FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2018

‌ ‌Front row center: Henry Abromson, clinical instructor; Patricia Campbell, faculty director, and Duane Moore, clinical instructor, with IPEC students at the Grid.

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic (IPEC) is proud to announce a partnership with five prominent law firms that will foster experiential learning opportunities for future IP and corporate lawyers as well as help drive economic growth in the Baltimore/Washington area. Baker Donelson; Gordon Feinblatt; Offit Kurman; Perkins Coie; and Womble Bond Dickinson have aligned with Maryland Carey Law to mentor law students as they develop IP and corporate law experience, and will provide guidance and advice to law students and their IPEC clients. [See a list of comments from participating firms below.]

With the generous support of the IPEC partner firms in addition to funding supplied by UM Ventures, Maryland Carey Law students will provide intellectual property and business law assistance to emerging companies and small businesses in both the College Park and Baltimore areas. In Baltimore, IPEC offers services out of the Graduate Research Innovation District (the Grid) in the newly renovated Lion Brothers Building.
 
Maryland Carey law students will have the benefit of the expertise and support of partner attorneys working in various areas of business and IP law, but they are not the only ones who benefit. The five participating firms will have the opportunity to form relationships with startups and young lawyers. “Meeting law students while they’re still in school and getting exposure to these young businesses while they’re setting up their companies and making intellectual property and business decisions is incredibly valuable,” said Professor Patricia Campbell, faculty director of IPEC. The partner firms will also serve on an Advisory Board for the law school’s IP Program and will provide occasional presentations and educational programming for startup companies and entrepreneurs.
 
Research indicates that there is a critical gap between when a startup company needs legal advice about forming a business and protecting its intellectual property and when it obtains sufficient funding to be able to afford that advice. As the State of Maryland expands its efforts to encourage startups and emerging businesses, IPEC will play an important role in assisting with the formation and development of new businesses, as well as the protection of their intellectual property assets.
 
“We’re thrilled these five firms are joining forces with our IPEC to help ensure the sustainability of the program and maximize the positive impact it will have on the region’s efforts around innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Dean Donald Tobin. “Helping businesses succeed will increase jobs and create opportunities for worker training and employment in new and emerging business sectors.”  
 
COMMENTS FROM PARTNER FIRMS
 
Baker Donelson
"Baker Donelson welcomes this partnership as an opportunity to expand our national emerging companies and intellectual property capabilities in Maryland. We look forward to helping Maryland entrepreneurs progress from idea to IPO, and perhaps even more, we look forward to sharing that experience with Maryland Carey Law students." – James E. Edwards Jr. ‘82, Managing Shareholder, Baltimore office
 
Gordon Feinblatt
“Gordon Feinblatt is thrilled to be a founding member of the Law Firm Partnership for Maryland Carey Law’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic.  We look forward to providing insight to the students and the entrepreneurs they will counsel, and deepening our relationship with the University of Maryland Carey Law School community.” – Ned T. Himmelrich ‘86, Member
 
Offit Kurman
“Offit Kurman takes great pride in establishing its partnership with Maryland Carey Law as it embarks on its maiden initiative of the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic. We wish the School great success in this worthy and forward-thinking program, and we are grateful to be able to contribute in some small way to its expected success.” – Howard K. Kurman ’75, Principal
 
Perkins Coie
“Perkins Coie is pleased to partner with the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law on its new Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic (IPEC). We share a commitment to creating hands-on learning opportunities to prepare law students for success, and we recognize the valuable role that IPEC will play in the development of future leaders. For more than 100 years, inventors, entrepreneurs, and the most cutting-edge technology companies have turned to Perkins Coie to help them protect their inventions and ideas, and to provide innovative solutions to their most complex problems.” – Terrence Wikberg ’00, Partner
 
Womble Bond Dickinson
“Womble Bond Dickinson is excited to lend the support of our lawyers to the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic at Maryland Carey Law. There’s no better way for law students to gain experience in practicing law, especially Intellectual Property law, than to provide counsel to real life business leaders on their IP issues. The clinic is a worthy program.” – Barry Herman ’99, Partner
 
INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE:
Maryland Carey Law Dean Donald Tobin and IPEC Faculty Director Patty Campbell are available for interviews.
Contact: Laura Lee 410-706-0023 or Shara Boonshaft 410-706-1842.