Isabelle Nasser, College of Law
Degree: Juris Doctor
Hometown: Mount Prospect, IL
What brought you to DePaul law?
After completing my undergraduate degree in marketing at Butler University, I worked in event planning at a software company. That’s where I had my first introduction to intellectual property law. The company has a lot of attorneys focusing on copyright, trademark and patent law, and I would talk with them about their experiences.
I was looking at Chicago law schools that had a good intellectual property law program. I remember seeing that DePaul College of Law had classes in art and cultural heritage law and the intellectual property law certificate, so that's what brought me here.
How do you connect with the DePaul community outside the classroom?
I’ve been very involved in the Student Bar Association — this year, as president. Last year, I was director of mental health, which was a new position. I was part of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention chapter called Be the Voice at Butler, and this was a good way to keep doing that work in law school.
People tend to put their mental health on the back burner in law school because it's just accepted that it's going to be so stressful. But we can accept that and still manage it in healthy ways.
How did you support your peers as mental health director?
We put coloring pages, paint-by-numbers activities or pamphlets on counseling resources out in the lounge. Law students are busy, and by just leaving things around where people are going to be anyway, we can get their attention and provide them information.
We held a panel with our university counselor law school rep to answer questions about how counseling services work and what students can expect. We also hosted a program with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention called Talk Saves Lives. It's a presentation about how to speak about suicide and how to recognize warning signs, and how to talk to people if you're worried about them or concerned — the right language to use and where to direct them.
What was your favorite class?
I worked in the Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic last year and was able to intern at the Field Museum. I had such a good experience and would not have had that opportunity if it hadn't been for the IP clinic.
I was the intern to the general counsel, so it was a lot of transactional work, redlining contracts and event and licensing agreements. The museum is mostly a research institution. I worked on partnership agreements with other universities, labs or scientists to use the museum’s work.
What was it like to be a legal intern at the Field Museum?
Both the general counsels there are DePaul alums, and they were just the sweetest people. They encouraged me to take time to walk around the museum and see the exhibits. That's part of the job, so go look around, they told me.
I loved the Hall of Gems. It was so good. And one of the rotating exhibits was on the evolution of cats, which was really cool. I also loved the African fashion exhibit.
What advice would you give to incoming law students?
As important as it is to take the classes that are tested on the bar, try to make room in your schedule for classes that are just interesting to you. You might learn things you didn't expect. I took an art law class right before I was at the Field Museum, and it ended up being so helpful.
I was also able to take entertainment law, music transactions, and internet law. Those elective classes are really helpful in deciding what you want your career to look like because they're taught by adjunct faculty who are usually practicing lawyers. They have great advice and good connections, too.