Duets Blog : Creativity and the Law: DuetsBlog

DuetsBlog was born out of the chasm that can divide legal and marketing types. Sometimes this separation can be explained by the difference between left and right brain dominance. Sometimes it is driven by arrogance or rigidity. Sometimes Dr. No is the root of the problem, standing in the way of progress and stifling important business goals. Other times, simple oversight is the culprit. Whatever the reason, this divergence can be a formidable obstacle to early coordination, planning, and dialogue between legal and marketing teams. When this happens, most certainly the opportunity for an organization to be strategic, create and own great value, and protect it, is diminished, if not lost altogether. DuetsBlog is our effort to facilitate a more ambidextrous approach and promote early—and very graceful—collaborations among legal and marketing teams.

[Click here to view a funny take on the chasm as seen by the owners of the Coke Zero® brand.]

[Click here to view our favorite comic strip illustrating the chasm between trademark lawyers and everyone else.]

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Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, “Who owns these brands” and “Did they really register those marks?”

To understand the depth of my passion for brands and helping clients achieve their business goals, legally, you must understand that my interest in business and branding goes back to the late 1960s. The very first brand I recall profiting from was Jiffy®. Even before being old enough to deliver papers for the Iowa City Press Citizen, between episodes of Bewitched®, I would bake cupcakes and walk my finished product door-to-door, sampling along the way, of course, throughout our Kimball Road neighborhood, mostly selling them to husbands whose wives didn't bake enough (probably watching Bewitched®), according to them at least. One hundred percent profit margins are easy when you can use the necessary equipment and raw materials directly from Mom's kitchen. Mass producing "hot pads" (pot holders, not real estate) and selling them door-to-door was another favorite childhood business venture at the ripe age of six. Graduating to lawn-mowing age worked well with my paper routes because I could easily see who needed help cutting their grass and, in some cases, avoiding neighborhood ridicule. Yes, you're right, Dad loaned me his Lawn-Boy® mower on weekends, rent-free, and even bought the gasoline (Dad was not brand loyal at all with gasoline, so I have no brand memory there). Another pure profit opportunity. Let's just say that Mom and Dad were generous, unsecured investors in my development and future. Thanks Mom and Dad, I now understand the meaning of overhead and capital improvements!

I bucked a lot of family tradition and jokes to become a lawyer and a trademark guru. There is not one lawyer in the family tree, as far as my sister knows (and she would know). Nearly everyone is, or was, a teacher of some kind. That must be where my passion for educating others about the legal implications of branding comes from. Basically, I have been speaking about the legal implications of branding since the early 90s, after permitting my pharmacist’s license to expire (after being a victim of an armed robbery where Dilaudid® was on the top of the gunman’s list of desired controlled substances), and shortly after working for an 86 year old federal judge whose chambers had a nice view of the White House in Washington, D.C. While I’d like to say that the movie My Cousin Vinny inspired me to become a lawyer, it was released two years after I graduated from law school. So, really, I guess it just inspired me to be a better lawyer and leader. For now, you can call me a “thought-leader” in the trademark world, and the thankful leader of a very talented group of creative and insightful lawyers and staff who are dedicated to putting our intellectual property clients in the best possible position to achieve their business goals.

When I'm not in the office, "cracking the whip," making sure others in the group keep their bios on this blog short and sweet, working (which isn't to say I'm not still thinking about my clients' businesses), or soaking it up in the hot-tub with my soul-mate, I am a dedicated family man - a.k.a. the chauffeur. Until they reach the driving age, I'll continue to shuttle my four wonderful kids around to their athletic and other events, at which you can find me cheering in the stands.

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My practice covers a broad range of diverse Intellectual Property issues. I believe it is important to approach legal issues in a proactive manner to help protect the entire spectrum of a client's intellectual property assets before issues arise.  I am fortunate to work with a bright and talented group that also shares that philosophy.  As second in command, I have become the glue of the Intellectual Property group.  My day-to-day activities include keeping “Bulldog Walz” in check and the rest of the group on task. However, we are not all work and no play. I believe it is important to balance hard work with some fun. I enjoy making my colleagues laugh with my Chris Farley (greatest comedian of all time) impersonation of “Matt Foley, the motivational speaker.”  When I’m not motivating people about “living in a van down by the river” or thinking about how to protect my clients’ Intellectual Property assets, I enjoy sitting on my deck, listening to blues music and smoking ribs in my smoker.  Life does not get any better than that—does it?

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Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. Instead of taking to the stage, however, my first career was in arts administration and fundraising at the Los Angeles Opera. Four years of opera taught me how to listen and fine-tuned my patience with opaque language – skills that have served me well as an attorney. A newcomer to the state of Minnesota, I spent my first years of legal practice in Las Vegas, advising clients in the casino, real estate, banking and entertainment industries on domain name acquisition and enforcement, and trademark and copyright counseling and litigation, or what I like to call “the law of shopping.”

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Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else (though I have traveled across many borders, including the pond, and various state lines).

