Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to announce Nik Donta has joined the Intellectual Property Practice Group as an associate in the firm’s Phoenix office.
Donta reinforces a commitment to helping businesses and individuals protect and monetize their ideas, inventions, and services through the utilization of attorneys with a background relevant to a growing client base for Spencer Fane. He completed his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at Iowa State University and then worked as a marketing intern in the school’s Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, where he generated summaries and marketing campaign emails used to license a variety of technologies from university research through identification of companies and contacts based on the specifics of the product or service.
While later obtaining a Juris Doctor from the Arizona State Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Donta received practical legal experience as an associate in the Lisa Foundation Patent Law Clinic in Phoenix. His duties included interviewing and counseling clients on IP protection, performing patentability analyses, and drafting and filing patent and trademark applications and office action responses.
“Spencer Fane is always looking to hire IP attorneys who truly understand technologically advanced products and services, providing our clients with a notable differentiator in the legal services we provide,” said Andy Federhar, Office Managing Partner for Spencer Fane in Phoenix. “Nik’s combined academic and professional experience in chemical engineering and legal work makes him a perfect fit for our collaborative, efficient, and communicative approach to client service. This will continue to inform the firm’s ability to provide sound legal judgment that strengthens our clients’ competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive economic environment.”
Donta joins a team of IP attorneys in the Spencer Fane Phoenix office, strengthening the bench in the local market. “As we continue to grow our preparation and prosecution abilities in Phoenix we’ve focused on finding laterals that truly understand our clients’ businesses,” said Steven Laureanti, IP lead in Phoenix and a partner for Spencer Fane. “Nik brings a wealth of knowledge in the technology sector that will make a great addition to our practice, and expand our ability to serve our clients.”
