- Cleveland State University College of Law, J.D., 1982
- Ohio University, A.B. Psychology, 1979,
cum laude
- Minnesota State Bar, 1996
- Florida State Bar, 1983
- U.S. District Courts, District of Minnesota
- U.S. District Courts, Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Courts, Southern District of Florida
Minnesota State Bar Association
President, 2011-2012
President-Elect, 2010-2011
Council, 2010-present
Assembly, 2008-present
Governance Committee, 2008-present
Hennepin County Bar Association
Co-Chair, Nominating Committee (2008)
Past President (2005-present); President (2004-2005); President-Elect (2003-2004)
Member, Executive Committee (2001-2006)
Treasurer (2002-2003); Secretary (2001-2002)
Member, Ethics Committee (1997-present)
Chair, Professional Conduct and Professionalism Committee (1997-2000)
American Bar Association
Member, House of Delegates (2007-2008)
Intellectual Property Section:
Co-Chair, Patent and Trademark Office Affairs, Trademark (2004-2005)
Chair, Information Division (2003-2004)
Chair, Patent Division (2002-2003)
Chair, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee (2000-2002)
Chair, Special Committee on Global Patent Costs (1998-2000)
Representative at the meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing
Committee on Patent Law (May 2001, Geneva, Switzerland)
Representative at the Fifth International Symposium on Intellectual Property
(February 2001, Paris, France)
ABA Observer to the First Diplomatic Conference on Patent Law Treaty
(May 2000, Geneva, Switzerland) culminating in the signing of the Patent Law Treaty
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Past Member, AIPLA Trademark Legislation Committee
International Trademark Law Association (INTA)
Member, Treaty Analysis Committee
Past Member, Issues and Policy Committee
Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL)
Member
Best Lawyers in America by The Best Lawyers in America, 2025
Selected as one of The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals by WRT 1000, 2023
Selected as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell™
Selected for inclusion in Minnesota Super Lawyers, 2006-2007, 2011-2016
Attorney of the Year 2004 and 2011, one of only 15 attorneys to be so recognized statewide more than once by Minnesota Lawyer
AV peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell
Invited to serve on Board of Advisors of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal at the University of Cincinnati College of Law
Founder, LINC (Leaders Impacting the Non Profit Community), a six-month intensive training program for attorneys and other professionals re serving as volunteer directors and leaders in the non profit sector 1994-2007
Past Public Service Committee member and Past Chair of the Domestic Violence Subcommittee of the Cardozo Society of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation
Coalition for Impartial Justice
President 2010-2011
LawPAC, Political Action Committee
Chairman 2009-2012
Minnesota Volunteer Attorney Program
President, 2010-2011
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Presentations
Moderator and Speaker, International Foreign/IP Practice Issues—Export Controls, Patent Consultation Group Roundtable, Attorneys’ Liability Assurance Society, Chicago, August 2016
Speaker, The Civil Justice System: What Lies Ahead, and How It Will Affect You, December 2011
Speaker, “Parliamentary Procedure and Leading a Meeting,” 2009, 2010
“Effectively Leading a Meeting,” presented at the 2005, 2006, 2008 LINC Program
Speaker, Ethics in IP Practice, Minnesota CLE Webcast, March 2009
Facilitator, International Trademark Association Annual Meeting, Berlin, Germany May 2008
Moderator, Baby Boomers Confronting New Responsibilities: How to Take Care of Aging Parents, Hennepin County Bar Association, January 2008
Keynote Speaker, Patent Cooperation Treaty A-Z, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2006
Publications
Monthly Presidential Columns in Bench & Bar Magazine, July 2011-June 2012
Contributor, Strategies for Foreign Patenting of U.S. Inventions, Matthew Bender / Lexis Treatise on Intellectual Property, December 2009
Copyright for Associations and Organizations, Minnesota Society of Association Executives, April 2006
PCT and the International Patent System, William Mitchell College of Law, February 2006 (transcription of presentation published in the William Mitchell Law Review Vol. 32 Issue 4)
Brent Routman Letter to Governor Pawlenty, Minnesota Lawyer – July 2004
Madrid Protocol, Music to a Trademark Owner’s Ears, EuroWatch, Volume 14 Number 15, August 15, 2002
How Changes at the European Patent Office Are Affecting American Applicants, EuroWatch, Volume 14 Number 6, March 31, 2002
Contributor, An Examination Of The United States American Bar Association’s Past Actions And How They May Relate To The Commission Of The European Communities Proposal For A Council Regulation On The Community Patent, 5th International IP Symposium, AIPLA/ICC, Paris, France, February 2001
Dispensable Anachronisms of the Past in United States Patent Law</em>; 4th International Symposium on Reduction of Patent Costs; FICPI/AIPLA; The Hague, The Netherlands, 1999
Quoted
Talking smoke detector offers safety, by: Jim Hannerand, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, November 9, 2012