Feb. 15, 2016 - Curiosity has been a constant theme in the career of University of Houston Law Center alumnus Todd L. Krause ’97.
After earning a Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, Krause had a hunger for more knowledge, leading him to the Law Center.
“I have a background in the sciences so that was really the animating force for me going to law school, as well as having a basic curiosity about the law,” Krause said. “I thought it would be a good way to marry two interests -- one in the sciences and the other in the law. I explored that as a student at UH Law Center. I was interested in the Law Center because of its expertise in intellectual property law as well as health law, and took interesting classes in each of those fields.”
Krause is now a partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s New York office where he represents large biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Krause’s focus is litigating patent issues in federal courts across the country. In 2014 and 2015, Managing Intellectual Property magazine named him an “Intellectual Property Star” in New York and nationally.
“As a patent practitioner, I really live in both worlds,” he said. “I spend an awful lot of time studying and seeking to understand scientific issues and then trying to figure out how that connects to the various legal issues and legal landscape. I probably spend at least half of my time in each field as I noodle through the issues I’m trying to help our clients with.”
Krause is a native of upstate New York, but his higher education experience comes exclusively from institutions in Texas. He said he felt a calling to return home to the northeast, but will always hold dear the time and relationships he established while at the Law Center.
“I went to Texas with a suitcase and came back to New York with a moving truck,” Krause said. “I had never been to Texas, and I thought I’d go down and see what it was like. I think fondly back on my time in Texas and at the Law Center. The educational system did right by me. I had some great professors and some great student colleagues.”
