giordana Mahn is a patent prosecutor who has focused her career on working with female inventors, including ones who have founded companies. Prior to law school, she obtained a mechanical engineering degree from University of Michigan in 2009. During her time at Michigan, Giordana decided to take a patent law seminar that changed the trajectory of her career and set her sights on intellectual property … Continue reading Navigating FemTech and Patents: An Interview with Giordana Mahn

Katelyn Sears
Loyola Spotlight

From Engineering to Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Alisha Feustel

Alisha Feustel is a founding partner at Akona IP who focuses on all aspects of intellectual property law, especially patent prosecution (the writing, filing, and handling of patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office) and patent portfolio management (the strategic handling of one’s patent assets). She works closely with clients in a variety of technologies, including semiconductor device packaging, biomedical devices, computer memory and storage technologies, and many others.

Continue reading “From Engineering to Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Alisha Feustel”

Emily Moll
Loyola Spotlight

From Petri Dishes to Prime: An Interview with Eric Liu

Eric Liu is a class of 2019 Loyola U. Chicago School of Law graduate who pursued IP law immediately upon graduation. He has a background in Biomedical Engineering that he built upon by working at Cardinal Health and the U.S. Patent Office. During law school, he worked as a Judicial Extern for the Northern District of Illinois. Following graduation, Eric worked as an IP Associate … Continue reading From Petri Dishes to Prime: An Interview with Eric Liu

Dasha Ignatova
Loyola Spotlight

Aperture to Advocacy: An Interview with Professor Marci Walker

Arts advocate. Pro bono leader. Entertainment lawyer.

Professor Marci Walker has accomplished so much in her journey serving and advocating for those in the creative fields. In conversation with her, I could immediately tell how passionate she was about her work. Ever since she was young, she has been fostering her love of the arts. Now, she has made a career out of teaching and helping others pursue their passions.

Continue reading “Aperture to Advocacy: An Interview with Professor Marci Walker”

Ashton Yeh
Loyola Spotlight

An International Approach to Intellectual Property: An Interview with Katie Staba

Katie Staba is a partner at K&L Gates in the Technology Transactions and Data Protection practice group at the firm’s Chicago office. Her practice focuses on complex global transactions and counseling relating to digital media planning and buying, advertising and marketing, claim substantiation, software licensing, She counsels clients on intellectual property issues in mergers, acquisitions and investments, unfair competition and trade secrets and competitive intelligence.

Continue reading “An International Approach to Intellectual Property: An Interview with Katie Staba”

Corinne Macnichol
Loyola Spotlight

A Journey from the Lab to the Office: An Interview with Brad Loren

Brad Loren is an associate at McAndrews Held and Malloy Ltd. (McAndrews).
Prior to attending law school, Brad attended the University of Iowa where he earned a B.A. in Chemistry and Political Science. After earning his undergraduate degrees, Brad attended Purdue University where he earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. Brad’s Ph.D. research focused on pharmaceutical development, specifically organic synthesis and drug delivery. After earning his Ph.D., Brad attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he graduated cum laude in 2021. Continue reading “A Journey from the Lab to the Office: An Interview with Brad Loren”

Manuel Franco Pech
Loyola Spotlight

A Jack of All Trade(marks, patents & copyrights)s: An Interview with Monika Malek

Monika Malek is an associate in Vedder Price’s Chicago office and a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property (IP) group. She maintains a broad practice spanning trademark, copyright and patent litigation, prosecution (writing and filing a patent), enforcement (monitoring for potential infringement or enforcing an owner’s rights) and portfolio management (advising on business strategies associated with a patent). Prior to joining Vedder Price, she was an associate at a boutique law firm where she worked closely with clients on litigation and transactional matters involving a wide range of IP issues. She earned her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. While in law school, she was awarded Loyola’s Laura Terlizzi Scholarship, given to a female student intending to practice intellectual property law, and three CALI Awards for the highest grade in Copyright, IP Advocacy, and IP Colloquium. She also researched issues related to drug patents in domestic and international contexts as a research assistant to Professor Ho.
Continue reading “A Jack of All Trade(marks, patents & copyrights)s: An Interview with Monika Malek”

Sophia Gunzburg
Loyola Spotlight

Making Her (Trade)mark: Professor Patricia Lee’s Work in Trademarks

Companies have all kinds of intellectual property (IP), including trademarks, but just how important is that IP to a company? As a business attorney for nearly 40 years, Professor Patricia Lee of Loyola can tell you that trademarks and other forms of IP are hugely important and becoming more important every day.

As the director of the Loyola Business Law Clinic, Prof. Lee and her students find that trademark and other IP issues are a natural part of assisting and counseling the clinic’s clients. “Trademarks are very important to business startups and non-profit organizations,” said Prof. Lee.

So, where is Prof. Lee from and how did she get into business?

Continue reading “Making Her (Trade)mark: Professor Patricia Lee’s Work in Trademarks”

Brendan Zdunek
Loyola Spotlight

IP Lawyer-ing in a Pandemic World: a Conversation with Jessica Fenton

I had the chance to interview Loyola Alumni Jessica Fenton about her legal career and how it’s been affected by the COVID pandemic. Jessica is currently in-house counsel for RUSH University Medical Center. Working as in-house counsel means an attorney provides legal assistance solely to a single corporation or entity, rather than working at a law firm for multiple clients. She was previously an Intellectual Property (IP) litigator. As an IP litigator, Jessica defended and challenged intellectual property in court. Continue reading “IP Lawyer-ing in a Pandemic World: a Conversation with Jessica Fenton”

Madison Causey
Loyola Spotlight

“TRIPS” Down Memory Lane: An Interview with Sarah Johnson

Sarah Johnson is an in-house attorney at Kemin Industries. She handles the everyday business concerns regarding intellectual property (IP), international business, and contracting. Prior to working at Kemin Industries, Sarah learned successful litigation strategies as an associate attorney at Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff.

She graduated from Cornell College in Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Religion before attending Loyola University Chicago School of Law. While at Loyola, she competed on the National Health Law Moot Court Team and the Appellate Lawyers Association Moot Court Team. She wrote for the Annals of Health Law and Journal of Regulatory Compliance. Sarah externed at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and clerked for the Honorable Judge Neil Hartigan in the Court of Claims. She was also a research assistant for Professor Cynthia Ho, who mentored Sarah during her time at Loyola after connecting during a prospective student tour. Sarah then went onto take all of Professor Ho’s IP courses in addition to completing the Advocacy and Health Law certificates. She was also a member of IP Bytes.

We recently spoke about her background, her Loyola experiences, and how IP has influenced her legal career.

Continue reading ““TRIPS” Down Memory Lane: An Interview with Sarah Johnson”

Suet Lee