January 22, 2016

Law school event features Monsanto attorneys

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. – A discussion next week at the SIU School of Law will provide insight into the work of attorneys with a large biotech firm. 

The law school’s Intellectual Property Society, a registered student organization, is sponsoring a discussion featuring attorneys from St. Louis-based Monsanto. The presentation, “IP Law and Agricultural Biotechnology: A Discussion with Monsanto’s IP Lawyers,” begins at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the Hiram H. Lesar Building Courtroom at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. 

The discussion is open to students and the public. Lunch will be provided for law school students who attend. 

Ryan T. Holte, an assistant law professor whose teaching expertise is intellectual property law and property law, said the talk will center on intellectual property law as it relates to biotechnology and corporate intellectual property practice. 

“Our hope is that students -- especially law students -- and the public will better understand how a large biotech company legal group works, what issues they deal with on a daily basis, and insight into becoming an in-house lawyer as part of a legal career path,” he said. 

Four members of the Monsanto Co. legal staff are expected to participate:

  • Carine M. Doyle, assistant general counsel.
  • Matthew Madsen, assistant general counsel.
  • David Lanzotti, senior corporate counsel and intellectual property attorney.
  • Amanda Carmany-Rampey, assistant general counsel. 

Holte is a faculty adviser with the IP Society, which has between 50 and 75 law school student members. The RSO has hosted previous events geared toward understanding and debating the numerous issues of patent, trademark, and copyright law.