Sarah E. Jelsema - Associate

Ms. Jelsema is an intellectual property litigation associate in Workman Nydegger’s Salt Lake City office, where she works on complex intellectual property cases, focusing primarily on patent matters.

During law school, Ms. Jelsema assisted patent counsel and researchers with patent applications in the Technology Transfer Office of the Van Andel Institute. She served as the National Student Director for the American Bar Association’s Negotiation Competition and was a winner in Harvard Law School’s annual negotiation and contract drafting competition, the Williston Competition.

While in college, Ms. Jelsema assisted in research, funded by the USDA, to help reduce the incidence of disease in food crops. As part of another project, funded by USAID, she researched cowpeas, a food crop grown in many developing nations, with the ultimate goal of helping introduce genetically modified versions of that crop. She also volunteered for Legal Aid of Western Michigan, assisting in the attorneys’ representation of low-income clients.

Primary Practice Focus

• Complex IP Litigation
  • Patent Infringement
  • Breach of Contract

Technical Experience

• Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Biotechnology & Life Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Plant Pathology

• Physics & Optics
  • Flourescence

Education

• J.D., Harvard Law School, 2011
• B.S., Calvin College, Biology, honors; Biochemistry Minor, 2008

Professional Admissions and Associations

• Michigan State Bar
• Utah State Bar
• ABA
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)