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Before Olivia Clavio decided to attend law school, she worked in advertising for an oldies radio station in Chicago and then spent time at an advertising agency as a media buyer.
“I was very interested in getting into intellectual property because I did that every day,” Clavio told Indiana Lawyer.
That interest, and her experience in advertising and marketing law, has led Clavio to a new job at a firm with a growing IP team.
Clavio started work at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on Nov. 13 as counsel in the firm’s IP practice group in Indianapolis.
Kathy Osborn, the firm’s Indianapolis office leader and litigation partner, said Clavio brings to the firm a unique set of knowledge and media insight that will strongly benefit Faegre Drinker’s IP practice group, and specifically the T-CAM team — that is, trademark, copyright, advertising and media.
“Her prior experience with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies was appealing to our firm, and we’re excited for what we know she can bring to our clients here in Indianapolis and around the country,” Osborn said.
Clavio earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and graduated cum laude from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2010.
She spent more than 10 years at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in that firm’s IP practice, advising clients from Silicon Valley startups to Fortune 500 companies on trademark, advertising, media, sponsorship, licensing, trade name, entertainment, copyright, e-commerce and internet law.
Clavio then worked remotely for Tyz Law Group P.C., a boutique IP law firm based in San Francisco.
There, she co-founded a beauty and wellness practice.
She was also the co-leader of Tyz’s counseling group before deciding to join Faegre Drinker.
“I just decided I was impressed with Faegre and the direction they were going,” Clavio said.
In addition to her new job at Faegre Drinker, Clavio teaches as an adjunct faculty member at IU’s Media School.
“I like teaching students. Everything they do in a business, intellectual property is going to be a part of,” she explained.
Clavio’s legal experience includes advertising claim development, substantiation and defense of claims; drafting contest and sweepstakes rules; social media interactive campaigns; user-generated content review; and co-promotional agreements and influencer agreements, according to the firm.
She represents companies before agencies including the Federal Trade Commission and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.
“Olivia’s unique background in branding and advertising, coupled with her experience practicing in several related areas of IP law, will be a great asset to clients and helping them set up, grow and protect their valuable brand assets,” Jim Steffen, leader of the firm’s IP practice, said in a release. “We are excited to welcome her to Faegre Drinker and look forward to seeing all the ways she will benefit our clients.”
IP expanding
Clavio said there have been a lot of changes in advertising and privacy law, with many states passing new privacy laws in recent years.
That’s because advertising involves collecting a lot of data.
“What you can do with that data is where the privacy laws come into play,” she said.
There’s also a growing need for companies to make sure their advertising is fair and nondeceptive, Clavio noted.
“One of the things that drew me to the firm was their focus on advertising law,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to helping the firm grow this area across all of its offices.”
When she started practicing law in 2010, Clavio said there wasn’t as much emphasis on “soft IP,” which she described as including trademarks, copyrights, advertising and right of publicity.
But a lot has changed in the last 13 years, with the explosion of websites and apps and so much software being used by companies.
“It was just inevitable IP would grow. There’s a lot of work being created in this area,” Clavio said.
Lou Perry has been the leader of Faegre Drinker’s T-CAM team since 2023.
Perry has been practicing law since 2005, and he’s been an IP attorney since 2008.
The firm’s T-CAM team started with four attorneys, Perry said. That number has grown substantially since then, with 26 attorneys now in the group.
According to the American Bar Association, in recent years, intellectual property has accounted for nearly 20% of legal job openings even though IP attorneys make up a small percentage of the legal field.
“We represent large clients in complex work. There’s a demand for that, especially in technology sectors,” Perry said.
Perry also said there’s been huge growth in demand in advertising law, with Faegre Drinker representing companies before agencies like the FTC.
Faegre Drinker’s T-CAM team is spread across several of the firm’s offices, and Perry said there’s no main hub.
“The market demands firms do have an IP group,” he said, “and they have a robust one.”
Overall growth
The addition of Clavio continues an overall recent hiring trend at the firm’s Indianapolis office.
Since August, Osborn said the firm’s Indianapolis office has hired 12 attorneys: two lateral counsel hires, including Clavio; three lateral associate hires; and seven entry-level associate hires.
Since Drinker Biddle & Reath and Faegre Baker Daniels merged in February 2020, the firm has had 37 hires in Indianapolis.
“We are happy to see growth across our practices and the added strength and depth each new talented professional brings,” Osborn said. “We have focused on strengthening our full-service capabilities and our platform ensures that we are prepared to help our clients with any needs. We plan to continue our growth in 2024.”
Faegre Drinker now has 159 Indianapolis attorneys — including, partners, counsel, senior counsel and associates — between its downtown and 96th Street offices, according to the firm.•
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