Dana Justus ‘11
Dana Justus is Counsel in the Trademark and Brand Protection Program at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein, & Fox, where she has worked for nearly eight years. Her practice focuses on U.S. and international trademark clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and portfolio management. Dana graduated from WCL in 2011 with her J.D. Prior to law school, she was an IP clerk at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garret & Dunner, and stayed on as a full-time student associate while attending WCL at night. During her time at WCL, Dana was a founding member of the IP Brief and later served as the editor-in-chief. She also worked in the General Practice Clinic. She was named a Rising Star in Intellectual Property in the D.C. area in 2019 and 2020 by Super Lawyers and a Rising Star award by Managing Intellectual Property in 2021.
What are your favorite parts of practicing trademark law?
Everyone is a consumer, so the subject matter is relatable. I love that I get to learn about so many different kinds of businesses. I kind of compare it to patent law: patent lawyers have a really deep but specific field of knowledge. You can be a patent lawyer in the software field and only focus on one kind of software. Well, I have software clients, I have telecom clients, I have clothing clients, food and beverage clients, pharmaceuticals clients—every industry, I have worked in at some point. So, we learn about all these different companies, products, services, technology area. It keeps it interesting. You’re always learning new things. I also love seeing brands that I worked with in the wild. You’ll see a commercial or a billboard, and it’s a cool connection to all these different kinds of companies that you get to work with.
What skills should current law students work on to pursue a career in a big law trademark practice?
WCL is a great place to be, because the IP program is so excellent and it’s growing so much, even since I first started going there. There are amazing resources—try all the trademark classes. Take as many classes in your focus area as you can, because it’s great to see those on a transcript. But also, the practical skills are really the key if you want to pursue a tougher-to-get-into field like trademark law. Not every law firm has a trademark practice. Not every trademark practice is hiring junior associates. It’s definitely more of a niche field, so what hiring partners and firms really like to see is practical experience. I always encourage externships: at law firms, the USPTO, even at companies. Getting that hands-on experience with trademark law and not just talking about it in the abstract is something I really highly encourage.
What do you want people to know about IP at WCL?
I think WCL is such a great place to get an IP education. I've seen transcripts and such from tons of law schools and I feel like ours just really stands above in terms of the quantity and the quality of the IP courses, activities, publications, and the programs. Everything that PIJIP does is great. It gives students so many opportunities to learn about and be exposed to it, and to make connections in the IP field.