Jennifer Mikulina is a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP in the firm’s Intellectual Property group. Jennifer began her legal career at McDermott as a summer associate and spent her time as an associate handling a wide variety of intellectual property matters, from patent litigation to trademark clearance to copyright applications. She has since shifted her practice to focus on trademark and copyright law, along with the intellectual property aspects of transactions. Describing her practice as “everything but patents,” Jennifer handles trademark and copyright counseling, prosecution, licensing, and enforcement. Jennifer loves the variety her current role provides and appreciates how she has been able to develop a practice that spans several areas.
Jennifer led McDermott’s global trademark practice for 7 years and currently leads the firm’s global Gender Diversity Committee (the firm’s women’s initiative). Jennifer has also held leadership positions in various women’s organizations throughout her career. As an early member of ChiWIP, Jennifer was instrumental in kicking off the Girl Scout IP Patch activities and assisted with planning ChiWIP’s Annual Dinner for several years. Jennifer currently serves as the Vice President of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Board of Directors and is the leader of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. She also serves on the board and is an officer of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. Jennifer’s contributions to the field of IP have most recently been recognized by Crain’s, as she was named to the Crain’s Women in Law list. Jennifer was also awarded the 2020 Outstanding Member Award by the National Association of Women Lawyers.
When asked about advice for young female IP practitioners, Jennifer emphasized the importance of investing in your career. “Identify what steps your peers and mentors are taking—the conferences and networking events they are attending and the organizations that they are joining—and do the same.” As a trademark practitioner, Jennifer recommends attending International Trademark Association’s (“INTA”) Annual Meeting, an organization for which Jennifer serves as the Vice Chair of the Law Firm Committee and a member of the Chairman’s Task Force on Law Firms of the Future.
When asked what she likes most about ChiWIP, Jennifer spoke about how the organization provides a great platform for female IP attorneys to meet other professional women in the Chicagoland area. Jennifer also spoke about ChiWIP’s non-competitive and supportive atmosphere and commitment to the connection, promotion, and success of Chicago women in IP.
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