Today, we’re diving into a subject that’s close to our hearts: the advancement of diversity in the patent law field. If you’re as passionate about this issue as we are, you’ll want to know all about the Diversity Dialogue: ADAPT Webinar that recently took place. This event brought together some of the brightest minds in the industry to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in patent law.
In a world where innovation drives progress, it’s important for the teams behind the patents to reflect the diversity of the world they serve. This isn’t just an ethical imperative; it’s a business necessity. Diverse teams bring fresh perspectives that can catalyze groundbreaking ideas. And that’s where the ADAPT initiative comes in, as a collaborative effort aimed at making tangible changes in the industry.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector was joined by panelists Gail Su (Google), Mike Binns (Meta) and Judy Yee (Microsoft) as this collective wisdom came together to delve into the ADAPT initiative, each contributing their unique perspectives and expertise.
How ADAPT Came to Be
Elaine Spector kicked off the discussion by recounting the founding story of ADAPT. The goal? To transition from mere talk to meaningful action. The thought that collective action from power players like Google, Meta, and Microsoft was the key to making waves in the patent law ecosystem. So they formed a DEI collective and gave it a name worth remembering: ADAPT.
Why DEI Isn’t Just a Buzzword
DEI isn’t a corporate fad—it’s a corporate strategy. Gail Su hit the nail on the head, reminding us that diverse teams don’t just check boxes; they break new ground. Also, Mike Binns pushed us to think broader about what diversity means. It’s not just about color or gender; it’s about varied educational backgrounds, experiences, and even diverse ways of thinking.
The Progress So Far
ADAPT is more than just a collective on paper; it’s making real moves. From mentorship programs to data analytics for tracking DEI metrics, this initiative isn’t playing small. ADAPT isn’t here for the short game, but is looking to build sustainable diversity.
As we look to the future, the objectives for ADAPT extend well beyond the present moment. The panelists articulated a strategic vision aimed at institutionalizing DEI practices within the patent law ecosystem. Elaine Spector emphasized Harrity & Harrity’s unwavering commitment to not only supporting but also actively contributing to these pioneering initiatives. The ambition is to elevate DEI practices to the level of an industry standard, setting a precedent for excellence and inclusivity that other firms in the patent law field will aspire to meet.
Questions to Spark Your Imagination
How can your firm adopt a data-driven approach to keep DEI at the forefront?
What unorthodox strategies could you utilize to attract and retain diverse talent?
Could DEI be the secret sauce for your organization’s long-term success?
If this post has piqued your interest, don’t miss the chance to watch the entire ADAPT Diversity Dialogue Webinar here. Until we meet again, let’s continue to challenge the status quo and reshape the future landscape of patent law.
Watch the full webinar here:
Want to get involved? Check out the useful link below!
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
Elaine Spector shares her candid thoughts on law firms requiring an in-person return to office as we transition into a post-COVID environment below.
“I get so frustrated when I hear about another Biglaw firm requiring their lawyers to return to the office full-time with minimal remote work options. While various factors may drive these changes, they have the potential to affect lawyers, particularly those with families, disproportionately.
Remote work has proven to be a game-changer for many professionals, allowing them to effectively manage their careers and personal responsibilities. The legal field is no exception, as countless lawyers have thrived while juggling complex cases and family commitments from the comfort of their homes. However, a shift away from remote work in certain Biglaw firms could inadvertently create an uneven playing field, disadvantaging those who rely on remote work options to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Lawyers with families, in particular, could face challenges due to this shift. Many parents find remote work a lifeline, enabling them to be present for their families while delivering exceptional legal services. Eliminating or limiting remote work opportunities may unfairly bias these dedicated professionals. It doesn’t need to be this way.
When I went remote six years ago, my life completely changed. I didn’t have to waste time in my car commuting, and I could attend to my family and work more readily. I was so much less frazzled and present and happy. I became a top biller and a top rainmaker. Don’t you all want your lawyers to feel balanced and happy? I guarantee they will overperform if they are.
Are you feeling frustrated by the return to the office edicts? I’d love to hear your comments.”
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
In a remarkable acknowledgement of excellence, Elaine Spector, a partner at Harrity & Harrity, has been awarded the 2023 Stars of the Bar Award by the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA). This award celebrates women who have made significant contributions to the legal community and is emblematic of Elaine’s steadfast commitment to the principles that define her legal career and our firm’s mission.
About the Stars of the Bar Award
The Stars of the Bar Award is an annual recognition by the WBA Foundation, designed to honor exceptional women attorneys who have demonstrated leadership, community service, professional growth, and commitment to the WBA’s mission of maintaining the honor and integrity of the profession. This award adds to Elaine’s rich legacy of excellence in the legal community.
Dedication to Diversity
Elaine’s work in promoting diversity within the patent field echoes Harrity’s focus on increasing diversity and championing underrepresented groups in intellectual property law. Her alignment with the values recognized by the Stars of the Bar Award further emphasizes her dedication to this vital cause.
Innovation and Quality
Elaine has actively contributed to our firm’s endeavors in automation, quality, analytics, and innovation. Her role in building a progressive environment aligns with the innovative spirit rewarded by the Stars of the Bar Award and highlights Harrity’s leadership within the patent law industry.
Community Involvement
A firm believer in giving back, Elaine’s community involvement resonates with Harrity & Harrity’s values and the WBA’s focus on community service. Her generous efforts have fostered a culture of responsibility and compassion, reflecting the ideals celebrated by the Stars of the Bar Award.
Elaine Spector’s receipt of the 2023 Stars of the Bar Award by the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia is a notable acknowledgment of her professional excellence, innovation, commitment to diversity, and community service. This award aligns perfectly with Harrity & Harrity’s values, making it a proud moment for our firm. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Elaine and eagerly anticipate her continued achievements in patent law.
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
In the realm of personal and professional development, the role of mentorship is often underscored. The Patent Pathways™ program, a unique initiative designed to guide budding patent practitioners, is a testament to the transformative power of mentorship. Ayana Marshall, the chair of Patent Pathways™, recently shared her insights on the profound impact that mentors can have on the lives of their mentees in the following video.
Ayana’s journey into the patent field was sparked by an inadvertent mentor, a woman she met at a conference who spoke with infectious enthusiasm about her career in technology transfer and patent work. This encounter, though seemingly incidental, had a profound impact on Ayana’s career trajectory. It led her to delve into the patent field, a domain she might not have discovered otherwise. This story underscores the immense influence mentors can wield, often without even realizing it.
However, the Patent Pathways™ program is not about inadvertent mentorship. It’s about intentional mentorship. The mentors in this program consciously choose to guide, support, and inspire their mentees. They are the catalysts for change, the guiding lights that illuminate the path for future patent practitioners.
The mentors in the Patent Pathways™ program are not just diversifying the patent field; they are creating a ripple effect that transcends generations. This is particularly significant for minorities, who, with the right guidance and support, can make their mark in a profession that is not only financially rewarding but also instrumental in driving innovation.
By becoming a mentor for this unique program, you have the power to shape the future of the patent field and, more importantly, to make a difference. You have the opportunity to be the intentional mentor that will change the trajectory of an individual’s life, and future generations to come.
The impact of mentorship, as exemplified by Ayana’s story and the Patent Pathways™ program, is profound and far-reaching. It’s about more than just guiding someone through their career; it’s about inspiring them, supporting them, and helping them realize their potential. As a mentor, you have the power to change lives. If you are passionate about increasing diversity or helping others, become a mentor, and make a difference today. Your commitment can shape the future of the patent field and the lives of the individuals within it. Get started by clicking here: BECOME A MENTOR
Patent Pathways (a 501(c)(3)) is a virtual program that focuses on helping the least represented demographic in patent law, Black women, by aiming to register participants with the patent bar and matching them up with mentors and job offers over the course of just one year. The entire program, including patent bar preparation and exam fees, is free to participants thanks to the generosity of Patent Pathways™ sponsors, partners, mentors, and volunteers.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector was joined by panelists Rosa Walker (Pillsbury Law), Mehul Shah (Juniper) and Heather Molleur (Micron) to discuss the program and the multiple opportunities for patent law firms to work alongside each other to make a difference in this one of a kind program.
