Overview
Kadie M. Jelenchick is a partner and an integral member of the firm’s nationally recognized Intellectual Property Department. Kadie regularly counsels and represents consumer and industrial manufacturing clients in disputes and in all aspects of IP portfolio protection, management, and strategy from product development through enforcement and defense of key commercial assets through litigation or other business initiatives. Kadie is the vice chair of Foley’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice and a member of the firm’s Recruiting Committee.
Prior to joining Foley, Kadie was a judicial intern for the Honorable Sim Lake of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and for the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Thought Leadership
Kadie is an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School, where she co-teaches intellectual property litigation and compliance courses. She has lectured and presented on various topics, including intellectual property strategy, inter partes review, e-discovery, depositions, as well as alternative fee billing and ethics.
Pro Bono
Kadie is the vice chair of Foley’s National Pro Bono Committee where she co-leads firmwide strategy and attorney pro bono engagement of colleagues across 22 domestic offices to provide meaningful access to quality legal representation for individuals and organizations with limited means.
Kadie is committed to pro bono work herself as she regularly donates her time and legal services to Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Volunteer Lawyer and Eviction Defense Projects, which are directed to assisting individuals with housing struggles in the Milwaukee area.
Other Community Engagement
Kadie currently serves on the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County Emerging Leaders Council and acts as a co-liaison for Foley's United Way campaign. In 2013, she was awarded the United Way Philanthropic 5 award which recognizes five community leaders who give, advocate and volunteer for change throughout the Greater Milwaukee nonprofit community. In addition, Kadie is chair of the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center Philanthropic Board and a member of the Institutional Advancement Committee of the Medical College of Wisconsin Board of Trustees. Kadie is the former chair and board member for the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse, a nonprofit organization which to date has raised more than $6 million for early-stage breast cancer and prostate cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Crediting Kadie's contributions, the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse awarded her the Christy Foote Fighter Award in 2022.
Recognition
Kadie was a recipient of the 2014 Lynford Lardner Community Service Award in recognition of her volunteer work and civic involvement. In 2012, she received Foley’s IP Founders award, recognizing her service to her clients, her colleagues and the firm. Kadie was selected for inclusion in the 2011 – 2020 Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Stars® lists.
Education
Kadie received her law degree, cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. During law school, she was a senior articles editor for the Houston Journal of International Law. She received her bachelor’s degree, with distinction, in biomedical engineering from the University of Rochester. Kadie also received a certificate of leadership program from Harvard Law School.
Admissions and Professional Memberships
Kadie is a member of the Wisconsin Intellectual Property Law Association, Association for Women Lawyers, the Women in IP Law Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association and Professional Dimensions, which is a network of diverse Milwaukee area professional women that connects, engages and inspires its members to reach their career and personal goals.