My calling to the courtroom, led me to earn my law degree from the University of Minnesota, after receiving my undergraduate degree in Economics and Psychology from St. Olaf College. After law school, I quickly realized that I’m more at ease in the courtroom than in my own living room, so I became a litigator. Over the years, I have developed my own style of litigating (I’m trying to trademark it) and aggressively represent my clients whether I am protecting valuable intellectual property or tackling the interests of professional athletes. Although I am not as wacky or as flaky as Ally McBeal, litigation still holds its “entertainment value” after fifteen years in the profession. This year’s Valentine’s Day festivities are evidence (pun intended) of my passion—instead of celebrating the typical Valentine’s Day with dinner and roses, our litigation team celebrated the seventh anniversary of the then largest jury verdict in Minnesota. The verdict came after a nine year battle and, as a result, V-Day has now become known as “Verdict Day.” I’m hoping to rename more holidays soon.

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As one of the newest members of the Intellectual Property practice group (maybe not the youngest), I decided to go to law school after working as a paralegal for five years. Growing up in a small town in Iowa, my career path was profoundly focused at a young age – I was going to be either the President or, if that didn’t work out, a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.   Thankfully, neither panned out, but I unknowingly embarked upon my legal profession at around the same time. My first client? My older sister. "Re - tain -er!" Sent from the basement to take up all causes great and small with Mom and Dad, my results were mixed, but I discovered that they would be wrong about one thing - they said talking back wouldn't get me anywhere. Turns out, anywhere but law school. A typical Type A, my hobbies (perhaps obsessions) include running, tennis and attempting to travel the world, including climbing as many mountains as possible, as long as there is a spa day at the end of the trip.

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You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation, which was kind of like starring in my very own Dilbert® comic strip. Once I decided to get a law degree, I faced horrendous pressure to become a patent attorney, because the only polite thing to say to a non-traditional law student with an engineering degree is, “You should become a patent attorney!” I caved. (The line to explain your invention idea to me and ask whether you can patent it forms on my left.) I now spend my days immersed in the vagaries of trademark, patent, and copyright law. I am otherwise outdoors as often as possible.

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Sitting here, composing a profile for a blog on creativity and the law, I can’t help but recognize the irony of my overwhelming writer’s block. But, here we go…Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. My gravitation towards intellectual property law, specifically, was probably less accidental, given the immeasurable impact of being a college student during the Napster® era. I’m the product of a modest, small-town Minnesota upbringing combined with some polish from a diverse educational background. I received my engineering degree from the University of North Dakota and then, on a whim, moved to North Carolina to attend law school at Duke University. The drastic temperature swing was certainly not the only difference between the two locales, and come to think about it, the only real similarity is probably the word “North.”

An engineer by training, I appreciate both quantitative and qualitative valuation. These two concepts collide head-on in IP law, creating what is, in my humble opinion, the most entertaining and exciting area of law. As we move towards an information-based economy, the laws which govern the incentivization, protection and distribution of information will only become more important.  I see IP law as the front line.

When I’m not focusing on the law, I can typically be found (WARNING: stereotype coming) on the golf course. I also enjoy skiing (downhill and water). Unfortunately, as is the case with most hobbies, my skill level has not yet caught up to my enthusiasm. Perhaps when I retire...

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 My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). I always knew I’d perpetually be in some sort of faceoff—only I didn’t know it would be in the courtroom. A fierce, natural-born competitor, I am always looking for the advantage...and how I can exploit it. Known as the “Bulldog” around the office, I’m all about holding people accountable for their actions. Just as if we were on the ice, it ain’t over until my team wins. When I’m not metaphorically equating my law practice to hockey (though I can’t stop altogether, I AM captain of the firm’s pond hockey team), I’m advising clients on a broad range of complex and strategic legal and business matters regarding trademarks, copyrights, and domain names. Other than law and hockey (and really, who can separate the two?), I enjoy playing golf and analyzing the stock market.

An attorney I am not.  Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). Instead, I’m a professional nerd—I get paid to write, edit and read (think marketing department).

My passion for the creative arts started when I was a very little girl. The first “book” I wrote (and illustrated) was about a crime-fighting cat named Morris. I was (and am) an avid reader; one of the first “chapter” books I’d ever read was a compilation of Edgar Allan Poe stories (starting to see a theme, here?). I later graduated to the master of contemporary horror, Stephen King (in fact, my college senior thesis surrounded King’s status in the literary community). All this before the age of 10. All that reading sparked my interest in grammar, as did my brilliant and extremely (grammatically) accurate mother, a word processor at Winthrop & Weinstine (for 20+ years…I grew up coming to the office on the weekends, where I created funny PowerPoint presentations and edited documents); and my equally as brilliant father, who was a technical writer and produced wood-working books.

When I'm not reading or writing, I'm a self-taught wine connoisseur (stems from four years in the liquor store business), a mini-Dachshund aficionado, and a literary theory addict.