Judge Becky Thorson ’95 currently serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Minnesota U.S. District Court. Prior to this, she was a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. Before that she was a partner at Greene Espel. She has served on the Mitchell Hamline Board of Trustees since 2013. After working for several …

Magistrate Judge Becky Thorson ’95, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

Karen Beckman, Ph.D., ’17 is an Associate Attorney at Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis. She handles both intellectual property litigation and patent prosecution matters for clients in the chemical and life sciences industry. With a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry and a master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry, Beckman was uniquely qualified to represent her clients involved …

Karen Beckman, Ph.D., ’17, Associate, Merchant & Gould

Ryan Cox is a Law Clerk at Xcel Energy in Minneapolis. Cox is expected to graduate in 2021. He hopes to find either a federal judicial clerkship or a position as a patent litigator at a firm in Minneapolis. Cox graduated from Rice University with a degree in Psychology. When asked why he chose patent …

Ryan Cox, Law Clerk, Xcel Energy

Since this spotlight was written, Loretta Freeman has moved to a new firm, Barnes & Thornburg LLP. Loretta Freeman ’11 is a Partner at Merchant & Gould in Atlanta. She focuses her practice on preparing and prosecuting design patent applications and utility patent applications in mechanical arts. After graduating from Florida A&M University, Freeman moved …

Loretta Freeman ’11, Partner, Merchant & Gould

Taylor Stemler is a Law Clerk at Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis. Stemler is expected to graduate in 2021. He plans to work full time as an associate attorney at Merchant & Gould where he will split his time working in intellectual property litigation and patent prosecution, until he selects an area to specialize in. …

Taylor Stemler, Law Clerk, Merchant & Gould

Suneel Arora ’99 is a registered patent attorney and a principal at Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner in Minneapolis. When asked what he enjoys about patent law, Arora said, “I love the creativity, optimism, artistry, and entrepreneurship of my inventors and clients, and the constant exposure to new technologies and inventions. I can’t think of a …

Suneel Arora ’99, Principal, Schwegman, Lundberg, & Woessner

Megan Miller is an Intellectual Property Paralegal at Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis. Miller is expected to graduate in 2021 and plans to focus her practice on international intellectual property (IP) filing strategy and enforcement, along with privacy law. Miller has fourteen years of experience prosecuting patents, trademarks, and copyrights in the U.S. and worldwide. …

Megan Miller, Intellectual Property Paralegal, Winthrop & Weinstine

Eric Phillips ’21 is an Associate at Kinney & Lange in Minneapolis. An interest in understanding cutting-edge technology drove Phillips to a patent law career. “While practicing patent law, you consistently interface with engineers and scientists that teach you about their inventions. Oftentimes, these inventors are at the top of their respective fields and are …

Eric Phillips ’21, Associate, Kinney & Lange

Jun Ma ’20 is a Patent Agent at Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis. Ma was a Ph.D. scientist, and a research and development engineer, for ten years before transitioning into patent practice. For seven years, he worked as a product development specialist at 3M. It was here he developed interests in patent law through invention …

Jun Ma ’20, Patent Agent, Merchant & Gould