Up & Coming: Shelby Knutson Bruce

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From the time when she was a grade school student, Shelby Knutson Bruce knew she wanted to be a lawyer.

“I knew the career would be challenging and engaging,” Bruce told Minnesota Lawyer. Today, she is living her childhood ambition with distinction.

This May, only five years after graduating from law school, Bruce became a trademark counsel at 3M Co., working exclusively on enforcing and protecting the 3M trademark and brands.

Prior to joining 3M, Bruce worked five years at Norton Rose Fulbright in Minneapolis as an attorney on its US Brands Team, where her work included protecting clients’ packaging against trademark infringement and handling copyrights, social media issues and right of publicity.

At Norton, Bruce became a highly knowledgeable, hardworking “go-to” attorney.

“Shelby advanced in our firm ahead of the normal progression, was highly sought after to assist with work by a large number of partners in multiple offices and was highly respected by numerous clients,” said Andrew Ferraro, spokesman at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Bruce also does pro bono work for some community organizations including Women Venture, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit serving female entrepreneurs.

Bruce graduated from the Seattle University School of Law summa cum laude in 2012.