Webinar topics included a summary of the current demographics of patent law, what Patent Pathways™ is doing to improve diversity in the patent field, the benefits of joining Patent Pathways™, and the many ways you can get involved.
Watch the full webinar here:
Want to get involved? Check out these useful links below!
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
Harrity’s Firm Controller, Sandra Maxey, was featured on Foster Web Marketing’s World of Marketing Podcast! Along with host, Tom Foster, Sandy discusses her snowbird lifestyle, her proudest moments, meditation, and why she regrets jumping out of an airplane!
Harrity’s Elaine Spector explains what the diversity landscape in patent law looks like, why the current approaches aren’t working, and what we can do to improve diversity and inclusion in the field as a community in this brief video on ‘The Diversity Problem in Patent Law.’
Patent Pathways (a 501(c)(3)) is a virtual program that focuses on helping the least represented demographic in patent law, Black women, by aiming to register participants with the patent bar and matching them up with mentors and job offers over the course of just one year. The entire program, including patent bar preparation and exam fees, is free to participants thanks to the generosity of Patent Pathways™ sponsors, partners, mentors, and volunteers. We are scaling up the program to 50 participants this year, and need your help!
Want to get involved? Check out these useful links below!
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
Patent Pathways (a 501(c)(3)) is a virtual program that focuses on helping the least represented demographic in patent law, Black women, by aiming to register participants with the patent bar and matching them up with mentors and job offers over the course of just one year. The entire program, including patent bar preparation and exam fees, is free to participants thanks to the generosity of Patent Pathways™ sponsors, partners, mentors, and volunteers.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector and Ayana Marshall hosted a webinar to share more about scaling up the program to include 50+ participants, and opportunities for our patent community as a whole to work alongside each other to make a difference in this one of a kind program.
Other speakers included:
Cass Dottridge, Cargill
Maeve Carpenter, IBM
Phong Dinh, Microsoft
Shruti Costales, Dell
Scott Markow, Stanley Black & Decker
Richard Watkins, Medtronic
John Harrity, Harrity & Harrity
Steve Kontos, Harrity & Harrity
Samantha Sullivan, Harrity & Harrity
Ryan Thelen, Harrity & Harrity
Webinar topics included a summary of the current demographics of patent law, what Patent Pathways™ is doing to improve diversity in the patent field, the benefits of joining Patent Pathways™, and the many ways you can get involved.
Watch the full webinar here:
Want to get involved? Check out these useful links below!
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
Elaine Spector is determined to bring equality and diversity to the patent world, and she’s not afraid to show it. She recently sat down for an interview with The Patent Lawyer magazine to discuss her inspirations, experiences, and ideas for equality in the industry.
With over 25 years of experience in intellectual property law, Elaine is a partner at the IP boutique, Harrity & Harrity, and is the first female partner in the firm’s history. She holds a degree in mechanical engineering and is dedicated to improving diversity in the field of patent law. Elaine serves as the co-chair of Harrity’s Diversity Committee and as the vice-chair of IPO’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Elaine’s passion for patent law started in high school, where her love for math and science intersected with her interest in law. For those starting their career, she advises advocating for oneself and valuing the unique skills you bring to the table. Her career path involved working at various firms and transitioning into a role as a Tech Transfer Intellectual Property Manager at Johns Hopkins before joining Harrity & Harrity, where she was able to work remotely and on a flexible schedule. Elaine encourages women to set boundaries and not compromise themselves. She faced challenges in balancing work and family life early on in her career, but was able to set boundaries and find more flexibility in her schedule as her children grew older.
Of her greatest achievements in her career, Elaine recounts the memory of joining Harrity in 2017 at a time when it was a smaller firm of only about 14 lawyers (and they were all men!). Fast forward to 2023, and Harrity boasts up to about 45 practitioners now, including multiple women attorneys. This rapid growth has helped the firm move very quickly on new initiatives without much red tape. During the six years Elaine has been at Harrity, their diversity committee has launched numerous external diversity initiatives to improve the pipeline with regard to the patent bar, all with visible impacts. She mentors young women in the profession and hopes to see a more diversified patent bar in the future. Elaine’s future career aspirations include developing DEI initiatives to improve diversity in the patent bar, specifically by expanding their Patent Pathways program to support more Black women, and then shifting the program to help other underrepresented groups in the future.
In the next five years, Elaine hopes to see the patent community take a more active role in promoting diversity and equality through engagement in DEI programs like ADAPT (a coalition of various companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google, Cruise and Disney. ADAPT stands for Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams, and provides a platform for in-house patent attorneys and law firms to get engaged in various DEI programs) and by taking action to support initiatives like Patent Pathways. She emphasizes the need for collaboration and involvement from the larger patent community to effect meaningful change.
“I really would like to see more firms and corporations not just talking the talk and actually taking action to make these initiatives successful. My firm can’t do it by itself; we need the patent community at large to step up and get involved in programs like ours,” Elaine states.
Hear about these initiatives, the advice Elaine has to give, and more in this exclusive interview with The Patent Lawyer Magazine. Read the full article HERE.
Want more? Watch Elaine Spector’s Driving Diversity series HERE. Elaine shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in this weekly short-video series.
John Harrity interviews for Law360 Pulse On Disrupting Law Firm Models
Law360 reported that Harrity is disrupting the traditional law firm model with significant contributions in charitable giving, diversity in the profession, and the automation of legal tasks. Co-founder John Harrity said the firm is doing things differently from many others in the field and plans to continue disrupting industry norms. This includes a goal to offer attorneys, patent agents, and staff a four-day workweek with the help of automation.
Harrity has grown from 14 attorneys and patent agents in 2017 to 45 today, and attributes some of its success to high-profile charity and diversity programs, which aim to improve the representation of minority groups within patent law through free education, training, and ongoing resources.
During the past five years, Harrity has increased its own number of practitioners from underrepresented groups from 8% to 40%. John discusses the firm’s diversity programs, including the Minority Firm Incubator that helps women-owned and minority-owned patent law firms grow and fine-tune their practices; the Harrity Academy, which brings more people from underrepresented groups into patent law; and the Patent Pathways™ (501 (c)(3)) program that specifically brings Black women with technical degrees into the field.
“In a few years, we’re going to look back at this Patent Pathways program and say it was the most impactful diversity program ever created. So that’s a pretty big intro to a program you probably haven’t heard of yet,” John states.
Hear about these and other firm initiatives in this exclusive interview with Law360 Pulse. Read the full article HERE.
Want more? Listen to Eli Mazour‘s Clause 8 Podcast featuring John Harrity HERE. John shares his thoughts on everything from how firms in the patent law space should be innovating, to some of the secrets of our own firm’s success.
Elaine Spector, Partner at Harrity & Harrity, LLP, and ChIPs Washington D.C. Member, was featured in ChIPs recent spotlight, “How to Make the Future DigitALL,” which focuses on improving diversity and inclusion for women in IP. Her response? Persevere! Read the full interview below.
Q: What actions are needed to keep more women and diversity in the rooms where innovation is happening?
A: I think the most impactful action step to keep more women and diversity in the rooms where innovation is happening is to inform women about the innovation process as well as careers in the intellectual property (IP). Many women with STEM degrees don’t know that they can enter the patent profession without going to law school. You will find that many of us who entered the profession were told about it through a family member or family friend. As we inform women about the innovation process as well as careers in IP, they can then take the steps needed to be included by speaking up and being proactive with regard to invention submissions. If innovation is not their thing, they can be part of the innovation process by becoming a registered patent practitioner without having to go to law school. I am a true believer that knowledge is power! And we, as women, are more powerful than we even know.
