“With the changing economy, many companies are considering costs and coming to small- to medium-sized firms like us. But you have to prove yourself quickly,” says John D. Tran, Managing Partner of the Rhema Law Group and Whittier Law alumnus. “Due to our expertise, we are fortunate to be getting highly sought-after work that in the past went exclusively to traditional large firms.”

With an undergraduate degree in Nuclear Medicine Science, John entered the health sciences field, working with patients with late-term cancer. Although he was fascinated with the science of curing cancer, he felt drawn to the study of law and applied to Whittier Law School at age 25. After graduating from Whittier Law School in 2002, John worked at Oswald & Yap in Irvine. He was mentored by Michael Oswald, the senior partner, and gained experience in both patent prosecution and patent litigation. He later opened his own firm with four partners, and recently joined Rhema Law Group in 2011 as the managing intellectual property partner.

John is one of the few attorneys in the nation who practices patent prosecution while having actual patent trial experience. He routinely litigates cases before the Federal Court and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “Over 90% of those cases settle,” says John. “But two years ago I was able take a patent case through a jury trial. To do that at this stage in my career was a great opportunity.”

The relationships that John made at Whittier Law School have been part of his success. He says, “I was very involved in the various organizations on campus and met important members of the community. That has been very valuable to me in my career. I would say that is the greatest benefit of a Whittier Law School education: the contacts that you can make there.”

John is just about to make two new important relationships. Married to another Whittier Law alumna (Rosalind Ong, ’03), he recently received happy news: they are expecting twins.