In 2015, the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences (LABS) awarded its initial Fellowship in Intellectual Property Law. Funded by the law firm of Maschoff Brennan Laycock Gilmore Israelsen & Wright, the Maschoff Brennan Intellectual Property Fellowship is the first named law firm fellowship at the College of Law.
Maschoff Brennan attorney L. Rex Sears said, “As a premier IP firm in Utah, we are excited that the LABS program at the S.J. Quinney College of Law has become so well established. We see in the fellowship an opportunity both to facilitate LABS’ continued development and to make early contact with promising and interested students of intellectual property law.”
2L Michael Eixenberger said he was “extremely excited” when he learned he had been awarded the Fellowship. “The biomedical subject matter is unique, and will allow me to explore a technical area of the law that is cutting edge and greatly impacts society,” he explained. “Also, the Fellowship will be extremely beneficial to me as an aspiring intellectual property attorney because of the unique perspective of working with both academic mentors and practicing intellectual attorneys to explore the nexus between intellectual property and the biomedical sciences. I am extremely grateful to receive the Maschoff Brennan Fellowship and the scholastic opportunities it provides.”
Sears added, “We hope the benefit the student derives from the minimal commitments that come with the fellowship allows the student fellow to focus more fully on her or his studies, and that the student fellow has an opportunity and incentive to dive more deeply into some more particularized IP projects than he or she might in a course.”
Moreover, Sears said he hoped Maschoff Brennan’s example would inspire other firms to fund additional fellowships. “We think that would benefit both the school and the students, and tighten the bonds between the school and the practicing legal community. Those are all positives,” he concluded.