Q: What actions can open pathways for the next generation to thrive?
A: We need more outreach programs to women to get them interested in STEM fields, as well as well as being proactive in nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit in women. Men are taught to take risks, while women are taught to be perfectionists. We need to encourage the younger generation of women to take risks. My advice for the girl or woman behind me is to not give up, to persevere. I strongly suggest building a network of like-minded women (and men) who can support you during the tough times. I’ve developed amazing friendships with women who are very similar to me, who absolutely understand my struggles. Feeling seen and heard and cared for you other women has been integral to my success.
Q: What advice would you give to the girl or woman coming up behind you?
A: My advice for the girl or woman behind me is to not give up, to persevere. I strongly suggest building a network of like-minded women (and men) who can support you during the tough times. I’ve developed amazing friendships with women who are very similar to me, who absolutely understand my struggles. Feeling seen and heard and cared for you other women has been integral to my success.
Q: How does your company embrace equity?
A: Harrity & Harrity, LLP is one of the few law firms that dedicates thousands of hours to outreach programs to change diversity of the patent profession.
[Harrity & Harrity’s diversity programs include Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop, Patent Pathways for Black women, the Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 for minority-owned firms, and the Harrity Academy™. To learn more about Harrity & Harrity’s diversity programs, visit: https://harrityllp.com/diversity.]
Q: How do you innovate? How do your life experiences
impact your innovation?
A: I am so grateful to be part of a law firm that prides itself on innovation. Harrity innovates in many areas, including automation, analytics, charity, and diversity. For me personally, I have always been a problem solver, so innovation is second nature to me. As a child, when something would break, my mind would always go to finding a solution to get it back working again. Being at a firm that embraces my innovative spirit has led to a lot innovation in the diversity space! I am so grateful, likewise, for the innovative spirit of the members of Harrity’s Diversity committee, as we truly make an impact in diversifying the patent bar.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, and what is to come for women in our field, Harrity is highlighting Shawna Lemon, a graduate of our Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 Program and Co-managing Shareholder of Stanek Lemon, a majority female-owned IP law firm!
During this interview, Shawna candidly discusses what she is most proud of in her position as a firm leader, her advice to others, and how the MFI 2.0 program took her business to the next level.
Watch the full video:
The Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 program is a new & improved 42-week program that provides the training and tools needed to propel female and minority-owned patent law firms, existing or yet to be launched, to the next level of success. This program includes free training & strategy classes, concluding with a pitch session with a panel of in-house IP attorneys. The MFI 2.0 is an integral part of Harrity’s ongoing diversity initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the patent field.
We are currently accepting applicants for the 2024 program. You can learn more and apply now HERE.
Harrity Partner & Diversity Co-chair, Elaine Spector, joins Judy Yee (Microsoft) as guests on Inclusion Evolution, a podcast hosted by Lisa Mueller & Mike Kasdan focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession, the technology space, the world of sports, and our everyday.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, and what is to come for women in our field, Harrity is highlighting Bree Vculek, a participant from the 2022 Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop!
Harrity for Parity™ brings women from across the country together to participate virtually in this free, four-day long annual program geared towards an introduction to the practice of patent law, patent skills, and career training. The program, founded in 2017, is open to female science and engineering students, law school students, recent graduates, and current practitioners.
The Harrity for Parity™ Women’s Workshop includes prominent guest speakers who are women in the patent field; Patent Law Introductory Training; Patent Preparation Skills Training; Patent Prosecution Skills Training; Writing Skills Training by Writing Expert, Julie Seitz; Resume and Interview Preparation Workshops; Law School Career Mentoring; Patent Attorney Q&As; Patent Bar Preparation; and Networking Opportunities.
This week, Bree, a Patent Scientist and 4L Law Student, shared her experience with the Harrity for Parity Women’s Workshop.
“My name is Bree Vculek and I currently work as a patent scientist at Davis Wright Tremaine. I am a fourth year, evening part-time law student at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. My technical background is biology, chemistry and biotechnology. I’ve worked in that area in a variety of different sectors, most recently within the patent space, and I’m now working in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well.
I am excited to weigh in today. I’m going to start with how I found Harrity for Parity, and specifically how I found the Women’s Patent Workshop. So I attended the workshop last May of 2022. I came across it on my favorite social media platform, LinkedIn. Harrity & Harrity Partner Elaine Spector had made a LinkedIn post announcing the event. They were taking applications and I got super excited. I think I applied the same day, because I was just starting to work in patent law at a boutique firm. I had completed many of the patent law and all of the intellectual property law courses at the George Washington University Law School. I was really excited and applied the same day, and was lucky enough to get accepted into the workshop.
I had an amazing experience. To be honest, I was reflecting a little bit, and even though I had started working in patent prosecution, and even though I attend a law school with a highly ranked intellectual property law program, I still felt that there were important pieces of the patent preparation and prosecution puzzle, if you will, that were missing in my comprehensive and holistic understanding of the practice. And so when I was thinking about my favorite part of the workshop, or really what my takeaways were, I had several.
I would say, first of all, I loved meeting so many of the other women who are at various stages of their careers, both in private practice and in-house, as well as at the USPTO, and getting their perspectives on what it’s like to be a woman in patent law. Also, to learn from them what works, what didn’t work, and what advice they have. I found that to be really a connective force. I think having this community, albeit virtual a lot of the time, is so incredibly important for minorities within a certain practice, such as patent law. So that was one thing that I really loved and enjoyed.
And second to that, I really liked that the workshop provided us with practical experience. We had the opportunity to draft claims and receive feedback, and to practice reading through and familiarizing ourselves with Office Actions from the USPTO and responding to 101, 102, 103, and 112 rejections, and just kind of understanding how it all works and different strategies. And so I really enjoyed that. I still, to this day, take a lot of those foundational skill sets that I learned in the Women’s Patent Workshop and apply them to my practice today, so that was really an incredible experience.
I also wanted to mention one additional thing – so I talked a little bit about community and conductivity and collaboration. I met a another student through Harrity for Parity, and we’ve developed a friendship. We saw each other a couple of months after the workshop actually, in-person at interviewing events, and have kept in touch thereafter. And ultimately, we are going to be working close by following graduation. So I think that was again just a really cool opportunity to make friends within the practice, make connections, and that was something that I didn’t necessarily expect but I really was was longing for. It was kind of like a cherry on top.”
Watch the video here:
We’re currently accepting applicants for our 2023 Harrity for Parity Women’s Workshop, scheduled for May 22-25th. Learn more and apply HERE.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, and what is to come for women in our field, Harrity is highlighting Bree Vculek, a participant from the 2022 Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop!
Harrity for Parity™ brings women from across the country together to participate virtually in this free, four-day long annual program geared towards an introduction to the practice of patent law, patent skills, and career training. The program, founded in 2017, is open to female science and engineering students, law school students, recent graduates, and current practitioners.
The Harrity for Parity™ Women’s Workshop includes prominent guest speakers who are women in the patent field; Patent Law Introductory Training; Patent Preparation Skills Training; Patent Prosecution Skills Training; Writing Skills Training by Writing Expert, Julie Seitz; Resume and Interview Preparation Workshops; Law School Career Mentoring; Patent Attorney Q&As; Patent Bar Preparation; and Networking Opportunities.
This week, Bree, a Patent Scientist and 4L Law Student, shared her advice for others entering the field.
“The advice I would give other women, or really any anyone interested in patent law, is to be mindful that we are all training to be advocates. Typically, it’s advocates for our clients, the inventors, the innovators, etc. I want to remind you that it’s equally, or arguably more important, that we’re advocates for ourselves.
