Welcome our new students!
This fall, the law school welcomed its largest class in recent history with 145 1L students. They hail from across the country, range in age from early 20s to early 70s, and represent diverse backgrounds; nearly a fifth are students of color and a third hold a STEM degree. While most are residential students, 45 are part of our inaugural class of the Hybrid JD program focused in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Information Law. These students will continue working while completing their coursework primarily online. The first-in-the-nation program launched to great success and now the college is actively recruiting for next year’s class, along with a robust residential class.
Another year of record outcomes.
Once again, the law school proved to be a powerhouse when it comes to bar passage and jobs. 94.5% of 2018 graduates landed a job within ten months of graduation. That puts UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law ahead of Yale Law School and Harvard Law School when it comes to the percentage of graduates who secured jobs in the open market, or non-law school funded positions. The law school ranks 13th or in the top 6% of law schools for open market job placement.
In addition, our graduates are crushing the bar exam. More than 83% of our graduates passed the bar on the first try and the school has 100% first time bar passage rate in five jurisdictions including: New York, Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Ohio.
Students to learn from heads of IP at Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, ServiceNow, Samsung, Uber, Bayer, Dolby, and more.
This January, approximately 40 UNH Franklin Pierce students will travel to Silicon Valley for “IP Strategies for Today’s Industry,” a program led by Micky Minhas, VP and Chief Patent Counsel for Microsoft. Throughout a one-week immersion, students will discuss leading IP cases and the business strategies that inform them. Students will be discussing these cases and strategies with (and learning from) the heads of IP at companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, ServiceNow, Samsung, Uber, Bayer, Dolby, and more.
Alumni Weekend success.
We enjoyed seeing you back on campus for this year’s Alumni Weekend. More than a hundred people gathered Friday, September 13th to wish Jan Neuman well at her retirement party. Many thanked her for her support during her years at the law school. The weekend included complementary CLE, a golf event at Concord Country Club, interest group lunches and an all class dinner. The classes of 1999 and 1994 were well represented, celebrating their 20th and 25th years respectively.
Save the date.
If we missed you this year’s Alumni Weekend, we’d love to see you at next year’s! The date is already set for October 2-3, 2020; so please save the date! We are in the process of planning and are looking for graduates in classes ending with 5 or 0 to help organize their fellow classmates to attend. If you’d like to volunteer or have an idea, please contact Ellen Musinsky at Ellen.Musinsky@law.unh.edu.
IPO Franklin Pierce reception.
At the suggestion of Hunter Yancey ’03, UNH Franklin Pierce Law Center revived the Franklin Pierce Law tradition of holding a reception during the IPO (Intellectual Property Owners) meeting, held this year in Washington DC. Stern Kessler hosted the event and over 60 alumni attended. You can see the photos online. It was a fun party and we plan to be in San Diego during IPO’s meeting next September. Watch your e-mail for details.
Fourth Asian Alumni Reunion features seminar on Global IP across Asia.
The Fourth Asian Alumni Reunion took place in Beijing, China, in September. Alumni from across Asia and around the world partnered with CNIPA to host a seminar that addressed cutting edge issues in intellectual property, both comparatively and transnationally. Approximately 150 attorneys from across Asia attended the seminar. The alumni reunion featured other events, including a trip to the Great Wall.
Celebrating public service.
This summer, 24 students worked in public service law placements and received a paycheck, thanks to the support of generous donors. On October 16, the law school celebrated the students’ successes and thanked donors at the annual Rudman Summer reception.
While many of the students will go on to pursue public focused careers, others will keep the experience of helping with them as they embark on more corporate careers. While we were pleased to be able to support 24 students last summer, more than 50 students applied. We would like to support every student who pursues a public interest placement. If you are interested in supporting a student, we – and the students – would appreciate your help. Please contact Maria Gudinas for more details.
Bruce E. Friedman Award
The law school awarded this year’s Bruce E. Friedman Award posthumously to Thomas A. Fredenburg, a legal services attorney and pro bono advocate who devoted his career to helping the indigent access legal services they would otherwise be unable to afford. New Hampshire Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes presented the Fredenburg family with a Senate resolution calling Fredenburg a social justice icon. Fredenburg passed away this past May at the age of 68.
Donna Edwards inspires students with on-campus visit.
Alumna and former Congresswoman Donna Edwards visited campus in early October to encourage students to pursue public service and delved into her own successful career helping others. She spoke about her time at Franklin Pierce Law Center, her work locally with survivors of domestic violence, her fundraising work with non-profits, and the path that led her to Capitol Hill.
Faculty achievements.
The Board of Trustees granted tenure to Roger Ford and alternative security to Courtney Brooks. Professor Ford joined the law school in 2014, where he teaches and writes in the areas of intellectual property, privacy, and other ways the law regulates information. His most recent work, Data Scams, was published in the Houston Law Review this year. Professor Brooks joined the law school in 2010 and serves as the Director of Legal Residencies. She establishes and maintains high quality legal residency placements both locally and nationally so that students can apply classroom knowledge in real-world legal settings and gain professional skills under the supervision of attorneys and other professionals.
Professor Roberts publishes important work on TM Failure to Function in Iowa Law Review.
Professor Alexandra Roberts published “Trademark Failure to Function” in the Iowa Law Review. Her article explores how factfinders have considered (or failed to consider) use as a mark in both ex parte and adversarial contexts and argues that merging distinctiveness and use as a mark analyses would lead to more accurate outcomes. Roberts argues that when trademark law neglects consumer perception, ostensibly its core concern, trademark law itself fails to function.
