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John Olsen

February 10, 1948 - March 13, 2023

Celebrating the life of John Olsen, one of the leading international intellectual property lawyers of his age and a gentleman who not only guided his clients over a 35 year career in the UK, but also mentored and helped further the careers of the many current IP lawyers who worked alongside him. John Raymond Olsen died peacefully at University College Hospital, London ‎England on 13th March 2023. He was a leading international intellectual ‎property lawyer who was a graduate of Notre Dame Law School USA and ‎practiced for 50 years, 35 of which were in the UK. His many colleagues, clients ‎and friends will remember him for his lifelong commitment, passion and ‎dedication to his work. A ‘gentle giant’ who had time for everyone, and was ‎especially caring of his clients whom he guided through a maze of legal issues ‎with his expansive knowledge of his subject and with a subtle, steely ‎determination. ‎ His many colleagues and friends at his firm, Locke Lord, recognise his ‎contributions to the firm and to mentoring and helping further the careers of ‎many of its current IP lawyers. ‎ Born in Los Angeles, California, he graduated from Loyola Marymount ‎University, Los Angeles, California in 1970 and went on to study law at ‎University of Notre Dame Law School, South Bend, Indiana graduating in 1973. ‎His long career took him from California to New York, Paris and finally London, ‎England. ‎ John was a licensed member of the California Bar and a Solicitor of the Law ‎Society of England & Wales. He was active on the lecture circuit and belonged to ‎many intellectual property associations. He co-authored two books, Trade ‎Marks, Trade Names and Unfair Competition: World Law and Practice; and ‎Domain Names: Global Practice and Procedure and was also a Board Member of ‎the European Intellectual Property Review.‎ He qualified as a U.S. patent lawyer and appreciated the full range of laws and ‎practices in protecting intellectual property and the creative efforts of both ‎individuals and corporations. He believed his broad international understanding ‎of intellectual property law was a sine qua non in a globalising environment. ‎ Practicing law was his first love but he also enjoyed spending time with family at ‎the opera, classical music concerts and the many arts London had to offer. John ‎was bi-lingual in English-French but also spoke social German and Spanish ‎facilitating the development of his practice. ‎ John is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Maria and his three brothers, Ken, ‎Kevin and Larry. A special celebration of his life will be held in his honor on a ‎date to be announced.‎ His funeral will be held at 10.30am on Thursday, 30 March 2023 at Farm Street Church, Jesuit Church of The Immaculate Conception, ‎114 Mount Street‎, Mayfair, London W1K 3AH (https://www.farmstreet.org.uk/contactus). Any donations in memory of John will be most gratefully received by the London Law Programme of Notre Dame Law School, which provides financial assistance to students who wish to attend – a cause which John was passionate about. Please designate “London Law School Programme” and dedicate donation in name of “John Raymond Olsen": https://giving.nd.edu

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  • 2023-03-28 06:54:28 View / Comment (0)
    Wayne McMaster

    Wayne McMaster

    Wayne McMaster

    Dear Mary and Maria John was a dear friend and colleague for many decades. He was no doubt a leader in IP globally, a formidable professional and a profoundly wise person. The profession will be the less with his passing. We were privileged to see another side of John as well. We knew him as a wonderful human being. As many others have said, he was the quintessential "gentleman". His humorous, dry, playful sense of humour delighted us. His was a veritable wordsmith with the English language which enabled him to come up with never-ending cryptic wordplays. It was always such good fun being in his company. We will never be able to think of Sherlock Holmes without smiling and thinking of John (private joke!). We miss him greatly. Wayne and Lyn

  • 2023-03-23 16:48:10 View / Comment (0)
    Karen Grace

    Karen Grace

    Karen Grace

    Dear Mary and in loving memory of John I am very fortunate to have developed a connection with John since joining Locke Lord as his secretary. John was a remarkable man and amazing boss who was extremely supportive of my development (both professionally and personally) which I shall forever be grateful for. I had a huge amount of respect for John and looked up to him and admired his dedicated work ethic. I could see how highly thought of and respected John was by his clients from his voluminous email traffic and from the tone and content. John’s zest for life has left a lasting impression on me; I still have a drawer full of yellow post-it notes on which I have noted down all of John’s suggestions for cathedrals, museums, operas, composers, and the list goes on! John has been a pillar of support to me through his mentorship, kindness and leadership; John’s door was always open, he asked me every day about how I was doing and always thanked and praised my work which made me feel good about myself and confident in everything I did. I have fond memories of John’s sharp witted humour and funny jokes and his eloquent one-liners were hilarious. We used to laugh quite often about how very British John could be especially when we moaned about the weather and about developing a stiff upper lip in certain situations. In celebration of John’s proud moment of becoming an official British citizen, John generously booked a beautiful private room for the IP Team at the Corinthia Hotel where he treated us to a luxurious afternoon tea together. The team presented John with a big bag of cheeky fun British memorabilia so he was well-equipped on becoming quintessentially British which raised a few chuckles. I had heard prior to me joining Locke Lord that John often treated his team to quality memorable lunches/dinners, paid by himself personally. I will dearly miss John and it has been an honour working alongside him. Rest in peace John, I will always remember you with a smile. Love, Karen Grace

  • 2023-03-22 14:14:26 View / Comment (0)
    Steven Rowan

    Steven Rowan

    Steven Rowan

    I was part of the team that brought John and his team into Edwards Wildman (now Locke Lord). I worked very closely with him and not only found him a top drawer lawyer but primarily also a constant pleasure to be with. A dry sense of humour but overall a real gentleman who really cared for his team and his clients. After I left the firm, we remained friends and had lunch on occasion. My wife and I are deeply saddened to learn that John has passed away but will always remember him with a smile and I think that's the best way. RIP, John, a true friend

  • 2023-03-23 14:26:32 wrote:

    My deepest condolences. I truly owe John my career - working on his team at Edwards Wildman was my first job out of law school, and it set my entire career in IP in motion. He was a fantastic teacher and leader, and I will never forget his impact on my life.

    2023-03-23 14:26:32 wrote: My deepest condolences. I truly owe John my career - working on his team at Edwards Wildman was my first job out of law school, and it set my entire career in IP in motion. He was a fantastic teacher and leader, and I will never forget his impact on my life.

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