Now, that can look a variety of different ways. But the way in which I see it playing out is by seeking out different opportunities, like attending the Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop. There are other opportunities, like taking classes, that might be a bit more intimidating or challenging. You can do it, you know, I believe in that. And the way in which we believe in that is by taking more opportunities and showing to ourselves, gathering more data that can be directed, that you can do it. And whether it be volunteering on a committee that you’re a part of, in an association or something like that, I think that’s really important, and something that I’m kind of learning as I go, and I wish I learned prior.
I think it’s a really valuable mindset to be mindful. Of course, we support others, we support our colleagues, we support our classmates, we support our clients, absolutely. But we ought not to forget to support ourselves as well. I’m a big fan of holistic support, and that includes wellness as well: mental, physical, spiritual, financial, the whole wellness wheel. I think that is really incredibly important to be mindful of. It’s a really rewarding and fulfilling career and not only do you deserve, but your colleagues or clients or classmates etc. deserve to see you or to interact with you as your very best self. So that’s kind of a long winded advice that I would give. Seek out opportunities, and be relentless in your pursuit. And again, I highly, highly, highly recommend without reservation, the Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop.”
Watch the video here:
We’re currently accepting applicants for our 2023 Harrity for Parity Women’s Workshop, scheduled for May 22-25th. Learn more and apply here.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, and what is to come for women in our field, Harrity is highlighting Bree Vculek, a participant from the 2022 Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop!
Harrity for Parity™ brings women from across the country together to participate virtually in this free, four-day long annual program geared towards an introduction to the practice of patent law, patent skills, and career training. The program, founded in 2017, is open to female science and engineering students, law school students, recent graduates, and current practitioners.
The Harrity for Parity™ Women’s Workshop includes prominent guest speakers who are women in the patent field; Patent Law Introductory Training; Patent Preparation Skills Training; Patent Prosecution Skills Training; Writing Skills Training by Writing Expert, Julie Seitz; Resume and Interview Preparation Workshops; Law School Career Mentoring; Patent Attorney Q&As; Patent Bar Preparation; and Networking Opportunities.
This week, we sat down with Bree, a Patent Scientist and 4L Law Student, to hear about her experiences as a young woman entering the patent field.
“My name is Bree Vculek and I currently work as a patent scientist at Davis Wright Tremaine. I am a fourth year, evening part-time law student at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. My technical background is biology, chemistry and biotechnology. I’ve worked in that area in a variety of different sectors, most recently within the patent space, and I’m now working in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well.
So thus far, my experience in patent law has been quite positive. I have worked now in both an intellectual property boutique firm, as well as in big law. I have found, at times, it’s lonely, for sure. But I think that there are events like the Harrity for Parity Women’s Patent Workshop, as well as tools like LinkedIn, or various other groups like AIPLA, ChIPs, Women in IP in DC, that I have specifically involved myself in to help continue to foster that community and that sense of belonging. It’s also, I think, important to share, have shared experiences, but also learn from one another and maybe ask questions like, how did you navigate this situation? And so I found that to be really an incredible piece to my early practice, if you will.
Actually, this week, we’re going to file my first provisional patent application. This is through the George Washington University Intellectual Property Technology Clinic. We’re going to file our first provisional patent application, that is an entire women team. So the inventor is a woman. And then I’m one of the student attorneys, my co-counsel is also a woman, and the director and the patent attorney that we’re going to file under is also a woman – so a comprehensive, holistic, all women team! It’s a first across the board, and I’m just really, really excited to have that opportunity.
I think that kind of explained my experiences thus far, but also what’s possible and what’s out there and what we’re, you know, fingers crossed, going to see as we continue to navigate and progress in the field of patent law. So whatever that may mean, I remain hopeful and excited from what I’m seeing in law school, and acknowledging that we still have a lot of work to do. I’m grateful for programs like Harrity for Parity’s Women Patent Workshop – that’s really what I consider a launching pad in my career in patent prosecution, to be honest, it really opened my eyes to what is possible, and helps give me that next level of confidence in my skill set and in myself, that you know, I belong and I add value, and I’m worth taking a chance on. So that was really another beautiful experience and a little bit about what my early career has been like as a young woman in the practice of patent protection.”
Watch the video here:
We’re currently accepting applicants for our 2023 Harrity for Parity Women’s Workshop, scheduled for May 22-25th. Learn more and apply HERE.
Harrity Partner and Diversity Co-Chair Elaine Spector meets with Meredith Struby (MCC IP Law), Lisa Mueller (Casimir Jones) and Carlyn Burton (OBWB) for a discussion on the 2022 ThinkTank initiative to increase the representation of women in patent law and the progress each firm has made in the implementation of their new programs brought about from the brainstorming sessions.
Questions covered in this discussion include:
What do you think is preventing women with science and engineering degrees from registering with the patent bar?
What can we do about the problem of women not getting technical degrees in science and engineering?
I know there were likely a number of different programs that came up during each brainstorming session. Can you tell us a little bit about the program you decided to undertake and why? Have you done some similar programs in the past to help underrepresented groups? Can you tell me a little about them?
How do you go about recruiting participants into the program? Is it hard in trying to target women? How do you get the word out?
If you were starting the program all over again, would you do anything differently?
What are your biggest setbacks so far?
How do you get to the right person at a university or high school?
What impact do you anticipate it having, in terms of the # of participants, percentage increase in awareness, or similar?
If someone in the audience wants to start a program to bring diverse people and women into the patent field, what would you recommend?
What opportunities are available in your programs for people in the patent field to get involved?
You can watch the full session below.
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Diversity Dialogue webinars, check out The Diversity Channel.
To get involved in any of the above initiatives, please reach out to Elaine at espector@harrityllp.com.
To celebrate Black History Month, Harrity is highlighting the black-owned law firms that participated in the 2022 Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 program!
This week, we sat down with Ted Wood, Managing Partner of Wood IP, a black-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned patent law firm.
Ted candidly discusses his time in the military, how he faces others’ expectations as a black patent attorney, and his advice to those looking to enter into the patent field.
Watch his entire interview here:
ABOUT MFI 2.0:
The Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 Program is Harrity’s 42-week program that provides the training and tools needed to propel female and minority-owned patent law firms, existing or yet to be launched, to the next level of success. The program includes free training & strategy classes, concluding with a pitch session with a panel of in-house IP attorneys. The MFI 2.0 is an integral part of Harrity’s ongoing diversity initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the patent field.
In November 2022, 7 minority-owned law firms graduated from the first iteration of this program after intensive law firm operations trainings from Harrity partners and pitches to a panel of in-house attorneys. You can learn more and apply to the 2024 program here.
To celebrate Black History Month, Harrity is highlighting the black-owned law firms that participated in the inaugural Minority Firm Incubator program and the 2022 Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 program!
This week, we sat down with James Bennin, Founder & Owner of Onyx IP Group, a black-owned patent law firm.
James got candid about his accomplishments as a new firm owner, the driving force behind Onyx IP Group, and his advice to those wanting to join the #patent field.
Watch his entire interview here:
ABOUT MFI 2.0:
The Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 Program is Harrity’s 42-week program that provides the training and tools needed to propel female and minority-owned patent law firms, existing or yet to be launched, to the next level of success. The program includes free training & strategy classes, concluding with a pitch session with a panel of in-house IP attorneys. The MFI 2.0 is an integral part of Harrity’s ongoing diversity initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the patent field.
In November 2022, 7 minority-owned law firms graduated from the first iteration of this program after intensive law firm operations trainings from Harrity partners and pitches to a panel of in-house attorneys. You can learn more and apply to the 2024 program here.
To celebrate Black History Month, Harrity is highlighting the black-owned law firms that participated in the 2022 Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 program!
This week, we sat down with Arlene Neal, Founder & Managing Attorney at Neal Blibo, a black-owned, woman-owned law firm.
