Damon Gupta '12 receives a Mark T. Banner Scholarship from the Richard Linn American Inn of Court
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law student Damon Gupta '12 has been awarded a 2011 Mark T. Banner scholarship from the Richard Linn American Inn of Court. The scholarship was presented this summer at the Inn of Court's annual dinner in Chicago.
The Mark T. Banner scholarship was established by the Richard Linn American Inn of Court "to foster the development of intellectual property lawyers of high ethics, civility and professionalism." Mark T. Banner, the scholarship's namesake, was a partner in the intellectual property law firm of Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. Mr. Banner, a former chair of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, specialized in jury trials of technologically complex cases. He died December 30, 2008.
Damon Gupta, a third-year student at IIT Chicago-Kent, is a candidate for a J.D. degree with a certificate in intellectual property law. Gupta earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University with a major in molecular genetics. He received a master of science degree in molecular physiology from Baylor College of Medicine. While studying at IIT Chicago-Kent, Gupta has clerked for Knechtel, Demeur & Samlan in Chicago and for Coplan & Crane in Oak Park, Ill. He has completed a judicial externship with the Honorable Margaret J. Mullen, presiding judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Waukegan, Ill. In addition, Gupta has served as a patent law research assistant for IIT Chicago-Kent's Institute for Science, Law and Technology, and as associate articles editor for Satyam: The Chicago-Kent Journal of South Asian Law. He has also served as a volunteer at the Indo-American Center Legal Clinic and with the Chicago Intellectual Property Alliance as a member of the technology/education committee.
An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. American Inns of Court who meet at monthly programs and discussions to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. Named for the Honorable Richard T. Linn, Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Richard Linn American Inn of Court is the fifth inn of court focused on intellectual property law.
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. IIT Chicago-Kent established one of the nation's first J.D. programs in intellectual property law and is recognized as a leader in the field. In 2003, the law school created the country's first LL.M. program in international intellectual property law, an extensive education in all aspects of contemporary intellectual property practice for international and domestic lawyers.
