About Susan M.
Susan M. Kornfield built her legal foundations in the Midwest. She earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1974 and later took up legal studies at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she received her J.D. Those credentials framed a career that spans both practice and teaching.
Her career in private practice includes a long association with Bodman PLC. In 1996 she was named chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group, a leadership role that placed her at the center of firm strategy for IP matters. The following year she served as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan, bringing practical experience into an academic setting and engaging with law students on the practicalities of practice.
Kornfield is admitted to practice in both Michigan and Illinois. She has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since 1988, a membership that remains current. Those admissions have allowed her to handle matters that cross state lines and to advise clients whose business and legal needs extend across the region.
Her time heading an intellectual property group at a full-service firm indicates a practice anchored in IP-related issues. At Bodman PLC she has overseen work for corporate clients and collaborated with colleagues in other practice areas. Her role as chair required management of case priorities, allocation of resources and coordination across teams. Those responsibilities often bring together legal strategy, client counseling and firm administration.
As an adjunct professor she briefly returned to the academic world, where she translated daily practice concerns into classroom discussion. That experience added a different dimension to her professional life, connecting legal theory to the realities of firm work and client representation.
Colleagues and clients have relied on Kornfield for steady counsel on intellectual property matters and associated business issues. She has worked within a firm setting for much of her career and has taken leadership roles that required both legal judgment and administrative oversight. Her practice reflects sustained engagement with IP law and related commercial questions.
As of 2026 she is based at Bodman PLC and continues to practice in matters involving intellectual property and related corporate legal work.