When asked about being a black-owned, woman-owned law firm, Arlene said, “I see a lot of black-owned firms and I see a lot of women-owned firms, but I don’t see a lot of the combination- black and woman-owned. And I’m thinking to myself, “Well, I gotta be proud!”
Watch her entire interview here:
ABOUT MFI 2.0:
The Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 Program is Harrity’s 42-week program that provides the training and tools needed to propel female and minority-owned patent law firms, existing or yet to be launched, to the next level of success. The program includes free training & strategy classes, concluding with a pitch session with a panel of in-house IP attorneys. The MFI 2.0 is an integral part of Harrity’s ongoing diversity initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the patent field.
When speaking on this program, Arlene says, “As a Managing Attorney, I am always seeking out the best practices in running my firm. The MFI program exposed me to new processes for managing my firm and also helped me to refine current processes.”
In November 2022, 7 minority-owned law firms graduated from the first iteration of this program after intensive law firm operations trainings from Harrity partners and pitches to a panel of in-house attorneys. You can learn more and apply to the 2024 program here.
Harrity Partner & Diversity Co-chair, Elaine Spector, recently went viral in a LinkedIn post sharing her thoughts on how mothers are treated in the field of law, in response to a leaked text message from a male attorney to his female colleague in Ohio.
In short, the female attorney was asked to work while on maternity leave, and later resigned. She received the following text from a male partner at her firm.
“What you did — collecting salary from the firm while sitting on your ass, except to find time to interview for another job — says everything one needs to know about your character. Karma’s a bitch. Rest assured, regarding anyone who inquires, they will hear the truth from me about what a soul-less and morally bankrupt person you are.”
Elaine’s post reads:
“‘Collecting Salary From the Firm While Sitting on Your Ass’
We can all look at the statement and think it is atrocious. But what is more atrocious is that the firm leadership’s first response was to “explain” the exchange. I am happy to hear that the lawyer who sent the text was fired, but why didn’t that happen initially?
And what unnerves me the most is that many lawyers think this way. That somehow, maternity leave is easy where we just “sit on our ass” and eat bon-bons.
Let me tell you something. Growing a human inside of me (three times) was the most physically challenging time in my life, not to mention the trauma of birth. I had no idea the recovery would be so painful. Imagine having surgery and then being woken up in the middle of the night every 2 hours to nurse a child. It is absolutely physically exhausting. I needed every day of the 12 weeks I had off to recover from birth, as well as bond with my child.
So, as a show of solidarity with the woman who received that horrific text, I am posting a picture of me just after I gave birth to my first child 20 years ago. It was harder than any race I have run.
We are warriors!”
Shortly after, Elaine was featured in an article for Above the Law by Wendi Weiner, who discusses the curtailing impact of why toxic culture is to blame for women leaving law firms.
At Harrity, we believe in equal treatment and opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We are also committed to maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and supportive workplace for all employees.
In support of all working women and all moms throughout the world, if you haven’t already, we encourage you to post a picture of yourself either after childbirth, mothering your children, or whatever you have, to demonstrate our support of one another and as a way to break the bias towards moms! Please include the hashtag #BreakMomBias.
You can see more of Elaine’s insights in her weekly vlog, Driving Diversity, on LinkedIn. Learn more about our Diversity Initiatives here and join our Diversity Mentor Network here.
Harrity & Harrity, LLP is excited to report that we have added 7 exceptional patent professionals to the team this year! Over the last 12 months, Harrity has welcomed Allison Howard, Derek Abeyta, Ryan Heavener, Nathan Gundlach, Nicholas A. Mihalic, Stephen Kontos, and Spencer Peterson to the firm. With six decades of combined experience amongst them across a variety of complex technologies, each hire is a valuable addition to the team. “Through our meticulous hiring process, we have added 7 outstanding patent superstars to our team! To say that we are excited to have them join us is an understatement.”, Managing Partner Paul Harrity says of the firm’s recent growth. Adding these individuals has increased our total percentage of diverse patent professionals to 41%.
Allison Howard is a patent agent specializing in patent preparation and prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She utilizes her intellectual property experience to aid clients in obtaining protection of their intellectual property. Prior to joining Harrity & Harrity, Allison worked in private practice specializing in patent preparation and prosecution for a variety of technologies. Over the past years, Allison has volunteered as a math and science tutor for the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County, assisting with English as a Second Language students.
Derek Abeyta is a patent attorney with considerable experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications for clients, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Such patent applications relate to a variety of mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical fields, including telecommunications, extended reality systems, camera processing, power electronics, and more. His law practice has focused on patent preparation and prosecution, as well as patent infringement and validity counseling. Derek currently resides in Peoria, Arizona with his wife and kids and enjoys playing softball, exploring the outdoors, and listening to music.
Ryan Heavener specializes in the preparation and the procurement of patent assets. He leverages his expertise to build formidable patent portfolios that are optimized with the unique business objectives of his clients. Ryan focuses on electrical, electromechanical, and mechanical arts. For over 3 years, Ryan worked in Germany as patent counsel for one of the world’s leading semiconductor companies. During his tenure, Ryan managed the procurement, development, and maintenance of the company’s vast patent portfolio through frequent interaction with engineers and outside counsel, while remaining budget conscious.
Nathan Gundlach is a registered patent agent with experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications related to memory technologies, wireless communications, home automation and security, encryption/decryption, machine learning, neural networks, and database management. Prior to joining Harrity & Harrity, Nathan worked for another firm where he handled preparation and prosecution matters for various clients and technologies, and as a graduate research assistant at the University of Utah. In his spare time, Nathan enjoys volunteering with the Utah Food Bank and other charity initiatives in his local community.
Nick Mihalic is a patent attorney with considerable experience in client counseling and patent preparation and prosecution. With an advanced degree in electrical engineering, he excels at quickly comprehending complex inventions and converting them into high-quality patent applications. His practice focuses primarily on electrical, electromechanical, and computer technologies. Prior to joining Harrity, Nick worked for mid-size and small Intellectual Property boutique firms. He also served as general counsel for a Nevada-based corporation where he gained invaluable experience.
Stephen Kontos is a patent attorney with experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications for a variety of technologies. Leveraging his electrical engineering background and experience as outside intellectual property counsel to some of the largest companies in the world, Stephen helps in-house IP teams strategically patent innovative technology. Stephen supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal industry, particularly with respect to the LGBTQ+ community. His services help in-house legal departments meet their supplier diversity goals.
Spencer Peterson is a registered patent agent with experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in both the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions. He has drafted and prosecuted patents in the fields of volatile and non-volatile memory cell technologies, memory device processes and communications, wireless telecommunications, and semiconductor fabrication and design. In his spare time, Spencer enjoys spending time with his wife and kids (preferably outdoors), playing sports, reading, and watching documentaries. He also volunteers as a leader of a local youth group.
Harrity Partner & Diversity Co-chair, Elaine Spector, was recently featured in an interview with Brink News, where she shared her thoughts on the lack of diversity in the legal field and her ideas on how to improve diversity and equity in law.
Harrity & Harrity is excited to announce that we have partnered with Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams (ADAPT) to bring standardization and transparency to how the patent profession measures diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and scale efforts to improve diversity of the patent bar.
ADAPT is a collective of corporate legal teams, law firms and industry groups who have come together to address the lack of diversity in the IP profession, including LOT Network Inc., Amazon, Cruise, The Walt Disney Company, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Uber. By spreading awareness of the issue, increasing accessibility to DEI resources and opportunities, and making it easier to participate in diversity efforts, ADAPT aims to significantly improve DEI in the intellectual property space.
Harrity Analytics will work with data science teams from Google and other ADAPT members to conduct and publish accurate analysis of the diversity breakdown of the profession. With input from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Harrity and ADAPT aim to better visualize the DEI landscape of the talent pipeline, understand practical application of technical training for patent careers, better map out the career path for patent practitioners, and much more. ADAPT will open source the underlying data and methodology once established.
