Merchant & Gould and William Mitchell College of Law are pleased to announce that Fran Jagla, senior lead attorney for trademarks at Microsoft Corporation, has won the first annual Merchant & Gould Paul A. Welter Award for Excellence in Trademark Law. Jagla was selected because of her distinguished career in trademark law as well as dedicated service to her community. She was presented with a plaque and a $5,000 honorarium that she is donating to the Prairie State Legal Aid Clinic in Illinois.

"Along with William Mitchell, we extend our warmest congratulations to Fran as the very first recipient of this distinguished award," said Scott W. Johnston, Merchant & Gould partner and chair of its Trademark Group. "Paul's legacy within the trademark community is further sustained by Fran's commitment to her profession in addition to her giving spirit."

Merchant & Gould's trademark practice protects more than 20,000 brands every day and is consistently ranked as one of the top trademark filers in the country by Trademark Insider Magazine. Merchant & Gould was also ranked seventh in the nation in trademark litigation by IP Law 360 for 2006.

About Paul A. Welter
A graduate of the William Mitchell College of Law, Paul joined Merchant & Gould in 1965. During his 40-year career with the firm he served as treasurer, administrative vice president, president, a member of the board of directors, and as managing partner. Paul was known by his clients, colleagues and within the legal community as a man of unwavering integrity. Paul was extremely active with civic and industry organizations including the Minneapolis Rotary, the Fund for the Legal Aid Society, the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and most notably, the United Way. Paul passed away on Friday, January 6, 2006.