Merchant & Gould is pleased to announce that two members of its Minneapolis team were recognized by Minnesota Lawyer for their hard work, talent and dedication. Laura Hupp, associate, was named “Up & Coming Attorney” for her commitment to the community, her dedication to her profession, and an overall impressive start to her legal career; and Laura Mitlyng was named “Unsung Legal Hero” for her marketing commitment to the firm and for always going above and beyond.
Each year, Minnesota Lawyer recognizes a group of new attorneys who are in their first decade of practice. The criteria for “Up & Coming Attorneys” are professional accomplishment, leadership in the community, and commitment to the legal profession. The nominations were reviewed and judged by an outside panel and the Minnesota Lawyer team.
“Laura is recognized around the firm for her hard work, commitment to excellence, and outstanding client service,” said Rachel Hughey, partner at Merchant & Gould, who nominated Hupp. “She is dedicated to service of both the community and the legal profession.”
Laura Hupp’s practice at Merchant & Gould has focused primarily on patent prosecution, working with inventors in a variety of industries. Her combination of education and experience uniquely position her to assist clients with biotech software inventions such as bioinformatics or computational biology tools. She counsels clients on prosecution strategy in both the United States and in foreign jurisdictions. Additionally, Laura aids clients in review and preparation of various agreements relating to their intellectual property such as licenses and software service agreements. Laura is not just a very talented attorney, but she is also very involved with pro bono and diversity efforts -- both within the firm and within the greater Twin Cities. She volunteers with the LegalCORPS Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) to deliver patent services to low-income Minnesotans and also serves on the IAP committee. Laura is our firm’s representative with Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP), was selected as a fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and is actively involved with her firm’s internal Diversity Committee.
The award of “Unsung Legal Hero” goes to administrative assistants, paralegals, judicial clerk administrators, office managers, librarians, as well as staff in accounting, information technology and marketing. Winners were chosen for their talent and dedication in the legal support profession -- and for going beyond their responsibilities in ways that support the firm, clients and community.
“Laura has fresh thinking, confidence, creativity and leadership to shape a complex and important role in marketing. She brings everyone together, from all six offices, and has earned the nickname, ‘the connector,’” said Hughey, who also nominated Mitlyng. “She shines with her eagerness to pursue new projects that help grow the firm and grow the culture.”
Laura Mitlyng's professionalism shows up in every detail of her work, always executed with intention and with successful outcomes. When she sees need for a change or learns about a new project (even outside the marketing scope), she makes it happen—from idea to implementation. Most recently, during the COVID-19 situation, Laura helped create, write, launch and distribute The Daily Distraction newsletter to bring our Merchant & Gould community together with lightness and humor. A popular section of the newsletter, “3 Bits of Joy,” can also apply to the countless bits of joy and support that Laura brings to the firm. Earlier in the year (pre-pandemic), Laura took over M&G’s event planning with even more responsibility, traveling to the different offices. She also created and hosted a "LinkedIn 101" workshop for attorneys. Laura also forms relationships in the community. This year, she joined the Board of Directors for the Young Professionals of Minneapolis; and she also volunteers as the organization's Director of Professional Development for 2020.
View the Minnesota Lawyer announcement here: https://minnlawyer.com/2020/07/10/up-coming-attorneys-unsung-legal-heroes-announced-2/