Harrity is also collaborating with ADAPT on multiple diversity programs, removing barriers for external firms and individuals to participate in diversity efforts by creating volunteering and sponsorship opportunities and sharing templates to launch similar programs.
“We are thrilled to be part of ADAPT, and to continue our work in tracking data statistics with regard to diversity of the patent bar,” shared Elaine Spector, Harrity Partner and Diversity Co-Chair. “This collaboration will build on our seminal work, published in ABA Landslide magazine, regarding demographics of the patent bar. It is so important that we understand whether our diversity efforts in the patent field are effective, and this collaboration will allow us to do so. It is critical to the US economy to have a diverse patent bar, so that we can expand diversity of innovation to underrepresented communities.”
Through this collaboration, Harrity and the ADAPT consortium will create a network of practitioners passionate about improving diversity, provide insights on what the career path of an IP attorney can look like, and connect aspiring patent professionals with the organizations that can support them in their journey. This new partnership will be a huge step in changing the demographics of the patent bar to mirror those of our society, and Harrity is honored to be on the forefront of this transformation.
A big congratulations to Harrity Partner & Diversity Co-chair, Elaine Spector, who has been recognized as an Influential Woman in IP in the #WIPRDiversity annual listing of the best and brightest women in the IP field.
“I am very excited to be listed as an Influential Woman in IP in the WIPR Diversity, Class of 2022. I know so many of the 50 women listed there, and I am very honored to be included among them. I am also very grateful for the time, resources, and support extended by my firm, Harrity & Harrity, LLP, in efforts to make a meaningful impact with respect to diversifying the patent bar. I couldn’t do this work without their support,” Elaine shared.
We could not think of anyone more deserving of this honor! Elaine’s passion for improving diversity of the patent bar has already had a huge impact on the field, with much more change to come. You can see our Diversity Initiatives here and join our Diversity Mentor Network here.
Partner Elaine Spector discusses diversity in patent law, remote work, family, and overcoming her fears with On the Ball’s Steve Nudelberg as part of his “Tell Me Something Good” segment.
Harrity & Harrity has recently been recognized by Bloomberg Law for our diversity initiatives, specifically with respect to increasing the representation of African-American/Black women within patent law.
The article, Black Women Lawyers Still Sparsely Seen at Federal Circuit, refers to Harrity as a law firm focused on moving the needle by creating programs that target the pipeline problem of a lack of women and minorities sitting for the patent bar, including quotes from Diversity Co-Chair, Elaine Spector, on our Patent Pathways program.
“Harrity & Harrity LP—after conducting a diversity and inclusion study that found that there are more patent attorneys and agents named “Michael” than there are racially diverse women in those roles in the US—launched a program to register more Black women as patent practitioners.
The initiative, called Patent Pathways, starts this summer. Harrity & Harrity will help women who complete the program find law firm jobs afterward. The inaugural program’s 20 participants could ‘move the needle quickly,’ said Elaine Spector, a Harrity partner leading Patent Pathways.
‘We want to make sure that innovation is expanded across all of our populations,” Spector said. ‘Women and racially diverse inventors are inventing or showing up on patents at a lower rate, and there is that correlation, to make sure that they can go to attorneys that represent them.'”
Patent Pathways is a Diversity & Inclusion Program dedicated to increasing numbers of registered African-American/Black women patent attorneys and agents through free patent skills training, mentoring, career counseling, and expenses paid to prepare for and take the patent bar exam. This program was created to help address the significant lack of diversity found in IP Law.
To learn more about the Patent Pathways program, click HERE.
Click HERE to read the full article by Samantha Handler.
Harrity is thrilled to announce that Onyx IP Group, PLLC, the first minority-owned patent law firm to launch from our Minority Firm Incubator Program, has awarded two scholarships to diverse students studying STEM.
“I am excited to announce that Onyx IP Group has awarded its inaugural scholarships to high school seniors who will be pursuing an education in STEM!! Onyx IP Group has been operating for almost a year now and we are so excited to be able to award scholarships to a couple of high school students at Evans High School – a high school we have been working with this academic year.
One scholarship was awarded to a female student who will be attending Texas A&M next year planning to major in Engineering. The other scholarship was awarded to a male student who will be attending Valencia College with a UCF Direct Connect with a plan to major in Neurological Sciences. This week, a part of the team at Onyx IP Group was able to meet these great high school students and learn about their amazing stories. Last week, we were able to attend an awards ceremony at Evans High School for its seniors and were amazed at the amount of talent at this school.
Onyx IP Group, PLLC has decided to commit at least 5% of its profit to our scholarship fund every year. We are so grateful for our clients who have entrusted us with their work and have made this scholarship fund a reality. As Onyx IP Group grows and the profit of the firm increases, we will be able to increase the size of our scholarship fund and provide scholarships to a larger group of high school students every academic year. It feels great to give back to our community and to continue to take steps towards our goal.”
Harrity’s diversity programs are focused on giving back to the community by providing underrepresented groups in the patent field free resources to help them succeed. We are honored that James has continued this sentiment within Onyx IP and cannot wait to see what the future holds for his firm and his scholarship recipients.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector was recently featured in a blog by ChIPs in celebration of World IP Day.
The organization shared what World IP Day means to their ChIPsters, and what needs to happen to make the theme of this year, IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future, a reality.
Elaine’s feature can be found below.
What are the opportunities to continue to increase access for young women inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs in intellectual property?
“In recent years, we have learned through numerous studies that women are not showing up on patents in proportion to their representation in the workforce. And that’s a loss for all of us.
In fact, the Hamilton Project found that bringing more women, Black Americans and other underrepresented groups into the innovation process could increase GDP by more than 4%. We all win when these groups are informed about our amazing patent system and given the amazing tools to become a part of the innovation ecosystem.
As such, it is important for us in the innovation ecosystem to reach back to young women to provide them with the information, tools, and resources to innovate, create, and protect their intellectual property. Consider hosting an outreach event to expose these young women to intellectual property, whether it be presenting through organizations like the Girls Scouts or Girls Who Code. To truly make a difference, we need “all hands on deck!”
Patent Pathways is a Diversity & Inclusion Program dedicated to increasing numbers of registered African-American/Black women patent attorneys and agents. This program was created to help address the significant lack of diversity found in IP Law.
To learn more about the Patent Pathways program, click HERE.
We are proud to announce that Harrity Partner, Elaine Spector, has been appointed to serve as Vice Chair of IPO’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee for 2022!
On her role, Elaine said, “I am honored to continue my role as Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Property Owner Association (IPO)’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee for 2022. We have an amazing team of leaders on this committee, and I am excited for the year ahead and all that we will accomplish. There is still so much work to be done in this space.”
Diversity Dialogue Host Elaine Spector is joined by Wardrobe Stylist and Confidence Curator Melanie Lippman for this special holiday-themed networking event aimed at improving confidence among women attorneys through simple adjustments to daily routines.
During this session, Melanie will teach you what to wear, how to wear it, where to find it, when to save and when to splurge. By editing your wardrobe and identifying the pieces that make the most impact on your look with minimal reinvestment, you can have less frustration and more confidence.
With video calls consuming more of our every-day life interactions, Melanie will focus on statement pieces that fit into curating your professional persona online, what to wear to that virtual holiday party, the perfect gift guide, and how to “own your box” on a group video meeting.
WATCH NOW!
To see more Diversity Dialogue episodes and Driving Diversity tips, click here.
WASHINGTON, DC (October 18, 2021) Harrity & Harrity, LLP, a leading patent preparation and prosecution law firm, is excited to announce the launch of the Minority Firm Incubator (MFI) 2.0 – a spin-off of a program developed to help women and minorities establish their own patent law firms in an effort to address the disparity of minority-owned firms in the patent field. The MFI 2.0 is an integral part of Harrity’s ongoing diversity initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the patent field. The goal of this initiative is to improve and nurture diversity within firm ownership by helping existing minority-owned firms become remarkable in their practice.
