SOL Lawyer Magazine_Fall 2021

ALUMNI PROFILE

ELIZABETH BRENCKMAN ’08 J.D. Splunk Inc., Legal Counsel, Litigation and Investigations Why did you go to law school? I took a business law course in college and really enjoyed the legal writing component. Why IP law? I fell into it naturally! When I was a corporate associate in Minneapolis, I started taking on trademark and copyright projects. I really enjoyed the work and the people I was working with, so before I knew it, IP constituted most of my practice. I ended up transitioning to an IP boutique in New York City. What’s the best part of your practice? There is always something interesting happening. There is never a sense of boredom or routine. Who is your professional hero? Barb Grahn at Fox Rothschild. She gave me my first IP-related projects, and we have stayed close. What is a misconception about IP law and your response to it? That you need a technical degree to practice in the IP space. That may be required for certain IP practices (e.g., patent prosecution), but not for IP litigation (trademark, copyright, patent or otherwise). What do you wish for your practice? I wish there were more hours in the day so that I could dive even further into my projects and cases.

Page 30 St. Thomas Lawyer

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