The Intellectual Property Law Center (IPLC) is pleased to introduce its first student fellows for the 2014-2015 academic year. They are Alysha Preston ’16 and Meng Xu ’16. As IPLC fellows, Alysha and Meng work as research assistants for the center’s faculty. Additionally, the fellows update and maintain the center’s website, coordinate conferences and events, and assist the faculty in accomplishing the center’s overall goals. Alysha and Meng both joined the St. John’s Law community with a growing interest in the field of intellectual property.
"Alysha and Meng are exactly the kind of students we are building the Intellectual Property Law Center to serve. Hard working, smart, accomplished, and demonstrating a keen interest in innovative and creative industries, they were obvious choices for our first IPLC Fellowships. We are grateful for their participation in the IP program this year and we look forward to the day when they will join the ranks of successful IP lawyers who got their start here at St. John's."
Alysha Preston graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in Telecommunications. As an undergraduate, she spent one summer interning for Black Entertainment Television (BET) and one semester working for a public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Alysha served as an undergraduate researcher for Penn State’s Institute for Information Policy, where she analyzed current policies and the governmental rule making process in regards to minority media ownership. In the fall of 2014, Alysha interned at Garvey Schubert Barer, a mid-size Wall Street firm, in its Sports, Arts & Entertainment department, where she conducted research on various copyright and trademark issues. Currently, Alysha is gaining contract-drafting experience while working for Atlantic Records in the spring of 2015. This year, she is a staff member of the St. John’s Law Review, a fellow for the school’s writing center, and a member of the Dispute Resolution Society for the law school’s Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution. Over the coming summer, she will take a paid internship in the legal department at Apple.
Meng Xu obtained her B.S. in Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China and received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Georgia. Upon graduating, Meng worked as a research scientist, conducting tobacco analysis to facilitate FDA tobacco regulations. She also coauthored seven peer-reviewed journal articles on various topics, including anti-viral drugs and tobacco biomarkers. In 2012, Meng passed the Patent Bar Exam and is registered to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office. During the summer of 2014, she interned at Collard & Roe, P.C., where she gained experience in patent prosecution. This year, Meng serves as an executive board member for the Intellectual Property Law Society, where she is in charge of the patent panel and oversees patent related affairs. She is a staff member of the St. John’s Law Review and a fellow for the school’s writing center. Meng is also the 2014 recipient of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association’s (NYIPLA) Hon. Giles S. Rich Diversity Scholarship. During the coming summer, Meng will be working as a summer associate at O'Melveny & Myers.
Alysha and Meng are both proud to be a part of the inauguration of the Intellectual Property Law Center. “I am excited to be a fellow for the IPLC, and look forward to seeing more students who are interested in IP join the St. John’s community,” Meng said. Alysha added, “The opportunity to be one of the very first fellows for the center has allowed me to develop personal connections with the faculty, and learn more about the growing field of IP law.”
