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Third-year law student Eric Liu will practice IP law in Washington, D.C., after graduation.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Eric Liu

A passion for IP

3L looks ahead to career in intellectual property law

A graduate of Northwestern University where he earned BS and MS degrees in biomedical engineering, third-year student Eric Liu says he chose to attend law school at Loyola University Chicago for its community and strong alumni network of more than 12,000 graduates. Eric serves as Executive Editor, Research & Marketing of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. He also is a member of Loyola’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Loyola’s Intellectual Property Law Society, the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, and the Richard Linn American Inn of Court. This past summer he worked as a summer associate at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

‘I decided to study intellectual property at Loyola because the program has an excellent reputation in the legal community and it offered numerous opportunities to connect with alumni and lawyers who are practicing in this area.

THE IMPACT OF IP
“I like the fact that intellectual property affects almost every business in the United States. With my engineering degree, I can navigate the details of patent law to drive product strategy. However, businesses also must consider trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets to protect their brands and other products that do not fall under the category of patents.”

PREPARED FOR PRACTICE
“Loyola has provided a solid foundation for a career in IP. In addition to taking a number of IP courses, I’ve also taken business organizations, evidence, and federal income tax, to broaden my understanding of how IP is influenced by these other areas of law. Having taken these other classes in law school, I now have a much better understanding of transactional IP and the various factors that clients face in managing their patent portfolios.”

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE LOYOLA
Service. Community. Connected.

FAVORITE PROFS
“Professors Cynthia Ho and Jeffrey Kwall, to name just a couple. Professor Ho is very passionate about education and goes above and beyond to help students academically and to connect us with attorneys in the field. I’ve received a lot of guidance from Professor Ho, and thanks to her, I was able to get my foot in the door at many networking opportunities.  Professor Kwall is excited about tax. He is a fantastic teacher and has an energy that made me look forward to going to his class.”   

WHAT’S NEXT?
“I was fortunate to receive an offer from Finnegan at the end of the summer associate program and I will be returning to the firm in Washington, D.C., after graduation. At Finnegan, I will be able to hone my skills in both patent prosecution and litigation while taking on pro bono matters. Practicing law in Washington will give me exposure to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the International Trade Commission—I am really looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Loyola’s unique and flexible Intellectual Property Program offers students a solid foundation to succeed in this exiting area of practice. Learn More