Amy Spagnole

During her early years practicing law, there was one person to whom Amy B. Spagnole, a partner at Hinckley Allen & Snyder, always could go to discuss difficult problems: her grandmother, an Italian immigrant who was never able to attend school or college.
Her grandmother would listen intently and soothe Spagnole’s mind, reminding her that not everyone is lucky enough to have a career like hers.
And Spagnole does have a well-defined career. A magna cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School, she practices intellectual property law – mostly trademark, copyright, Internet and licensing – here in Providence. She became a partner with the firm in 2007.
A lover of the arts, Spagnole is a board member of the Arts and Business Council of Rhode Island, where she chairs a committee that aims to match business professionals with artists in the Ocean State. She also represents artists and arts organizations pro bono through the Massachusetts Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
In the community, Spagnole has lectured at Rocky Hill School about the illegal use of electronic media and has given intellectual-property issue presentations at Bryant University and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
But even now, after 10 years of practice in Rhode Island, she still thinks of the talks that she had with her grandmother during those early years. “Even now that she is gone I often find myself reflecting on my conversations with her and her perspective of what it means to have a career,” Spagnole said. •