October 03, 2012
Sarah Fink ’12, an associate at Kenyon & Kenyon LLP, is the
2012 recipient of the prestigious Jan Jancin Award.
Presented by the American Intellectual Property Law Education
Foundation (AIPLEF), the Intellectual Property Law Section of the
American Bar Association (ABA-IPL) and the American Intellectual
Property 
Law
Association (AIPLA), the annual award recognizes an outstanding law
student who has excelled in the study of intellectual property (IP)
law. It is named for the late Jan Jancin, who was President of
AIPLA and Chair of the ABA-IPL and who served with distinction in
leadership roles in other national and international intellectual
property law associations. Mr. Jancin was keenly interested in
promoting the study and practice of IP law. As a persistent and
perceptive observer of the legislative process as it related IP
law, he also regularly reported to several IP law associations on
those activities.
Students qualify to compete for the award by faculty nomination
based on a range of criteria, including:
- Best grades in IP courses overall
- Outstanding achievement in specified IP courses
- Best student IP paper
- Membership and activity in student IP organizations
A former math teacher, Sarah entered St. John’s School of Law
intent on pursuing a career in patent law. As a 2L, she studied
patent law and antitrust law, gaining an interest in the
anti-competitive affects of intellectual property. In her third
year, she took classes in copyright law and in drafting IP licenses
and, in her final semester, wrote a paper titled, Normally, “A
Patent Shall be Presumed Valid.” But, What Happens When a Patent
Shall Not be Presumed Valid? The Antitrust and Public Interest
Ramifications of Settlement During an Inter Partes Review at the
PTO. The paper won first prize in the 2012 New York State Bar
Association Antitrust Law Section Writing Competition.
"The Jan Jancin Award is the highest honor that the leading
national bar associations bestow on an intellectual property law
student each year,” said Professor
Jeremy Sheff, who nominated Sarah for the award. “It's a
tremendous achievement for Sarah ― who was in competition with
students from all over the country ― and for our growing
intellectual property program at St. John's. We're all extremely
proud of her."
Reflecting on her achievement, Sarah said: “The Jan Jancin Award is
a great honor for any student seeking to pursue a career in
intellectual property. I wanted to be a patent lawyer from the
moment I entered St. John's and the faculty in the IP department
supported me every step of the way.”