IP Powerhouse: ITTI hosts technology transfer professionals from Sri Lanka.
In June 2019, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law hosted a delegation of 15 technology transfer professionals from Sri Lanka to discuss intellectual property law, practice, and management. Organized by ITTI Director Stan Kowalski, the program was conducted in coordination with the USPTO, US Department of State and Department of Commerce (CLDP). This is part of a larger program for capacity building to establish technology transfer offices and incubators throughout universities in Sri Lanka. Several FP Law professors contributed, as did UNHInnovation colleagues.
Happy birthday IP Watchdog.
Congratulations to Gene Quinn on the 20th year of IPWatchdog. After being recognized as one of the top 100 legal blogs by the American Bar Association for 5 years in a row, the blog was inducted into the ABA Blawg Hall of Fame and retired from annual consideration. IPWatchdog.com has grown by leaps and bounds, and provides live and online training, as well as exclusive seminars led by top thought leaders in the industry. The anniversary was celebrated by 100s at the Park on 14th. Many Franklin Pierce graduates along with Dean Carpenter, and Professor Emerita Musinsky were on hand to celebrate with Gene. Congratulations from all of us. You’ve really serviced a great purpose spreading news and policy discussion amongst the IP communities.
UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law in the news.
Read our recent media coverage including a piece praising the launch our first-in-the-nation Hybrid JD focusing on Intellectual Property, Technology, and Information in Inside Higher Ed, New Hampshire Public Radio, and IPWatchdog. The program was also praised for its ability to draw a diverse student body in Diversity in Action.
The school’s innovative graduate programs were written about in Study International News. Dr. Stan Kowalski gave an interview to German outlet Talent Rocket about his work directing the ITTI Clinic on-campus.
Read our latest publications.
The school debuted a new suite of branded materials this Fall, including a new 2019 viewbook given to prospective students and key stakeholders for the law school. This year, the viewbook went digital and we invite you to read a copy on our website. You can also read our intellectual property viewbook on our website.
8th Annual IP Scholars’ Roundtable Conference
Scholars from across the country gathered on October 11-12, 2019 to present their work advancing the policy and practice of IP.
The intimate, single track conference allows scholars to share their work and obtain feedback from peers and included the following scholars:
• Bruce E. Boyden, Marquette University Law School, “Substantial Similarity, From Equity to Legal Process”
• Andrew Chin, UNC School of Law, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Brainchild: The Patents and Legacies of a Nation”
• Ralph D. Clifford, University of Massachusetts School of Law – Dartmouth, “An Exploration of the Existence of Creativity in Computer Programming and its Legal Implications”
• Aman Gebru, Duquesne University School of Law, “The Intellectual Property of Hackathons”
• Kevin (K.J.) Green, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, “It’s Complicated: Copyright Termination and the Looming Threat to the Old School Hip-Hop Song Book”
• Deidré A. Keller, Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law, “Free Speech Was Never ‘FUCT’: The Impact of Brunetti on Trademark Registration and Possibilities for a Statutory Provision that Is Constitutional and Has a Salutary Effect on the Marketplace of Ideas”
• Daryl Lim, UIC John Marshall Law School, “Futurecasting”
• Nicole N. Morris, Emory University School of Law, “Blockchain Consent”
• Chidi Oguamanam, University of Ottawa, “Understanding African and Like-Minded Countries’ Positions at WIPO-IGC”
• John Orcutt, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, “Valuing Young Startups is Unavoidably Difficult: Using (and Misusing) Deferred-Equity Instruments for Seed Investing”
• Janewa Osei-Tutu, Florida International University, “Layered Obligations of IP”
• Nicholson Price, University of Michigan Law School, “Opacity and Scientific Progress in Machine Learning”
• Alexandra J. Roberts, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, “False Influencing”
• W. Keith Robinson, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, “Access to the Patent System”
• Elizabeth Rowe, University of Florida Levin College of Law
• Zahr K. Said, University of Washington School of Law
• Dalindyebo Shabalala, University of Dayton Law School, “Can Native American Dependent Nations Legislate on Intellectual Property? – National Treatment as a means to US recognition of Native American Traditional Knowledge and Culture”
• Ben Sobel, The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, “Elements of Style: Emerging Technologies and Copyright’s Fickly Similarity Standards”
Mental health initiative comes to UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.
On Thursday, October 10, the law school recognized Law School Mental Health Day for Law Students. Students received stress balls, were able to relieve stress through pet therapy, snacked on healthy snacks, and had a round-table discussion with the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Lawyers Assistance Program. Increasing a focus on providing mental health services to students has been a priority this year with the addition of a local counselor who is able to see students on-campus once a week, the creation of a new student organization, the Mental Health Alliance, who meets bi-weekly and provides both resources and education on important topics impacting students, weekly yoga co-sponsored by the Assistant Dean for Students and the Student Bar Association and monthly confidential “office hours” sponsored by the NHLAP. We also continue working to destigmatize students asking for help when they are in need.
A goal of this project is to provide a strong foundation for the students as they enter legal practice so that they are able to focus on staying healthy and have the ability to seek help if needed.
Happy Holidays.
As we approach the holidays, all of us at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law wish you and your families a wonderful, safe, and joyous holiday season. We hope to see you in the new year. If you’d like to learn more about upcoming events or other engagement opportunities, or if you would like to invest in our students and faculty, please contact Ellen Musinsky, Professor Emerita and Alumni Liaison, at ellen.musinsky@law.unh.edu or Maria Gudinas, Director of Development, at maria.gudinas@law.unh.edu or visit: unh.edu/give/law
