Attorneys

Katherine M. Pacynski

Shareholder

Attorney KATHERINE M. PACYNSKI

Katherine Pacynski helps clients protect their innovations. She focuses her practice on the mechanical, chemical, and materials science arts, with an emphasis on nonwoven materials, consumer goods, and automotive applications, such as steering columns and other components.

Among Katie’s clientele are garage inventors, engineers at multinational companies, and various creators in between. To preserve their interests, she drafts patent applications, strategically negotiates the scope of patent protection with the USPTO and foreign patent offices, manages client portfolios, and monitors competitor activities. Katie is known for taking the time to understand what her clients do and getting to know who they are. Clients rely on Katie for her sensible advice and know she is always available to address their questions and concerns.

Katie prides herself on her meticulous attention to detail, sense of humor, and straightforward approach to problem-solving, giving her clients a clear picture of the risks and opportunities they face. She appreciates the firm’s support and encouragement to volunteer in the community and pursue leadership opportunities. As a result, Katie spent many years on the Executive Board of the Women’s Bar Association. She also graduated from the Leadership Oakland program and volunteers for many other causes.

A successful career as a patent attorney wasn’t always Katie’s plan. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, she juggled classwork and the demands of her role on the varsity cheerleading team. Along the way, she took a one-credit elective, “Law for Engineers,” a class that changed her focus and started her on the path to law.

After completing her Bachelor of Science in Engineering, cum laude, Katie attended Michigan State University College of Law. There, she held leadership roles on the Michigan State Law Review and began working for the Dobrusin Law Firm, first as a law clerk, then as a patent agent. After receiving her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, she joined the firm as an associate attorney and was later named a shareholder.

Bar Admissions

  • Michigan
  • United States Patent and Trademark Office

Education

  • Michigan State University College of Law
    • Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 2013
    • Managing Editor, Michigan State Law Review
    • Intellectual Property Law Society
  • University of Michigan
    • Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, cum laude, 2010
    • University of Michigan Varsity Cheerleading
    • American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

Honors and Awards

  • Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Regional Leadership Award, 2022
  • Michigan Lawyers Weekly™ Up & Coming Lawyers, 2021
  • DBusiness Top Lawyers in Intellectual Property and Patent Law, 2021 to present
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2020 to present
  • SuperLawyers® Rising Stars (Michigan), 2019 to present
  • Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40, Class of 2018
  • Michigan Top Lawyers, 2015

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court
    • Scholarship Chair, 2023-Present
  • State Bar of Michigan
    • Intellectual Property Law Section
  • Women’s Bar Association – Oakland Region of WLAM
    • Immediate Past President, 2021-2022
    • President, 2020-2021
    • President-Elect, 2019-2020
    • Vice President, 2018-2019
    • Recording Secretary, 2017-2018
  • Leadership Oakland, Class XXIX

Community Involvement

  • Our Lady of Sorrows
    • School Parent Volunteer
  • Art&Soul Dreams
    • Board of Directors, 2017-2018