Linda Kay Hopkins was interested in the challenges of the law since she was in grade school. While in college, she wanted to study the law, but was told by her employer that “no one uses a female lawyer.” Discouraged but still interested, Ms. Hopkins worked in a related field. In her late 30s, her husband prevented her from enrollment in law school; following enrollment in a master’s program, he left her. Ms. Hopkins discovered how the legal system fails to protect vulnerable people. She was determined to become an attorney, despite her discouragements.
Ms. Hopkins began her career as a hearing assistant in the Social Security Administration Office of Appeals in Minneapolis in 1972. She remained in this position for eight years before earning a Master of Arts in special education, and becoming an instructor and special education director within the Albuquerque Public Schools and the Memorial Medical Center of New Mexico in 1987. Moving to her home in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, she then served as a contracting officer at the Veterans Medical Center from 1988 to 1989 and the Department of Defense Contract Administration Office from 1989 to 1992. She left government service to write her book, “Licensing Law Federal Government Intellectual Property,” in 1995.
Because of her groundbreaking analysis of intellectual property policy in the government, Ms. Hopkins advised the Office of the President of the United States during the Clinton Administration, including the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, and the U. S. Armed Services Committee. In particular, she drafted legislation for new technology research programs and the revision of the procurement systems. She also analyzed new legislation on anti-monopoly law for the Department of Justice.
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Hopkins chaired the Minnesota Working Group on Citizen Information and Government Property, developing new data practices law. She drafted new legislation for the Government of Bulgaria and counseled the Government of Nepal. Ms. Hopkins has worked as a reporter for the Tech Access Journal in Novate, California, and a reporter for the upper Midwest region of The Russian Magazine in San Diego. She established her own firm, Intelliware International Law, in 2001 and later finished her legal career as a counsel for Accenture LLP in 2013. In addition to her professional work, Ms. Hopkins co-founded TeamWomen, an organization to empower women, in 2012. The organization supports all women who work or live in the state of Minnesota, providing mentoring and leadership development from entry level to the C-Suite. She established TeamWomen with Pam Borton, a seasoned and successful head women’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota and a keynote speaker for the Women in Business Awards.
In continuation of her career, Ms. Hopkins has also been an adjunct professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a presenter at numerous workshops on governments. She has been a speaker at the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, William Mitchell College of Law and the National Contracts Management Administration.
Within her local community, Ms. Hopkins is the community activities director for the Minnesota chapter of the American Constitution Society. She also organized an international conference, “Genetics, Law and Society,” in St. Paul in 1999. In addition, she also co-edited “Commercial and Contract Management: The Operational Guide,” published by the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management in 2011. In 2015, she earned certification with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Today, Ms. Hopkins resides in St. Paul with her husband, John Lindgren, and keeps active with her organization, the Winston Churchill History Book Club.
Highlights of Ms. Hopkins’ career include a scholarship to complete a Master of Business Administration certificate in government contract administration, a joint development with Sen. Al Franken to revise social security disability regulations, an invitation to attend the World Economic Forum in Washington and to advise the Minnesota government on implementing the minority participation in contracts.
Ms. Hopkins is currently heavily involved in the American Constitution Society to educate others in the legal system’s decisions. She separates herself from others by her ability to tackle difficult political and legal roadblocks to truth and justice. She would like to be remembered by her peers as a person who loved the law so much that she worked to extend its protections to everyone.