Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP is pleased to announce that Justine M. Kasznica has joined the Firm’s Pittsburgh office as a member of the Business Services Department.
Justine will serve as chair of the Firm’s newly formed Innovation Practice Group, which focuses on universities and research institutions seeking to commercialize new technologies, as well as later stage companies developing innovative products and services.
“Justine brings to Schnader great energy and a significant background in the legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Chairman David Smith.
Prior to joining Schnader, Ms. Kasznica served as the Executive Director of the Innovation Practice Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In that capacity, she collaborated with innovation initiatives in various University departments and in Pittsburgh’s innovation community to develop novel educational programs designed to train young lawyers and to help build a robust regional innovation ecosystem.
Ms. Kasznica is a founding member of ReefBot, a collaborative partnership between Carnegie Mellon’s Robotic Institute, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium to develop autonomous underwater vehicles for the purpose of oceanographic exploration and coral reef conservation. She also served as a counsel to BeatBots LLC, an international start-up robotics/toy company.
Prior to joining Pitt’s faculty and heading the Innovation Practice Institute, Ms. Kasznica clerked for The Honorable Thomas M. Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She received her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law in 2006 and has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.
