A Year in Review at the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law
Arlington, VA – January 31, 2022 – The Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law having completely reimagined its Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Foundation’s current Scholar Program, is honored to support the patent law career preparation and readiness for law students now completing their 1L and 2L years. The first of these Scholars will be beginning their patent law careers in 2023.
The Foundation is proud to say it has had a very successful year and is in the process of naming its first seven Scholars who will be starting law school in 2022. The Foundation anticipates that the 2022 1L class of Scholars under the enhanced Scholar Program will include as many as 25 individuals who identify as members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups interested in exploring a career in patent law.
The 2020 1L Scholars each had productive 1L clerkships during the summer of 2021 and they expect to repeat this success during the summer of 2022, with the 2021 1L Scholar Class. Several of these Scholars have already taken—and passed—the patent bar examination, qualifying them to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Each of the Scholars has been active in the mentoring program. The Foundation is grateful that so many distinguished members of the IP bar have signed on the serve as mentors to the Scholars.
In short, the Foundation could not be more pleased with the growing success of the Scholars in their exploration of careers in patent law. Their early successes are the hallmark of the success of the Foundation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the IP law profession.
In October, the Foundation was pleased to host seven Scholars from across the country at the AIPLA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. More details on this event are available on the Foundation’s Scholar News website. The Foundation provides Scholars the opportunity to participate in the Annual Meetings of either the AIPLA or the Section on Intellectual Property Law of the ABA.
Finally, the Foundation received a major donation from its Founding Corporate Sponsor, Johnson & Johnson, intended to cover all the Foundation’s administrative expenses for the current fiscal year. Every other dollar contributed to the Foundation this year will go directly to our Scholar Program! 2021 was a great year for the Foundation and its Scholars and it hopes 2022 will bring even greater success.
About the Foundation
For nearly two decades the Foundation—formerly the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation—has worked for the advancement of diversity in the IP profession. In 2020, the Foundation adopted its new name—Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law— to accompany an expansion of the Foundation’s longstanding programming aimed at attracting more members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the IP law profession—and advancing their opportunities for achievement in the profession once completing law school. Since its inception, the Foundation had raised over $2.5 million for financial assistance, tuition grants, and programs which supports future practitioners of IP Law. If you would like to become a mentor for future scholars, donate, or offer an internship with your firm, please visit our website DiversityInIPLaw.org.