Though 3L Matt Petersen comes from a family of multiple lawyers and worked as a runner for a law firm in high school, he wasn’t set on a career in law and had planned to apply to medical school instead. While earning his bachelor’s degree in English and biology at Utah Valley University, Petersen held two different jobs that steered him toward law school.
“First, I worked as a ski instructor at Deer Valley Resort for four years and was constantly working with people—young and old—in what was often a new (and cold) environment for them. I loved connecting with them and quickly gaining their trust,” he recalls. “Second, I ran a small bagel business with my wife, preparing and baking the bagels in my in-laws’ kitchen (eventually growing and moving to bigger kitchens elsewhere). We primarily sold bagels to various tech companies in what is called the ‘Silicon Slopes’ region of Utah, most of which had large standing weekly orders.”
While Petersen loved building a brand, running a business, building relationships with loyal customers, and working with his wife, he didn’t love waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. consistently to bake bagels.
“One day I was sitting in a physiology class—I remember the exact day—thinking about law school. I thought about how much I enjoyed working closely with clients as a ski instructor and building a business as an entrepreneur and felt like law school, as opposed to medical school, would allow me to do more of a combination of that (and much sooner),” Petersen says. “After that class, I immediately investigated what I needed to do to apply to law school; within the year, I studied for and took the LSAT, wrote a personal statement, and applied.”
The S.J. Quinney College of Law stood out because of its proximity to foothills and canyons, Petersen says.
“I’m passionate about trail running and backcountry skiing. The fact that I can run to amazing singletrack trails from the doors of the law school and access world-class skiing within a 20-ish minute drive is impossible to beat. No other law school in the U.S. offers this kind of access to the outdoors in both quality and quantity,” he says. “I was also drawn in by the small class size. I wanted to feel like I could actually talk to, and get to know, my professors, and that has absolutely been the case. It’s also really nice to essentially know every one of your classmates. Finally, growing up in Utah, I was intrigued by the strong local reputation the law school had—and it seems to only be increasing (even nationally).”
Another benefit to Utah Law Petersen loves? The strong ping pong culture.
“We have three ping pong tables (which tells you everything you need to know on its own), and there is always someone ready for a game. There is also the Quinney Open, a school-wide ping pong tournament that really brings everyone together and builds camaraderie during what is a stressful time in the semester,” he says. “I also love the exercise room and showers. I use the treadmill when it’s too cold or the air is bad or I just don’t feel motivated to get outside—and I can do so in between classes. Running and ping pong have kept me sane during law school, and Utah Law has enabled me to do both!”
Professor Jonas Anderson‘s intellectual property-oriented Civil Procedure class was one of the catalysts for Petersen’s interest in IP law—along with his realization that he was eligible to sit for the patent bar due to his STEM undergraduate background.
“I applied to IP law firms during 1L on-campus interviews and got an offer from Maschoff Brennan, a national IP firm with a main office in Salt Lake City, and decided I would try out IP law for the summer. During that experience, I was exposed to almost all aspects of IP law—from patent litigation to trademark prosecution—and really fell in love with it,” Petersen says. “I enjoy helping business, inventors, and creators protect their ideas and continue innovating, especially from a litigation standpoint. The firm gave me hands-on, fulfilling experience doing just that, and in an atmosphere I truly connected with and enjoyed. When I got an offer to return to the firm the following summer, I didn’t hesitate to accept.”
During his 2L and 3L years, Petersen has taken as many IP classes as possible and also participated in the AIPLA Giles S. Rich Memorial Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition last year.
“That competition entailed writing a brief on an issue that was at the crux of copyright law and AI (in the form of large language models, like ChatGPT) and arguing at a local (downtown SLC) and national (Palo Alto, California) level,” he recalls. “It was one of the best and most exciting experiences I’ve had in law school. I loved dealing with subject matter that was at the cutting-edge of technology and the law. The developments and excitement at this intersection are another reason I am focusing on IP law.”
Within this specialty, Petersen is most passionate about using IP law to enable innovation and protect creativity.
“At a small level, as a former small business owner, I know how vulnerable—and even discouraging—it can feel to work hard at building something without knowing what kind of anti-competitive or legal threats might be looming or how to protect yourself from them,” he says. “The law can provide security in this regard and allow people to really create and push things forward.”
After graduating and passing the bar, Petersen will start as an associate attorney at Maschoff Brennan. Though he still has a few months left until then, he is happiest about a different achievement that occurred during law school.
“My wife gave birth to our first child this last summer. He is definitely what I am most proud of, despite his arrival making my last year of law school a bit more complicated!” he says.