Summary

Joey Balthazor is an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice. He counsels clients on a variety of intellectual property-related matters.

Joey is an experienced thought leader in emerging technologies, such as AI, and has authored numerous articles regarding the subject in the World Trademark Review Weekly. He was featured in the Star Tribune and the Indianapolis Business Journal and was recognized by Minnesota Monthly as Top Lawyers 2023 and named to Minnesota Rising Stars 2023.

Aside from industry involvement, Joey is actively involved in multiple committees and programs at Taft focused on diversity and inclusion both in the office and the surrounding communities. He serves as an ally on Taft’s LGBTQ+  subcommittee, where he helps spearhead their inclusion efforts in Minneapolis and is a de facto mentor for incoming associates. Joey is on Taft’s Recruiting Corps committee, where he reviews law student applications, interviews candidates, and attends meet-the-employer fairs. Additionally, he is the co-captain of the firm’s Associate Fundraising Campaign through Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and helped facilitate a record year of donations in 2022.

Joey is a graduate of Mitchell Hamline School of Law. During law school, he served as the Symposium Issue Editor for the Mitchell Hamline Law Review, Volume 43 and the President of the Mitchell Hamline Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.  He also competed on behalf of Mitchell Hamline in the National Moot Court competition and received the Federal Bar Association Harry A. Sieben Scholarship Award. After law school, Joey clerked for the Honorable Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks at the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He is currently a member of the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court.

Joey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Spanish Studies from the University of Minnesota. At Minnesota, he played NCAA Division One football for the Golden Gophers, lettering three years as a walk on and earning Academic All-Big Ten honors. After completing his undergraduate degree, Joey earned a Master’s of Education degree in Sport Management from the University of Minnesota.

Awards

  • Honoree, Minnesota Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Intellectual Property (2023 – 2024)

  • Honoree, Best Lawyers® Ones to Watch,” Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Labor and Employment (2022 – 2024)

  • Honoree, Top Lawyers, Intellectual Property and Patent Law, Minnesota Monthly (2023)

  • Taft Pro Bono Honor Roll Award

    (2022)

  • North Star Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association (2020)

All Service Areas

Education

  • Mitchell Hamline School of Law

    summa cum laude

  • University of Minnesota

    M.Ed.

  • University of Minnesota

    B.A., Academic All-Big Ten

Admissions

  • State - Minnesota
  • Federal - U.S. Supreme Court

Speeches and Publications

Professional Affiliations

  • Federal Bar Association - Minnesota Chapter

    Co-Chair, Newer Lawyer Committee
    Member, Education Committee
    Member, Mentorship Committee

  • Warren E. Burger Inn of Court

    Member