Breaking IP Barriers: Q&A With Leason Ellis’ Melvin Garner

Mel Garner was interviewed by Law360 as part of a series of interviews with attorneys who have been on the front lines to make IP a more inclusive area of law. When he applied for his first law job in the 1970s, Mel’s resume should have made him a shoo-in: a master’s degree in electrical engineering, plus years of working as an engineer and drafting patent applications. But out of the 100 resumes he sent out, only one led to an offer. In a career spanning several decades, Mel became the first Black president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association in 2005, and the organization last month named him a “Titan of the IP Bar.” In the interview, Mel discusses his personal experience and offers advice for expanding diversity within the IP profession.