Catlan McCurdy, McCurdy Laud law firm: Getting to “the why” behind contracting issues
UIDP’s Community Partners are organizations and agencies that are not eligible for general membership, but whose mission and work are complementary to UIDP. They possess skills and tools that are relevant to the UIDP community and that boost our efforts to develop and disseminate strategies addressing common barriers to university-industry collaboration.
We recently spoke with Catlan McCurdy, principal attorney and owner at McCurdy Laud, LLC, about contracting, intellectual property (IP) management, and breaking down the barriers that can impact collaborative research partnerships.
McCurdy leverages her years of legal experience in-house and at large law firms to help clients create fair, flexible agreements in cross-sector partnerships involving all facets of intellectual property and technology transactions. When not working at her Minneapolis-based firm, the University of Minnesota Law School graduate volunteers her services to the Center for Art Law.
UIDP: How does McCurdy Laud’s mission align with UIDP’s work to develop innovative approaches and solutions that support university-industry research partnerships?
Catlan McCurdy: Our mission is to provide technology-focused organizations with modern, personalized legal solutions. We play a pivotal role in creating well-crafted legal strategies that help to facilitate successful collaborations. When I read about UIDP and its initiatives and how it facilitates the same types of collaborations, I thought, “we’re really lining up here because the UIDP membership base and our firm’s client base are similar.” We support and advance the goal of more collaborative relationships between organizations.
UIDP: Contracting agreements and the UIDP Contract Accords are foundational to UIDP’s mission, yet contracting remains a challenge in sponsored research. You must see many different contracting challenges.
McCurdy: Yes, absolutely. There are so many different interests at play. Most universities’ missions are to disseminate information to the public. That’s not always industry’s mission. Their mission is typically to commercialize. We see a lot of organizations that really want to work together, particularly the research arms. But conflict can happen when business interests clash with public interests, particularly on how resulting foreground IP or data can be used going forward.
I’m excited to be part of UIDP and its Community Partners program. I want to learn and brainstorm with members on how to break down those barriers and get to signatures faster. It’s really painful to get tied up in contracts. You don’t want to get to the point where the university says, “Well, the Ph.D. student you were interested in sponsoring has graduated, so it’s too late.”
UIDP: What does McCurdy Laud want to accomplish as a UIDP Community Partner?
McCurdy: When I spoke with Tony [Boccanfuso] and Sandy [Mau], what struck me was Tony’s goal of being at the forefront of conversations, not at entry level. That’s exactly what my firm is looking for regarding exposure to trends, ideas, and problems. I want to have meaningful conversations with members about real problems they’re facing, getting to “the why” behind the issues so we can anticipate and create better contracts, which would, in turn, help collaborations move faster. That speeds up innovation.
I think it will be a big benefit to our current and future clients – to be exposed to this community and these high-level discussions – because we’re not just talking about today. We’re talking about the next decade and beyond. I’m excited to be part of that conversation and contribute to those ideas.
UIDP: Do you have a story about a particularly successful project or a partnership story related to U-I collaboration?
McCurdy: I think some of the trickiest things to navigate in contracting are situations where students and research go from the university to the organization and vice versa. Our client worked with a student who started as an intern and then went to a university to complete a post-doc program but wanted to continue working on the same research. We drafted and negotiated the sponsored research agreement between the organizations for that student’s study while the student completed their post-doc degree.
It was a particularly challenging negotiation because the research began with the student’s corporate internship, which meant the business needed to license background IP and confidential information to the university so the student could continue the research in a different forum. There was a lot of handwringing around this IP and information transfer, but we were ultimately successful in negotiating terms that made both parties comfortable. The goal was to support this research and the student in a way that would benefit both parties, and I’m pleased to say that we got there in the end.
Staying organized is essential, especially in a three-party situation. One way we stayed organized for our client in that situation was by reminding everyone of the parties’ goals each time we were on a call, particularly when decisions were being escalated. McCurdy Laud’s practice differs from other firms in that we embrace the human emotional elements in these situations. We know we aren’t negotiating in a vacuum. These relationships will last decades if successful, and one way to ensure that success is by treating every person with respect.
UIDP: What is one of the first and most important questions you ask of prospective collaborators?
McCurdy: We typically become involved after conversations have already happened between the potential collaborators. Both sides are focused and excited about the research and the possible results, which is awesome. My first question is usually, okay, so who’s going to own the results, and how will they be used? Often, the answer is, “Oh no, we haven’t talked about that yet.”
This usually isn’t the case with organizations that sponsor research all the time, particularly large ones, but it is for smaller and less experienced collaborators. I think it’s because it feels like asking about salary in your first job interview. It’s uncomfortable. They want to talk about the positive aspects. When you start talking about ownership, it feels like going backward or having a negative conversation instead of a positive one that’s moving forward. Someone eventually has to say these things out loud, and it’s usually the lawyers, which is why we are here.
UIDP: What do UIDP members need to know about your firm?
McCurdy: We have values I am personally attached to: honesty, candor, professionalism, curiosity, and enthusiasm. Our firm’s values align with UIDP’s principles. Like UIDP, we believe in fostering an environment of open communication, where mutual respect results in relationship building and growth. We are committed to professionalism in all our interactions, ensuring that our work meets and exceeds the standards expected in high-impact partnerships. We come to work excited every day, and we convey the results of our work in a manner that’s understandable. Yes, we’re always focused on our clients, but we’re also focused on how we’re perceived by the other side because we know we’re a reflection of our clients. Our actions are seen as their actions. Our values really make working with us feel different, and that can be seen in the long-standing relationships we have.
To learn more about McCurdy Laud, visit www.mccurdylaud.com or email info@mccurdylaud.com.