Quality. Tenacity. Passion.

Gouthami Vanam

Gouthami brings a breadth of experience, diversity, and a commitment to excellence as an attorney with Hibbs Law. Since childhood, Gouthami dreamt of becoming an attorney. She emigrated to the U.S. from India in 2008 and began her journey to becoming a lawyer at William Rainey Harper Community College in Palatine. While she initially planned to get a business degree before attending law school, Gouthami quickly discovered a passion for chemistry. Combining that passion with her interest in business management, she graduated with two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Upon receiving the Dean’s Scholarship, she went on to attend The John Marshall Law School.

In law school, Gouthami chose the path of studying Patent Law, and aspired to become a well-rounded attorney upon graduation. To accomplish her goals, she interned at an IP firm and gained valuable experience in FDA, FTC, and EPA compliance matters. In order to understand the judicial process, she externed for Hon. Judge Lyons at the Circuit Court of Cook County. To gain practical experience with patent prosecution, she externed at the UIC John Marshall Law School’s Patent Clinic, where she worked on utility patents under the direct supervision of her professors. She also interned at the Chicago Housing Authority to gain litigation and negotiation experience. 

Upon graduation from law school, Gouthami taught Expert Learning – Torts to first semester law students at the John Marshall Law School. She also worked as an Attorney Law Clerk for the City of Chicago, where she honed her negotiation and litigation skills. She went on to work in the telecommunications industry as a Legal and Regulatory Specialist. In that role, she resolved complex leasing issues pertaining to communication towers and negotiated master attachment agreements on behalf of telecommunications carriers. Gouthami researched, interpreted, and advised on zoning and permitting laws at the city and county level for new cellular tower construction. She also assisted the telecom carriers in completing the necessary paperwork for regulatory matters like FAA, FCC, NEPA, to name a few.

Despite achieving an exciting career in the telecom industry, Gouthami maintained a deep interest in intellectual property law. In 2018, she made the transition to join Chicago area IP law firm Hibbs Law, LLC as an associate attorney. At Hibbs Law, Gouthami spends her days working on a number of fascinating issues pertaining to trademarks, patents, cannabis IP, business formations for both LLCs and non-profits, and a variety of fun state and federal regulatory compliance matters.  She enjoys helping her clients resolve their unique and interesting intellectual property legal issues. When not working, Gouthami enjoys reading, cooking, baking, and binge watching Doctor Who. Her all-time favorite book is an Autobiography of the late president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, titled “Wings of Fire,” this book made her dare to dream of becoming an attorney!

BAR MEMBERSHIP:

Illinois

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

Chicago Bar Association
Chicago Women in Intellectual Property
Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago
National Association of Patent Practitioners

EDUCATION:

The UIC John Marshall Law School
Juris Doctorate, June 2017
Juris Doctorate certificate in Intellectual Property Law (Patent Track), June 2017

Staff Editor, Review of Intellectual Property Law
Trial Advocacy & Dispute Resolution Honors Board and Council
Managing Teaching Assistant — Contracts I MATA Program
Supervising Teaching Assistant — Torts
Dean’s Scholarship 2014–2017
Continuing Education Scholarship 2016–2017

University of Illinois at Chicago

Bachelor of Science, Business Management; Minor in Management Information Systems, August 2013

Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, August 2013

PUBLICATIONS:

Gouthami Vanam, Impact of Lexmark Case on Patent Exhaustion, 16 J. Marshall Rev. Intell, Prop. L. 487 (2017)