“Our firm’s Diversity Mission is focused on fostering inclusion within the legal community and encouraging the growth and success of individuals from all backgrounds. The Minority Firm Incubator 2.0 is a service-oriented program intended to further this mission by helping underrepresented groups flourish in a field where diversity is lacking,” said John Harrity, Co-Chair of Harrity’s Diversity Committee, who is spearheading the program.
In early 2020, Harrity introduced James Bennin as the inaugural participant of the innovative Minority Firm Incubator 1.0, a four-part program consisting of patent drafting, patent prosecution, client development, and business operations training. James excelled and successfully launched his own minority-owned patent firm, Onyx IP Group, in June of 2021. He has already welcomed several new clients, including a Fortune 50 company, and continues to provide impeccable service and high-quality work using many of the skills he gained as a result of his participation in the Minority Firm Incubator 1.0.
While the Minority Firm Incubator 1.0 was successful, Harrity realized that it would be possible to have an even greater impact by working with many attorneys and firms rather than focusing on a single attorney and newly created firm. The MFI 2.0 will be a 100% virtual, 42-week program intended to help existing women and minority-owned patent law firms grow their business, increase efficiency and quality, and improve their overall operations. The expectation is that 6-8 firms will be selected to participate. One of the most exciting features of the MFI 2.0 is the opportunity for the participants to have face-to-face interactions with in-house attorneys at leading technology companies that have committed to the possibility of engaging with at least one of firms at the completion of the program.
The MFI 2.0 will provide extensive training that includes a variety of scheduled lessons, assignments, mentoring, and strategy classes, and will commence with the participants pitching their firms to a panel of in-house intellectual property counsel at leading technology companies. MFI 2.0 program partners will have the opportunity to serve as guest speakers and mentors, providing a range of perspectives and insights to help guide the firms in their journeys.
Participants will learn how to implement processes to ensure their firm is consistently producing a high quality, uniform work product; how to provide an outstanding customer experience for clients; how to hire and train high-performing attorneys and support staff; how to maintain their diverse ownership and encourage innovation that promotes diversity; how to implement a culture of belonging and innovation; how to create a distinguished firm brand; and how to pitch prospective clients. Using feedback from an initial pitch to the panel and knowledge gained throughout the program, the participating firms will present a new, refined client pitch to the same panel at the conclusion of the program and may be selected to receive work from one or more of the companies based on the reception of their final pitches.
“We believe the immersive agenda of the MFI 2.0 will revolutionize the manner in which participating firms operate their business and showcase their brand, ultimately helping to create and nurture an exceptional business and land prominent clients, starting with our program partners,” says Harrity.
The firm is currently accepting applications from minority firms who wish to partake in the program, which is set to begin on January 11, 2022. To learn more about the MFI 2.0, participate as a minority-owned firm, or volunteer as a partner, visit https://harrityllp.com/diversity/mfi2-0/.
About Harrity & Harrity, LLP:
Harrity & Harrity, headquartered in Fairfax, Va., is a leading patent preparation and prosecution firm specializing in the electrical and mechanical technology areas. The firm has obtained more than 8,600 patents since its founding in 1999. Our clients trust in our high-quality work, experienced people, industry-leading innovation, and outstanding service. Harrity actively promotes diversity and inclusion at the firm and throughout the legal industry, with an additional focus on giving back to the community through Harrity 4 Charity. Visit us online at harrityllp.com.
(October 25, 2021) James Bennin, the inaugural participant of Harrity’s Minority Firm Incubator Program and Managing Partner of the Black-owned Onyx IP Group, explains why diversity is good business in a recent opinion piece for IPWatchdog.com.
“When you exclude alternative points of view, you are not getting the full picture of all the available options and the best possible solution to resolve an issue or matter. Additionally, clients and leadership do not just come from one particular group, they come from diverse groups and circumstances. By having legal counsel that is also diverse, you are better able to relate to a client. Diversity makes the firm and the general practice of law that much more resilient, relatable, and successful.”
With combined experience (private practice and in-house) in the electrical, software and mechanical technology areas, the Onyx IP Group provides legal counseling for patent drafting, patent prosecution, trademark, and transactional matters. Visit us online at https://onyxipgroup.com
Harrity & Harrity, headquartered in Fairfax, Va., is a leading patent preparation and prosecution firm specializing in the electrical and mechanical technology areas. The firm has obtained more than 8,000 patents since its founding in 1999. Our clients trust in our high-quality work, experienced people, industry-leading innovation, and outstanding service. Harrity actively promotes diversity and inclusion at the firm and throughout the legal industry, with an additional focus on giving back to the community through Harrity 4 Charity. Visit us online at https://harrityllp.com
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE THIRTY ONE | BLACK WOMEN IN LAW
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity & Harrity, LLP, a leading patent preparation and prosecution firm based in Fairfax, Va., is excited to announce the launch of a new video blog series, The Precise Prosecutor.
The Precise Prosecutor consists of quick, practical tips and best practices for efficiently prosecuting high-quality patent applications. Brought to you by Harrity Counsel and IP matters expert George Howarah, the vlog is released each Friday across Harrity’s social media channels and its webpage, harrityllp.com/the-precise-prosecutor.
Howarah,a patent attorney for nearly a decade, leverages his wide variety of experience, use of automation tools, and best practices knowledge to strategize and prosecute litigation-ready patent applications in sophisticated technologies. His diverse background provides for interesting insights and well-thought-out guidance shared exclusively in his Precise Prosecutor videos.
After graduating from law school, Howarah spent three years as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, examining hundreds of patent applications, learning how examiners operate, and facing a wide range of practices from outside counsel. Since then, he has spent almost a decade in private practice working with a wide range of clients on various technologies, including telecommunications, computer architecture, virtualization, integrated circuits, software as a service, semiconductors, medical devices, and sophisticated computer applications.
In doing so, Howarah has prepared and prosecuted a substantial volume of patent applications, including managing a global patent portfolio of 500+ patent assets for one of the world’s most innovative organizations.
“I have been involved in all facets of the patent process, including patent preparation, examination, prosecution, and litigation,” Howarah says of his experience. “I have prepared and prosecuted hundreds of patents applications, including managing a global patent portfolio for a subsidiary of a Fortune 50 company, and preparing and prosecuting standard-essential patents for a leading telecommunications company. I have opined on the enforcement and validity of patents and been deeply involved in several complex post-grant proceedings at the U.S. Patent Office and the Federal Circuit. Accordingly, I have become aware of the issues that patent prosecutors and litigators encounter.”
Howarah is now looking forward to turning those experiences into actionable advice for followers of his vlog.
“I look forward to sharing the patent prosecution experience that I acquired from examining patent applications at the U.S. Patent Office and from patent procurement and litigation in private practice through The Precise Prosecutor. I hope to provide patent prosecutors with valuable tips on prosecuting patent applications precisely and efficiently while upholding the integrity of each invention and enhancing the quality of this unique practice of law.”
The Precise Prosecutor is the third vlog series to be released by Harrity, joining Neil Kardos’sPractical Patents, which focuses on best practices for drafting high-quality patent applications, and Driving Diversity, a short video series hosted by Elaine Spector on increasing diversity of the patent bar.
You can find each vlog series below:
The Precise Prosecutor: https://harrityllp.com/the-precise-prosecutor/
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE THIRTY | WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY NINE | WORK/LIFE BALANCE FOR PARENTS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY EIGHT | BLACK WOMAN’S EQUAL PAY DAY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY SEVEN| LAWYERS WITH DISABILITIES
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
(July 27, 2021) Dan Roe interviews James Bennin on the launch of the Onyx IP Group for Law.com.
