Biography
Shannon handles all aspects of domestic and international patent prosecution, from helping inventors define and document their innovations to drafting patent applications, responding to USPTO office actions, conducting interviews with patent examiners, and managing foreign agents. She also prepares patentability, infringement, and freedom-to-operate opinions and conducts portfolio analysis and due diligence. With a focus on electrical and computer technologies, her clients range from Fortune 100 corporations to universities and individual inventors.
Shannon considers herself a “people person,” which led her out of the lab and into the world of patent law as a way to use her lifelong love of science to help inventors on the cutting edge of technology, while constantly learning new things herself.
In 2022, Shannon was selected to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder Program. The LCLD Pathfinder Program focuses on foundational leadership skills and strategies for continuous career development. Furthering her involvement with LCLD, she was selected to participate in the 2023 Fellowship Program. The LCLD Fellowship Program provides diverse, high-potential, mid-career attorneys with professional development opportunities, leadership training, relationship-building opportunities, and networking access.
Shannon was selected for inclusion in the 2023 and 2024 Illinois Rising Stars lists. She is recognized among the top up-and-coming lawyers in intellectual property law in Illinois. She was also noted as a 2023 and 2024 Top Attorney in Illinois by The American Registry.
During her undergraduate studies, Shannon received Notre Dame’s Dockweiler Medal for best senior philosophy thesis and was a member of the Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society and the Glynn Family Honors Program.
A devoted fan of the Fighting Irish, Shannon never missed a football game during her time at Notre Dame and still attends numerous games each season.
Representative Experience
Shannon enjoys helping clients transform existing technologies into “smart” devices and solutions that leverage machine learning to improve processes. Drawing on that passion, she focuses her practice on obtaining and protecting intellectual property rights in a post-Alice eligibility environment in the areas of computer science and software, as well as machine learning, neural networks, and other types of artificial intelligence (AI):
- Control systems, including safety enhancements for oil refineries and other hazardous environments
- Manufacturing automation
- Telecommunications, including mobile device technology and inflight internet connectivity for the airline industry
- Mobile applications and related connectivity
- Navigation technology
- Automation and safety technology for smart vehicles
- Inventory analysis and management
- Retail data analytics, including customer movements, purchasing activity, and other in-store behavior
- Pharmacy automation, including complex data analytics to prevent dangerous drug combinations
- Refrigeration and freezer systems, including smart controls and predictive learning
- Insurance services
- Medical devices, including non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapies
Background and Credentials
While earning her law degree, Shannon received a University of Notre Dame Law School Fellowship and the ABA-Bloomberg BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law. She also was a member of the Intellectual Property Law Society and served as the production editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy. Additionally, Shannon participated in Notre Dame’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic, where she assisted clients in preparing patent and trademark applications.
Education
- University of Notre Dame Law School (J.D.)
- University of Notre Dame (B.S.)
- Physics, Philosophy
Bar Admissions
Publications and Presentations
- "Protect Your Med Device IP," MedStartr Healthcare Innovators Club Event, Co-presenter, July 1, 2021.
- "Protecting COVID-19-Related Software Innovations," Co-author, IPWatchdog, August 28, 2020.
- "High Priority," Co-author, Intellectual Property Magazine, August 19, 2020.
- “Today’s Robotics Innovation Landscape and the Role of IP in the Field of Robotics,” Co-author, Robotics Tomorrow, June 2, 2020.
Community and Professional Involvement
Shannon is currently involved with several professional organizations focused on women and IP law.
- The Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law – Chicago Board Member
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC) – Member
- Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP)
While earning her undergraduate and law degrees, she was a member of Notre Dame’s Baraka Bouts women’s boxing club, where she was known to fans as “Shannon ‘Motion to Strike’ Hughes.” In addition to training and competing, participants in the program raise funds to support secondary education provided by the Holy Cross Missions in East Africa.