Skilled translator Bio background suits future IP lawyer By Donna Pintek s a pharmaceutical sales representative, Elana Bertram found that one of her greatest assets was the ability to translate technical product information into easy-to-understand terms for doctors and nurses. “On the one hand, I needed to talk in medical terms with doctors, then talk sales numbers and marketing phrases with my boss. It helps to be able to translate in different directions,” explained Bertram, whose job with Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield, Conn., involved convincing doctors to prescribe specific drugs. Bertram knew that some senior citizens paid exorbitant rates for their prescription medicines. She recognized that a problem existed with the Medicaid system. The only way to fix it, she realized, would be to move into a more legislative or policy role. So Bertram did what she considered the logical thing—she decided to go to law school. Bertram, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Mount Holyoke College, said the biology background provided an ideal springboard into the intellectual property field. “Within the IP concentration, there are a lot of engineers, some chemists and people with varied technical backgrounds, but very few with biology backgrounds.” She found her communication skills to be an asset again. “As an IP attorney, I will need to be able to translate from inventor to attorney and then back again,” she said. She was intrigued when she realized she was eligible to be a registered patent agent with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. “The great thing about it is you are dealing with cuttingedge technology every day—all the new stuff people are inventing, selling, licensing. I like the idea that part of my job would be to continue to learn,” Bertram said. Bertram, who will earn her JD in May, is attending the University on a Dean’s Fellow scholarship, which covers her three years of tuition. In the spring, she will take the exam to become licensed as a patent agent. She also works part time as a lawyer referral service consultant at the New Haven County Bar Association. For the past year and a half, Bertram has put her communication skills to work on Quinnipiac’s Health Law Journal, initially as a staff member, and most recently as editor-in-chief. In that role, she not only writes, but also edits submissions from practicing attorneys, professors and physicians. Her paper, “How Current Informed Consent Protocols Flunk the Sham Surgery Test: A New Frontier in Medicine,” was published in the December 2010 issue.
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Third-year student Elana Bertram with Lancelot, whom she trained in dressage.
Last spring, Bertram also took on the role of student adviser to the Gregory A. Loken Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which offers financial assistance to recent law graduates working in public service. For Bertram, coming to law school also meant giving up one of her other passions: dressage—which she describes as “figure skating with horses.” An equestrian since the age of 3, Bertram competed in national championships in high school and college, where she won two consecutive individual national championships. She trained her horse, Lancelot, an 8-year-old American Quarterhorse stabled in Newtown, Conn. She rides him as often as she can. Recently, Bertram has had to cut back on competitions, which are time consuming. “It’s difficult to continue in a steady program. I can barely make it to the gym, let alone the barn,” she said. She has no regrets, however. “Law school is a great experience. It is like learning a new language,” she said. SPRING 2011 • QUINNIPIAC LAW
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