Hybrid JD candidate Jessica Gore found the perfect opportunity to expand her IP education at UNH Franklin Pierce.
Enrolling at law school was a long time in the making for businesswoman and mother Jessica Gore, who expects to earn her JD in 2022. Everything changed when the Atlanta resident learned of the innovative Hybrid JD program in intellectual property, technology, and information law at UNH Franklin Pierce.
“Before this hybrid program existed,” says Gore, “I was limited to brick and mortar schools that would have been nearly impossible to attend with a small child and running a small business. After 15 years of wanting to go to law school, I did attend a traditional school in the Atlanta area before finding out I was pregnant with my son. I never thought I would get the chance to return to law school, much less in a program specializing in intellectual property/technology, an area that holds a lot of interest for me.”
The first of its kind, the Hybrid JD program was established in 2019. With its tagline –“Stay in your home. Stay in your job. Earn your JD primarily online.” – the remote option allows students like Gore to avoid complete family and career upheaval in pursuit of a law degree. The year-round curriculum includes online classes and requires only limited trips to campus.
Prior to enrolling at UNH Franklin Pierce, Gore already had developed a steady interest in intellectual property law. Her experience included work as a music licensing administrator for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); as a sound designer in video games, and as a contracts coordinator for Hi-Rez Studios, maker of the games Smite and Paladins. Gore also has taught audio, marketing, and music business at The Art Institute of Atlanta and SAE Institute Atlanta. She is the owner of Moon 40 Marketing, which offers visual branding, web development, digital marketing, and digital brand protection that includes filing trademark and copyright applications with the USPTO and U.S. Copyright Office.
“Of all the things I love about UNH, the two that have made indelible marks on my life are the students and professors,” says Gore, who was interviewed as part of the law school’s celebration of World IP Day on April 26. “It has been incredible to get to know other professionals, who I otherwise would never have met. Our class is composed of patent examiners, patent agents, doctors, entrepreneurs, physicists, engineers, and more. Some of my classmates have become so personally and professionally integral that I know they will be in my life long after we graduate.”
Those personal connections are what helped Gore land an internship in the Intellectual Property Civil Enforcement Division at Louis Vuitton North America, which she is currently completing. For her Art Law class last year, Gore wrote a paper about the legal protection of fonts. Then, in the fall, Professor Alexandra Roberts hosted a “Lunch and Learn” with John Maltbie, the director of IP at Louis Vuitton North America. When Maltbie asked Professor Roberts a legal question about fonts, she referred him to Gore, and their ensuing conversation led to a job opportunity.
“After a few emails back and forth about fonts,” says Gore, “I stated that I would love to be considered for a remote intern position, if such a thing existed. Fully expecting a ‘no,’ it ended up working out. John Maltbie is one of the top legal professionals in the fashion industry, and I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from him.”
In another bit of networking good fortune, a partner at a law firm founded by UNH Franklin Pierce alumni offered Gore an internship for this summer after seeing a post under her Twitter handle (@HuffleBloom) about her soon-to-launch ipillustrated.com, which will offer modern, web-based tools for IP, including a live-searchable compendium of U.S. Copyright Office practices.
“While I cannot say for sure that the fact the firm is owned by UNH Franklin Pierce alumni played a part in their decision to extend the opportunity,” Gore says, “I do know it was a factor in making the initial connection.”
