Michelle Armond and Douglas Wilson met 15 years ago while applying for clerkships at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. They spent a year and a half clerking together for Judge Richard Linn. “It was really fun to be there, to work on important cases and be at the forefront of patent law,” Armond says.

The two went on to become partners at different intellectual property firms: Armond at California’s Knobbe Martens, Wilson at Texas’ Heim, Payne & Chorush.