Stephanie Nelson is the newest Corporate Counsel at SquareTrade. Prior to her role as in-house counsel, Stephanie spent seven years working as a patent litigator. When asked about her transition from private practice to in-house, Stephanie notes that she enjoyed her patent practice, but was looking for a change in her day to day that would present different and unique opportunities. Stephanie enjoys the variety of work in her in-house counsel position, where she works on a broad scope of matters, including employment law, corporate governance, international law, negotiations, contracts, litigation, human resources, and data privacy, just to name a few. Stephanie did not hesitate to highlight how happy she is in her in-house counsel position, where she has found a challenging, yet steady and consistent work environment, and a great team.
Stephanie was born on the East Coast. In middle school her family moved to the Midwest, but she always had a dream of making it back to the coast. Stephanie fulfilled that dream by attending Boston University, where she graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering. While pursuing an engineering degree, Stephanie’s primary focus was to go to law school and become a patent attorney. Stephanie achieved her goal when she graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor with an emphasis in intellectual property. After law school Stephanie practiced as a patent litigator at K&L Gates, Perkins Coie LLP, and Baker Hostetler.
Outside of the office, Stephanie has a life-long love for skiing. You will frequently find her taking quick trips to Wisconsin and Michigan and when her schedule allows, weekend trips to the “slightly” bigger slopes in Utah and Colorado. Stephanie and her husband got married during ski season at Snowbasin, a ski resort in Utah. Off the slopes, Stephanie’s other hobbies include needle point while catching up on reality TV shows, going to the ballet, and spending time with her dog.
Stephanie attended her first ChiWIP event as a 3L and loved the welcoming environment and supportive community that she found within the organization. Since then, she has served as a co-chair of Professional Development Committee and a committee member for the Mentoring Circles Committee. In addition to her involvement in ChiWIP, Stephanie is a co-chair on the Biotech Committee for the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC). Stephanie is also a member of the Richard Linn American Inn of Court, an organization dedicated to the advancement of professionalism, ethics, and civility in the practice of intellectual property.
Stephanie enjoys ChiWIP because of the network of mentorship and community. Do not hesitate to reach out to her to connect!
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