The Art of Law

“I got accepted to a couple of art schools, but I always wanted to be a lawyer,” says Joey Zawacki ’22. “I also wanted some kind of financial security, so I closed my little art dream and I put it aside. It wasn’t until 2021 that I realized law encompasses all fields. You can certainly enjoy art and practice law.”

Zawacki now works as an attorney adviser who specializes in trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Growing up down the street from Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Zawacki knew at a young age that she wanted to be a lawyer.

“I’m going to be a lawyer,” she remembers saying to her mom, “and I’m going to take care of you and dad one day.”

Zawacki studied political science and economics at University of Wisconsin–Madison but wanted to be sure that she knew what she was getting into before enrolling in law school.

“I told myself in fairness, let me be a paralegal and see if working in law is something I can actually see for myself,” she says. “What does that office look like? What do the interactions with the attorneys look like? How’s your day-to-day?”

She spent two years working in civil insurance defense at Wilson Elser in Milwaukee, and she loved it.

“I liked working with the attorneys,” she says. “I liked the kinds of people I was working with. I liked the legal questions being asked and how the attorneys approached answers.”

Despite deciding to work in law at a young age, it took Zawacki a while to find her niche within the field.  

She originally thought that she would work in criminal law—but quickly realized she didn’t care much for arguing in court. Even then, it took a while before she gave intellectual property law a shot.

“When I thought IP, I thought patent law,” she says. “I’ve never been good at math or science, so I thought that whole section of law, unfortunately, was out of range.”

So Zawacki enrolled in a copyright course at Chicago-Kent College of Law with University Distinguished Professor and Global Professor of Intellectual Property Law Graeme B. Dinwoodie, and she immediately knew that IP is where she’s meant to be.

“You could help people get and maintain copyrights,” she says. “I thought that was awesome. I could see myself doing that. From there, I just tried to stick to Professor Dinwoodie like glue. I was like, ‘Basically anything that you’re interested in, I’m interested in, sir.’”

Dinwoodie introduced her to the world of trademarks, and Zawacki found her niche.  

Unfortunately, she was about to graduate and had no time to take any trademark courses. Instead, she got a job clerking for a State of Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in the civil division.

“I learned so much, especially in terms of research and writing,” she says. “You just can never have enough practice with it. I really enjoyed being in the courthouse every day and seeing all the people, the comings and goings. Every single day is different, and I love that about that experience.”

In her spare time, Zawacki connected with Lawyers for the Creative Arts and the Public Interest Law Initiative nonprofit agency that provides legal services for art organizations in the Chicago area.

“They offered trademark opportunities, pro bono opportunities for attorneys looking to help young artists with their work,” she says. “They offer free [continuing legal education courses] in IP entertainment law-related work, and if I didn’t have access to that, I don’t think I would have gotten this job.”

After a year of clerking, Zawacki finally landed her dream job: helping up-and-coming businesses register their trademarks and protect their IP as an attorney adviser at the USPTO.

“A lot of who we work with are entrepreneurs that are trying to start their business, trying to get this trademark,” she says, “and this job in particular offers you an opportunity to help them succeed in this next step of their business.”

Zawacki’s passion for the job comes through in her job performance, according to her colleague Katie Foss, who was assigned to help Zawacki learn the ropes at the USPTO.

“We’re very lucky to have her here at the agency,” says Foss. “I think she’s going to have a really long, hopefully fulfilling career in examining and beyond. I think we need people like her. She has not just the knowledge, but the good personality skills, the good mix of hard and soft skills that I think is important, especially for female attorneys.”

For Zawacki, it’s all just part of a job that gives her immense pleasure.

“Trademarks affect people’s everyday lives and livelihoods,” she says. “The color Barbie pink—, people can see that color and automatically associate it with Barbie. Protecting that association protects that company’s livelihood. Helping entrepreneurs or young businesses protect what unique offerings they’re putting into the marketplace and help them build is what’s important to me.”