Around the water cooler: Q & A with Sandra Frantzen

Each week we will pose these three questions to different lawyers in the legal community.

This week we talk with Sandra Frantzen, a shareholder at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, who has been practicing since 1999.

– What do you find the most interesting about your practice?

Patent lawyers are lucky because we are constantly learning about new technologies.  I have litigated cases involving ultrasonic toothbrushes, angioplasty catheters, rail car parts, printers, bone paste, and other technologies.  In one case, I got to learn how a lava lamp works. It’s a lot of fun. You always get a chance to challenge yourself.

– What makes a good lawyer?

There’s a tendency sometimes to “over-lawyer” things.  A good lawyer takes a business-focused and value-oriented approach to legal matters. He or she understands the client’s business and finds the most cost-effective and value-enhancing way to meet the client’s objectives.

– What is the biggest legal news right now, and what is its impact?

For me, two things. As a patent lawyer, the big news is the Supreme Court’s sudden interest in patent cases. In the past, like many courts, the Supreme Court seemed to avoid patent issues. However, in the last few years, the Supreme Court has changed the patent landscape quite a bit with rulings limiting the scope of patent owner’s rights; for example, making it easier to invalidate patents and harder to get an injunction. The Federal Circuit (which generally has jurisdiction over patent cases) has seemed to respond to this trend.  And even the Patent Office has tried to implement changes. As the public becomes more aware of patent rights, it’s a new world out there.

As an Arab American, I constantly hear about issues swirling around my community.  In fact, there has been a lot of news about immigration generally. Sometimes we forget that we are a nation of immigrants, but there has been a lot of progress. We are in a period in history where we have to strike a delicate balance between national security and the freedoms that make our country so great.  Justice Kennedy recently said that “[l]iberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law.”  I believe that. And, as legal practitioners, we should work to ensure it.