Attorney at Law Magazine First Coast publisher Tom Brady sat down with Logan McEwen of Marks Gray, P.A. to discuss the origins of his legal aspirations and his plans for the future of his practice in the latest installation of the First Coast Rising Star interview.
AALM: When did you first know you wanted to become an attorney? What drew you to this career?
McEwen: I came from a low-income neighborhood and have always been drawn to helping people. A substantial portion of the problems in my community went unaddressed because of a lack of access to legal assistance. By the time I finished high school, I knew I wanted to be an attorney to help bridge that access gap.
AALM: How would you describe your practice? What is your main area of law? What drew you to that practice?
McEwen: My main practice is intellectual property which evolved from an early fascination with the tension at its core – protecting the fruits of intellectual labor versus monopolizing expression, ideas, or speech. That we have an entire legal framework for artistic expression really speaks to how innate it is to the human experience. That blossomed into my work with trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation and transactions. I also do a substantial amount of real estate and commercial work, as well as regulatory compliance.
AALM: Do you have any mentors or professors that encourage you?
McEwen: I’m extremely lucky to count Marks Gray attorney, Crystal Broughan, as my mentor. Her guidance has been invaluable, and I can’t overstate how much that mentorship helps in the early part of a career.
AALM: What do you find particularly rewarding about being an attorney?
McEwen: Helping clients resolve and move past their problems instead of letting those problems have an outsized impact on their lives. I’ve seen people who weren’t able to resolve or get closure to a problem and it ends up defining part of who they are. So when I’m able to resolve an issue for a client and see that relief in their face, it is extremely rewarding.
AALM: What drew you to your current firm? How would you describe the culture there? How would you describe your role within the firm?
McEwen: I was drawn to my current firm by the people. You spend so much of your life at work that I don’t see any way to truly enjoy your career without enjoying the people you work with. The culture at Marks Gray really boils down to good work and good people, and I think that shows in both the attorneys there and the longevity of their careers with the firm.
AALM: Are there any changes coming in the future that you’re excited about?
McEwen: It’s cliché but the rapid evolution of disruptive and other technologies and how those will affect various areas of law is really exciting; cryptocurrencies and application of their underlying tech, artificial intelligence, deep learning, virtual/augmented reality, and quantum computing. The implications of developments in those areas run across almost all segments of law. As those become more common and eventually more widely used, we’ll see all kinds of new issues pop up.
AALM: What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Hobbies? Sports?
McEwen: I enjoy woodworking and carpentry, playing music, and spending time with my wife and two daughters.
