Prominent members of the legal community will present and comment on the inclusion of women at all levels of the legal system.

This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 5.00 credit hours, of which 1.00 hours are ethics.

Our Tentative Schedule is as follows:

8 AM Check-in + Breakfast

Opening remarks by Dean Ward Farnsworth

9 AM

The IP Gap: Review of Female Inventorship

Presentation and Conversation with Regional Director of the USPTO Hope Shimabuku and Professor Kara Swanson of Northeastern University School of Law moderated by Professor John Golden.

Director Shimabuku will present on the state of the PTO and the recent study by the PTO on female inventorship.

10:30 AM

Practicing IP law: different paths, different perspectives

A panel with Michele Connors (Assistant General Counsel at Cirrus Logic, Inc.), Sheila Kadura (Assistant General Counsel at The University of Texas System), Gina Shishima (US Head of Intellectual Property at Norton Rose Fulbright), and the Hon. Susan Hightower (WDTX). This panel of female IP attorneys will discuss their experience practicing in different sectors of the legal profession. They will talk about addressing challenges they encountered as well as the ways they have navigated themselves through different roles and jobs. Their perspectives will provide insight about preparing for a career as an IP practitioner. 

11:30 AM Lunch Served

Sponsored by Baker Botts, LLP

12 PM

Judicial Panel: Demographics in the Courtroom

Judicial panel with the Hon. Kimberly C. Priest Johnson (EDTX), the Hon. Judge Lee Yeakel (WDTX), and the Hon. Kara Farnandez Stoll (Fed. Cir.) moderated by Eman Sojoodi.

1:30 PM

Research on Gender and IP

A panel with leading academics, including Professor Dan Burk of the University of California, Irvine and Professor Orly Lobel of the University of San Diego School of Law moderated by Professor Melissa F. Wasserman.

3 PM

Life of a Female IP Litigator

A panel with Jennifer Nall (Partner at Baker Botts), Natalie Bennett (Partner at Morgan Lewis), and Rebecca McCurry (Associate at Pirkey Barber) moderated by Kat Li (Principal at McKool Smith). The panel will include a discussion of what it is like to be a female IP litigator at a law firm. This panel will explore the challenges faced and the opportunities ahead for women seeking a career in the IP sector, as well as how to network with, develop business from, and promote yourself and other women in the field.

4 PM Conclusion & Happy Hour

TIPLJ would like to thank our sponsors.

Platinum:

Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker Botts, Sidley Austin, McKool Smith

Gold:

WilmerHale

Silver:

Latham & Watkins, Knobbe Martens