Attorneys

JULIA CHURCH DIERKER, Shareholder, born Trenton, Michigan; admitted to bar, 1988, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; 1989, registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Preparatory education, University of Detroit (B.S. Chemistry, magna cum laude, 1985); legal education, Indiana University (J.D., cum laude, 1988). Member: State Bar of Michigan (Member, Intellectual Property Law Section), Catholic Lawyers Society, Federal Bar Association, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association (President, 2008-present), Oakland County Bar Association, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Chemical Society (ACS), The Electrochemical Society (ECS), The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).

JULIET R. KAVANAUGH, Associate Shareholder, born Trenton, Michigan; admitted to bar, 2003 (Illinois), 2004, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; 2003, registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Preparatory education, University of Detroit Mercy (B.S. Chemistry, magna cum laude, 2000); legal education, The John Marshall Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2003). Author of “The Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine in Illinois: Is it an Inevitable Mistake?” published in The John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, Spring 2003. Member: State Bars of Illinois and Michigan, Catholic Lawyers Society, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association (chair, CLE committee). Formerly worked in the analytical chemistry laboratory at BASF Corporation in Wyandotte, Michigan.

ANA M. SARCHECK, Associate, born Detroit, Michigan; admitted to bar, 2006, Michigan; 2005, registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Preparatory education, Michigan State University (B.S. Chemical Engineering, 2000); legal education, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (J.D., 2003). Member: State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. Formerly worked for a prominent Detroit area law firm, concentrating her practice on intellectual property, particularly in patent prosecution and procurement. Also formerly worked as a research assistant and consultant for the Division of Engineering Research and the Department of Chemical Engineering, both at Michigan State University.

JOSEPH B. DIERKER, JR., P.E., Associate, born W. Palm Beach, Florida; admitted to bar, 2009, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2006. Preparatory education, University of Detroit (BME, magna cum laude, 1985), University of Michigan-Dearborn (MSEME, 1989); legal education, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2009). Professional Engineer (licensed in Michigan). Chartered Engineer (England). Eur Ing. (Europe). Member: Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). 20 years of engineering work at global Aerospace and Automotive OEMs and suppliers including Ford Motor Company, Eaton Corporation, McDonnell Douglas, and DuPont. Inventor with 8 issued U.S. patents and others pending.