B.A., College of the Holy Cross; J.D., Fordham University School of Law; LL.M., Fordham University School of Law
Mary Kate Brennan is an Adjunct Professor of Law and teaches a seminar on Fashion Law. She also works in private practice, focusing on trademark, false advertising, and copyright litigation for a wide variety of clients, including many in the fashion, beauty, and luxury industries. International anticounterfeiting work is a practice focus for Professor Brennan. She protects brands through litigation; coordination with law enforcement agencies on seizures and criminal prosecution; customs facilitation; global trade and supply chain analysis; asset-tracing; and client counseling on critical intellectual property enforcement issues.
Professor Brennan has written extensively about Fashion Law. Her article, “Controlling Cargo: Amazon’s Predatory Attempt to Disrupt the Fashion Industry by Dominating the International Transportation of Goods,” was published in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, Vol. XXIX, 2019. She also co-authored two amicus briefs: “Brief of Fashion Law Institute et al. as Amici Curiae, Converse v. ITC,” No. 16-2497 (Fed. Cir.), 2018 and “Brief of Fashion Law Institute et al. as Amici Curiae in support of Respondents, Star Athletica L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,” 137 S. Ct. 1002, 1004, 2017. Additionally, Professor Brennan has contributed Fashion Law insights to Women’s Wear Daily (a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the “Bible of fashion”), Westlaw Today, IP Watchdog, and Intellectual Property Magazine, among other publications.
She also has given numerous CLEs and guest lectures on Fashion Law at LIM College in New York City. She regularly volunteers at the Fashion Law Institute’s Pop-Up Clinics, providing pro bono assistance to designers and fashion industry professionals. Previously, she served as the co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Fashion Law Committee and was the Dean’s Fellow for the Fashion Law Institute.
Professor Brennan graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and minor in Art History. She earned her J.D. and LL.M. in Fashion Law from Fordham University School of Law. She served as the co-chair of Fordham Law’s Recent Graduates Committee and currently serves as a member of the Fordham Law Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. Professor Brennan also founded the Holy Cross in Fashion Alumni Affinity Group.