Current Student Spotlight: Rae Hintlian, 2L

Rae Hintlian is currently a 2L at Loyola, who intends to pursue a career in patent prosecution in San Diego or Denver. Patent prosecution is the process of writing and filing a patent application and pursuing protection for that patent application with the patent office. Rae attended Northern Arizona University and received her undergraduate degree in biology and a chemistry minor. During her work post-graduation with clinical research she was introduced to patent work, as related to drugs and pharmaceuticals. This sparked her interest in the legal field and a career in patent law. We recently had an opportunity to talk to Rae about her experiences in choosing law school, as well as her law school experience thus far.

Why Loyola?
Rae started her search for law schools by looking at schools with developed patent programs, most of which had classes but not programs that were actually dedicated to patents. Loyola had a patent focus, and she knew that was where she wanted to be.

What does Loyola offer for someone interested in an IP career
At Loyola, there is a wealth of resources ranging from librarians who can guide you in the right direction, including one who was a partner at a major IP firm, and professors who can help you network and find mentors. Chicago is a hub for patent law. This location, combined with the resources that Rae values at Loyola, allows her to be centrally located and thriving in her field of study.

IP experience have you had at Loyola
During her time at Loyola, Rae has had many different IP opportunities in a range of settings, including law firms, as well as a physical rehab center.

During her 1L summer Rae was able to work at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, which is a physical rehab center built at Northwestern University. The program is fairly new, starting in March 2017. They mostly center their work on patenting medical devices to help patients that have been in an accident, are disabled, or born with a medical condition in which they need assistance. Rae primarily worked with the patent prosecution department, alongside physicians to determine if their idea was patentable. She had the opportunity to write responses to actions from the US Patent and Trademark Office and perform patent searches. In addition, she even was able to do some compliance and regulatory work to gain exposure to other legal areas beyond patents.

Currently, Rae is employed at Zilliac Law working with trademarks and copyrights, which exposes her to another side of intellectual property law. However, since her interest is in patent prosecution, she has secured a job for the summer at Cherskov, Flaynik & Gurda, LLC., a law firm that focuses on patent prosecution.  Rae heard about Cherskov, Flaynik & Gurda, LLC. through a Loyola alum, and was able to connect with the firm by sending a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to them expressing her interest.

Interviewed by: Lily Ealey

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