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clare

Clare is an intellectual property attorney based in Chicago, Illinois, who focuses on patent counseling in the clean tech space. Her experience extends from medical devices to consumer products to software. Across industries, Clare’s clients depend on her to translate deep technical detail into IP strategy that protects their businesses as they grow and evolve.

Clare advises clients at every stage, from startups and emerging companies to large multinational corporations. In her day-to-day work, she leads both domestic and foreign patent portfolio management, handling freedom-to-operate, patentability, and infringement analyses. Clare prosecutes patent applications, drafts and negotiates licenses and nondisclosure agreements, and handles appeals before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Earlier in her career, Clare served as a project engineer at an international environmental engineering firm, where she worked on drinking water treatment plant design and solid waste design. That background serves as the foundation for her interest in clean tech and sustainability technologies, including natural gas processing and carbon capture systems, hydrogen production, and power management systems.

As an engineer, Clare prepared design drawings and specifications for drinking water treatment plant design, including an orthophosphate feed system to decrease scaling in distribution piping and the installation of innovative low-flow filtration membrane systems to increase the efficiency of bacterial removal. She also oversaw court-ordered landfill closure activities on behalf of the Illinois Office of the Attorney General and a corrective action at a hazardous waste Superfund site on behalf of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Much More Than My Work

My passion for clean technology is rooted in the simple belief that the natural environment is worth protecting. I don’t consider myself an activist, but this conviction is demonstrated in the work that I get to do: help innovative clean tech companies move from invention to commercialization and scale. Developing a practice based on the foundation of this core value has been a very natural progression. I love what I do, and anyone who knows me knows that, the deeper I get into this industry, the more thoroughly I enjoy my work.

I enjoy all forms of exercise, especially running and biking along Lake Michigan. My daughter is an avid runner and soccer player who often leaves me in the dust on our joint runs. Our family spends as much time as possible outdoors, whether in our hometown of Chicago or on trips to places like the Canary Islands in Spain or the Alps in Switzerland.