Christine Lebrón-Dykeman brings practical experience to the online/hybrid cohort of the Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic

It was a bit of serendipity that led to Professor Christine Lebrón-Dykeman joining the UNH Franklin Pierce law community.  

A chance meeting with Clinical Assistant Professor Cassandra LaRae-Perez at the International Trademark Association (INTA) meeting in San Diego last May eventually turned into LaRae-Perez reaching out to Lebrón-Dykeman about the position she has now begun — leading the online/hybrid cohort of the  UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic. 

The timing of her new opportunity was perfect for Lebrón-Dykeman, who grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, and has only recently returned to the Granite State after nearly three decades away. The professor brings nearly 30 years of legal experience to her role at UNH Franklin Pierce in a varied career in intellectual property law, including spending the last 23 years at McKee, Voorhees and Sease, PC, in Des Moines, Iowa. She also has taught IP litigation and trademark law at Drake University and the University of Iowa. 

Lebrón-Dykeman recently stepped back from her partnership at the firm, where she remains chair of the Trademark Practice Group and continues to represent clients. Her work includes prosecuting trademarks in the U.S. and internationally and enforcing/defending trademark rights to the USPTO and in state and federal courts. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Professor Lebrón-Dykeman to our faculty,” says LaRae-Perez, who directs the Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic. “Her substantial experience as a litigator and transactional trademark lawyer, together with her prior teaching, will provide tremendous benefits to our students and our program, further strengthening our commitment to practical legal education.” 

At UNH Franklin Pierce, Lebrón-Dykeman’s responsibilities include teaching a weekly two-hour online class on trademark prosecution fundamentals and supervising student attorneys in client meetings. In addition to supporting those virtual meetings, Lebrón-Dykeman will review student work, hold regular office hours, and facilitate weekly case study sessions, during which students can discuss their work and learn from each other’s experiences.  

For Lebrón-Dykeman, the opportunity to continue bringing her current practice knowledge to the classroom, at a school known for IP law, is quite appealing.  

“Sharing the knowledge I have always seems like a good thing to do to help a younger generation succeed,” she says, “so they can get out there and do the work and find an area [in which] they hopefully love to practice for many years.”