Meddings’ passion for law should be trademarked

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Lori Meddings wasn’t a traditional fit for intellectual property law.

But that didn’t stop her.

“I took a few classes about intellectual property law, and I was hooked. I completely fell in love with it, so my focus became finding opportunities in that space that would allow me to practice as an intellectual property attorney, even though I didn’t have a technical background, even though that was required to practice before the patent office.”

She found that opportunity at Michael Best & Friedrich, where she specializes in mostly trademark enforcement and protection, representing clients from small start-ups to global companies, from Wisconsin to Korea.

“I enjoy that there is so much variety. And the law is constantly evolving so there’s always new challenges,” Meddings said.

She also enjoys the “not-run-of-the-mill issues, like trade dress protection, where the color of a product or the configuration of a product’s packaging is protected.”

And then there’s the global aspect of her work.

“There are a lot of counterfeit goods that originate from other countries, in particular China, India, Taiwan,” Meddings said. “I’m able to practice trademark law, but I also get to practice internationally. It’s the best of both worlds. And, along that way, I get to develop great relationships with people around the world. It’s cool.

“There is just so much out there to open our minds to and to understand. The world is so much more than our law firm, than Madison, than Wisconsin.”

Meddings also keeps an eye on interests closer to home, from coaching her daughter’s basketball team to her work as chair of Michael Best’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

“It brings a lot of richness and value to the work we do,” Meddings said of the inclusion committee. “And for a law firm, or any business, it’s very important to take that to heart because the world is changing so rapidly, and we are going to be stale and left behind if we don’t embrace that.”

Meddings also volunteers with the Rape Crisis Center in Madison.

“It’s an issue people don’t talk about very much because it’s uncomfortable to talk about, but I think it’s important that people are aware help is there if they need it. It re-energizes my feeling that this is an important resource for the community.”