By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
A law clerk for the intellectual property law firm of Revision Legal, MSU Law student Drew Jurgensen works remotely from East Lansing for most of the year and spent this past summer at the firm's head office in Traverse City.
"Clerking gives me the chance to use the skills law school has taught me to help the firm in the present, while at the same time learning from the attorneys the things law school does not teach me and that I can use in the future," he says. "A lot of what I do is research and writing based, whether writing memos, drafting letters to clients, or writing briefs for court. I also have had the chance to sit in on client meetings and strategize with the firm's attorneys."
Jurgensen previously interned at the Ingham County 30th Circuit Court.
"Working there was incredible I learned so much from Judge Canady's clerk, Melissa Hoover, about the trial process, researching and writing, and professionalism," he says. "That externship solidified my desire to litigate."
A graduate of Saline High School, Jurgensen earned his undergrad degree in history from Michigan State University.
"I always enjoyed history in high school because, to me, it was like all of our reading assignments were just stories," he says. "Specifically, I liked reading social histories and learning about how regular people lived and worked during different times and in different places in the world throughout history."
He stayed in Spartan territory where his sister just graduated with a degree in special education and is in his third year at MSU Law. He has consistently made the Dean's List, and wrote the best appellate brief in the 1L class of 2016. A member of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, he is the Notes Editor for the MSU Law Review.
"I decided to study law because I wanted to be challenged every day and I thought working with new cases all the time would keep me interested and engaged," he says. "What I like most about MSU Law is the atmosphere very collegial and not as competitive as I thought it would be. I think this is more reflective of the real world, where even though we work within an adversarial system, we still have to work together with other attorneys on our side of a dispute or the other."
Jurgensen has shared some of his experiences with first year law students by working as a Teaching Assistant for Research Writing & Analysis and Advocacy courses.
"I enjoyed working with 1Ls and helping to keep them calm as they acclimated to law school and all of its 'joys,'" he says.
He also volunteers some of his time to the law school, particularly with admissions, and has participated on panels the school provides for accepted students still in the process of making an attendance decision.
A Minneapolis native, Jurgensen has lived in Saline, and now divides his residences between East Lansing and his parents' place in Ann Arbor.
He enjoys life in Michigan's capital city, where he has worked as a store manager at Sparty's on the MSU campus.
"I like Lansing because it's a decent sized city, but is not too big," he says. "You can find almost anything you would want to do without having to pay an arm and a leg to live."
As for his career future, Jurgensen would like to stay in Michigan or find his way back to the Twin Cities.
"I love IP law and hope to remain in that field," he says. "In five to 10 years I hope to have some victories in court under my belt and to be doing what I enjoy."
Published: Mon, Sep 28, 2015
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