SIE Background Serves Attorney Alum Well
David Ashton, who earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 2013, went on to earn a Master of Engineering and a Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University in 2017. After passing the Texas State Bar and the United States Patent Bar, he began working as an associate at a patent law firm in Texas. Every day, he applies the problem-solving mindset he honed during his engineering education to helping his clients – many of whom are engineers themselves.
What drew you to studying engineering, and then law?
Growing up, I was always interested in emerging technologies and have always been business minded. I learned about industrial engineering when I attended a scholars program about engineering disciplines between my junior and senior year. Everything really clicked when an attorney lectured about intellectual property law at my high school: A career in intellectual property law was the perfect pathway to unite my passions.
Why did you choose the University of Arizona for your undergraduate degree program?
The systems and industrial engineering program at the University of Arizona set forth a great pathway to learning to design and optimize complex systems, improve manufacturing processes, and acquire foundational engineering knowledge. In short, it looked like it would provide the foundation to becoming a critical thinker.
How do you use the skills you learned in your engineering education in your position as an attorney?
The knowledge I have acquired from my engineering education has been invaluable to my practice. I gained a broad expertise of technical knowledge, but the most important part of my education was learning how to apply that knowledge. No amount of technical expertise is the end for an intellectual property attorney. However, learning to think in a systematized, organized approach will always help you to be the best possible attorney, even as technology continues to change.