James Heracklis ’21 Receives Hellenic Bar Association Foundation Scholarship

James Heracklis ’21 is the recipient of a scholarship from the Hellenic Bar Association Foundation. He received the $10,000 scholarship at the 70th Annual Scholarship Ball: Virtual Event on November 7, 2020.

“I am deeply honored to be a recipient of the HBA Foundation Scholarship. When I first moved to Chicago, several members of the Hellenic Bar Association welcomed me to the organization and made themselves available when I had questions about law school and my future,” Heracklis says. “The HBA has been crucial to my development as a law student, and I cannot thank them enough for all their help.”

The Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois is the largest and oldest Greek-American bar association in the state. The HBA Foundation, the charitable arm of the HBA, awards scholarship funds to help law students of Hellenic descent fund their education.

“We chose James as a scholarship winner based on his academic excellence and strong commitment to the Greek community,” says HBA Board of Directors member Christina Faklis Adair. “James has been an active student member of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois and we look forward to his continued involvement for years to come!”

Heracklis is the president of the Hellenic Law Student Association and serves as the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) managing editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property. He is an active member of the Chicago-Kent College of Law Intellectual Property Law Society and participated in the IP Patent Clinic during his 1L year. A United States Patent and Trademark Office-registered patent agent, Heracklis volunteers for the Chicago-Kent Patent Hub, which matches qualified, under-resourced individual inventors and small businesses with volunteer patent attorneys in Illinois.

Additionally, he is a student member of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago and a pupil member with The Richard Linn American Inn of Court. Heracklis is a member of St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church in Palatine.

Originally from Gastonia, North Carolina, Heracklis earned his bachelor’s degree in textile engineering from North Carolina State University. Prior to attending law school, he was a patent examiner.

“During my time as a patent examiner with the USPTO, I had a lot of positive experiences with Chicago-Kent alumni in patent prosecution,” he says. “I greatly respected the level of detail and precision they applied in their work. So, when it came time for me to pick a school with an intellectual property focus, it was an easy decision.”

After graduation, Heracklis hopes to work as a patent attorney in Chicago. He already has a background in patent prosecution and would like to expand his skillset into litigation as well. 

“I believe that, as an attorney, you need have an understanding of how both prosecution and litigation impact the client's patent strategy,” he says. “I hope to provide my future clients with a holistic approach.”