News Archive

IU McKinney 1L Michelle Stokes was awarded the 2023 Helen W. Nies Memorial Scholarship from the Federal Circuit Bar Association. Stokes is a student in the law school’s hybrid program.

Stokes works at Cummins Inc. as an intellectual property and technology manager. She manages the Power Systems patent portfolio. She is a first-generation college student and began working in intellectual property over 25 years ago, first as an IP project assistant where she helped paralegals and attorneys with patent litigation cases. She is an expert in IP portfolio management and trademark and anti-counterfeiting enforcement. Her goal is to work as an advocate and IP attorney specializing in trademarks, brand enforcement, trade secrets, and copyrights.

The Nies scholarship is an award of $10,000 in memory of Helen W. Nies, former chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Special considerations include encouraging the participation of women lawyers in the legal profession, recognizing the contributions of women lawyers in society in general, highlighting academic excellence, and advancing the interest of women law students in intellectual property.