Shannon K. Smith

Michigan

Reising Ethington P.C.
755 West Big Beaver Road
Suite 1850
Troy, Michigan 48084

Tel: (248) 689-3500

Email: smith@reising.com
Web: www.reising.com

Professional Biography

Shannon has a proven talent for the prosecution of patent applications, as well as drafting and analyzing opinions on patentability, infringement, and freedom to operate. Her fields of expertise include biomedical devices and methods, industrial manufacturing processes, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and automotive technologies. She has considerable experience with international and domestic trademark application preparation and prosecution. One of Shannon’s specialties is conducting interviews with patent examiners and trademark examining attorneys at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for which she regularly travels to Washington, D.C.

Shannon also provides invaluable support in patent and trademark litigation. She has extensive experience in drafting and interpreting IP licensing agreements and in conducting due diligence for prominent corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Shannon graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, and she graduated first in her class at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Shannon is a Vice President of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association (MIPLA), the past local networking subcommittee chairperson for the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), the past mentorship chairperson for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Bar Association, and a member of the National Editorial Board (NEB) for the newsletter publication Ideas on Intellectual Property Law, published by Thomson Reuters. She has also worked as a pro bono caseworker for Restoring Family Links, a family-tracing program under the International Committee of the Red Cross. The program helps clients who have been separated from family members in other countries due to armed conflict, migration, disasters, or other humanitarian emergencies.

Bar Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • State of Michigan
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Distinctions
  • Michigan SuperLawyers® Rising Star in Intellectual Property, 2018-2022
  • Top Women Attorneys in Michigan, Rising Stars – Hour Detroit, March 2019-2022
  • Notable Woman in STEM – Crain’s Detroit 2019
  • Best Lawyer, Intellectual Property Law – U.S. News and World Report, 2022
Education
  • University of Michigan, Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience/Pre-Med, 2008
  • Peking University, Summer Program on Intellectual Property Law, 2011
  • University of Detroit-Mercy, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 2013
Memberships and Associations
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association, Past Local Networking Subcommittee Chairperson for the New Lawyers Committee
  • Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, Second Vice President
  • Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Bar Association, Past Chairperson of the Mentorship Committee
  • Federal Circuit Bar Association
  • Women’s Lawyers Association of Michigan
  • Michigan Intellectual Property American Inn of Court – Barrister
Professional Experience
  • Speaker, IAM Conference on Data Disruption in the Automotive Industry, Westin Book Cadillac – Detroit, October 2021
  • Member of the National Editorial Board (NEB) for the newsletter publication Ideas on Intellectual Property Law, published by Thomson Reuters
  • Law clerk for Chief Judge Ronald Lowe of Michigan’s 35th District Court

Since its founding in Detroit in 1865, Reising Ethington PC has specialised in practising IP law. Our areas of expertise include IP prosecution and litigation, global patent and trademark portfolio management, post-grant proceedings and trade secrets, as well as licensing and other IP-related agreements.

Reising’s attorneys manage global IP portfolios for Fortune 500 clients, oversee both US and foreign IP assets and help start-ups navigate the shoals of IP law. The firm represents some of the world’s most innovative and foremost IP owners, including automotive manufacturers and suppliers, medical technology companies, aerospace companies, universities, industrial equipment makers, robotics companies and consumer product companies. These IP owners rely on Reising to possess both technical and legal understanding and to develop elegant solutions for their IP needs.

Reising is home to attorneys with electrical, computer, mechanical and chemical engineering and life sciences degrees. As the Reising team can digest and master nearly any technology, clients can be confident that their research will be clearly understood by our attorneys. Given their broad knowledge and deep technical expertise, Reising attorneys can tackle even the most complex technologies.

Reising’s attorneys have been decorated by a number of industry leaders, including Super Lawyers, the US News and World Report (Tier 1 ranking) and the IAM Patent 1000. These recognitions at least partially reflect of our firm’s dedicated participation in professional organisations where our attorneys are recognised for their service to the profession. Groups such as the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Michigan IP Inn of Court and the Michigan State Bar IP Law Section all claim our attorneys as both leaders and members.

“Well-respected boutique IP practice offering a wide variety of services. Particularly applauded for its patent prosecution work and also possesses expertise in relation to trademarks. Has further capabilities in litigation, regularly assisting with patent enforcement.”
Chambers & Partners