The IP Speaker Series introduces MSU College of Law students to the practice of Intellectual Property (IP) law through real-life experiences of the legal profession. Recently featured was Brian A. Hall, Managing Partner of the Austin, Texas, office of Traverse Legal PLC.
Focused on intellectual property and internet law, Hall gave students an insider’s perspective of life as an intellectual property lawyer.
“I’m a firm believer in the concept of turning back around to help others advance,” he said. “As a practicing attorney, I still benefit from mentors. It feels appropriate for me to provide mentorship on the practice of law and my career. I feel grateful to have the opportunity to share.”
Hall shared insights on various topics, including how he helped bring his firm into the internet age by updating their organizational framework to run more like a business.
“Businesspeople would be very familiar with the way we run our firm, lawyers would not,” Hall said.
When considering pursuing careers in IP, Hall said he would rather students focus on the message behind his story rather than the gritty details of his career.
“A career is determined by the choices made along the way,” he said. “We discussed how saying yes or no to a range of questions, issues, and opportunities shaped my career.”
First-year law student Catherine Schertzing, who aims to go into patent law, attended for some professional development.
“I know I’m going to have to get exposure to copyright and trademark, and that’s what he was talking about today,” she said.
Schertzing also appreciated Hall’s path with a smaller firm.
“The big firms are very laid out, you can find everything about them online, but you can’t find [small firm] information,” she said.
Other students shared similar reasons for attending.
“I feel like it’s really important to get an understanding of the field I’d like to go into,” said a second-year law student. “I think this kind of realigned my professional goals. Some of the things he talked about really widened my horizon as to what’s possible in this field.”
Professor Adam Candueb, who founded the IP Speaker Series, says it’s designed to give students the opportunity to meet successful intellectual property law professionals and to hear stories about their road to success.
“We tend to highlight people with interesting practices, although nearly every IP lawyer has an interesting practice,” explained Candueb. “Brian is particularly noteworthy because he founded a branch for a firm in a cutting-edge, high-tech city – and he’s really prospering there.”
Candueb says the IP Speaker Series will run throughout the year with multiple speakers already lined up. Information regarding future events can be found under the Events tab on the MSU College of Law website.
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