James Bennin’s Onyx IP Group is the first minority-owned firm produced by the Minority Firm Incubator, which Harrity & Harrity launched in 2019 with the aim of increasing diversity in the legal profession.
“There’s a need to increase the amount of diversity in the legal field, especially in the patent field,” said Bennin, who is the first college graduate in his immediate family. “Looking at my career, I guess I’ve been fortunate to have the career I’ve had. I felt it was incumbent on me to give back.”
The article, by Dan Roe, can be read in full on Law.com.
About Onyx IP Group
With combined experience (private practice and in-house) in the electrical, software and mechanical technology areas, the Onyx IP Group provides legal counseling for patent drafting, patent prosecution, trademark, and transactional matters. Visit us online at https://onyxipgroup.com
Harrity & Harrity, headquartered in Fairfax, Va., is a leading patent preparation and prosecution firm specializing in the electrical and mechanical technology areas. The firm has obtained more than 8,000 patents since its founding in 1999. Our clients trust in our high-quality work, experienced people, industry-leading innovation, and outstanding service. Harrity actively promotes diversity and inclusion at the firm and throughout the legal industry, with an additional focus on giving back to the community through Harrity 4 Charity. Visit us online at https://harrityllp.com
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY SIX| ARE WINEB LAWYERS PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION TO UPWARD MOBILITY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY-FIVE | THE MANSFIELD RULE
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector helped prepare comments, on behalf of IPO, submitted to the Supreme Court of Florida in response an order issued on April 15 regarding a recently adopted policy regulating the composition of faculty at section-sponsored continuing legal education (CLE) programs. The Court noted that “quotas based on characteristics like the ones in this policy are antithetical to basic American principles of nondiscrimination.”
Elaine also covered this topic in Episode 19 and Episode 21 of Driving Diversity, a weekly vlog series covering important issues related to improving diversity in the legal field.
IPO’s comments, which were prepared with assistance by several additional members of IPO’s Diversity & Inclusion and Women in IP Committees, noted four main issues: 1) A rule requiring a minimum number of diverse panelists advances diversity and the quality of programming with no evidence of harm; 2) the Court fails to offer any guidance on permitted diversity policies moving forward; 3) the order could have a chilling effect on addressing current structural and ongoing inequity; and 4) sua sponte revision of the rule, without notice, will cause harm to Florida attorneys and diversity of the Florida Bar
Cunningham is the first African-American, and therefore first African-American woman, to join the Federal Circuit bench. “Although a cause for celebration, this momentous occasion should not be wasted in self-congratulation but rather should provide momentum for further public and private efforts to increase diversity at the most senior echelons of the IP bar. Without a ready supply of diverse and qualified candidates, we remain in danger of this important ‘first’ becoming a ‘last.'”
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY THREE | MARYLAND LEGAL EDUCATION SUCCESS COLLABORATIVE
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY TWO | PRIDE MONTH
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Welcome to another episode of Tech Transfer IP. Today I am pleased to speak with Elaine Spector. Elaine is a patent attorney with Harrity & Harrity with over twenty year’s experience in intellectual property law. Elaine’s current practice consists primarily of prosecuting patent applications with a focus on electromechanical technologies.
Before joining Harrity & Harrity, Elaine worked in private practice for over fifteen years handling various intellectual property matters, including patent application drafting and prosecution, trademark prosecution and enforcement and litigating complex patent cases in federal courts. Her extensive litigation experience provides her with a unique perspective in prosecuting patent applications.
Listen as Elaine shares some key differences between working in a University Tech Transfer office and working in a law firm. She also talks about the Rooney Rule and how Hannity has improved it by making it Rooney Rule 2.0, and how the Rooney Rule is different from the Mansfield Rule.
Elaine discusses her company’s rigorous hiring process to remove bias, the factors that contribute to the problem of having a small amount of diverse individuals in the legal profession, and the programs her office has launched to help bring more women into her firm, like the Annual Women’s Patent Law Workshop and the Minority Firm Incubator Program to name a few.
Elaine shares some suggestions for small firms that might struggle to develop diversity and inclusion procedures, standards, and programs. She says that reaching out is one action step patent professionals can take to improve diversity for the Patent Bar.
In This Episode:
[02:26] Welcome to the show, Elaine!
[02:48] Elaine shares her career journey from a University Tech Transfer office to a law firm.
[06:46] What are some of the key differences between working in a University Tech Transfer office and working in a law firm?
[09:18] Elaine discusses the Rooney Rule 2.0 and how Harrity takes the rule even further.
[10:28] How is the Rooney Rule different from the Mansfield Rule?
[12:39] Elaine doesn’t believe that the “Heavy Stick” approach suggested by some corporations will be effective in helping meet diversity requirements.
[15:01] Elaine speaks about her company’s rigorous hiring process and how it removes the likelihood of bias.
[17:20] Can you tell us about the factors contributing to the problem of not enough diverse individuals in the legal profession?
[20:01] Elaine discusses Harrity’s office’s Annual Women’s Patent Law Workshop.
[21:46] Elaine discusses another program Harrity has recently developed which is training women and helping them pass the writing part of their application process.
[22:31] Elaine shares some other programs her firm has that focus on diversity and inclusion.
[24:28] Elaine speaks about the Minority Firm Incubator Program they are launching.
[27:39] Harrity has launched a diversity channel this year with a weekly vlog.
[28:58] How does your diversity committee handle these programs?
[31:01] Elaine shares some suggestions for small firms that might struggle to develop diversity and inclusion procedures, standards, and programs.
[33:04] Elaine believes the changes proposed by USPTO will help with gender diversity, and she shares some other degrees that should be included.
[35:05] What is the one action step patent professionals can take today to improve diversity for the Patent Bar?
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity & Harrity Launches Black-Owned Firm Through Minority Incubator Program
Florida-Based Onyx IP Group is the first Minority Owned Firm Specializing in IP Law to Come Out of Diversity-Focused Program
Fairfax, Va. — June 21, 2021 — For Immediate Release: Harrity 4 Charity (H4C), the giving-back initiative of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, one of the country’s preeminent patent law firms, is thrilled to announce the launch of the Onyx IP Group (OIPG), the first minority-owned firm to come out of the Harrity Minority Firm Incubator (MFI), a program initiated in 2019 to address the fact that the practice of law remains one of the least diverse professions in the U.S.
Based in Orlando, Florida, OIPG is a 100% Black-owned, Intellectual Property (IP) law firm launched by the MFI’s first graduate, James Bennin. Bennin has approximately 15 years of experience in the IP field, with an extensive background in counseling clients on various IP matters in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. Prior to joining Harrity’s MFI program, Bennin was an associate general counsel handling transactional matters (including IP matters) for the University of Central Florida, one of the largest universities in the country and formerly served as IP counsel at Caterpillar, a large multi-national company, where he counseled multiple business units on matters related to IP.
Raised by a single mother in a low-income household, Bennin was the first college graduate in his immediate family. With African-Americans making up just 1.94% of all equity partners in the U.S., Bennin’s launch of OIPG is making strides for a severely underrepresented group in the field of law.
“I understand the obstacles someone with my background needs to overcome to be successful in this profession and the importance of improving diversity in the legal field,” Bennin said. “I want to use this program/platform as a means to give back and to help provide a blueprint or guide to success for members of underrepresented groups, so they can see that success in any professional field, more particularly in the legal field, is a realistic possibility in their future.“
Serving as Of Counsel for OIPG are Keri Sicard, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field of IP law and is experienced in a wide variety of technologies from the simple to the highly complex; and Michael Antone, who has over 20 years of experience in large law firm, corporate, and venture capital environments in the area of IP and business operations counseling.
Added Bennin, “I am tremendously excited about the opportunity to launch the Onyx IP Group and am well prepared to provide exceptional work to clients while also furthering my goal of making a positive impact – particularly for those, like myself, in minority groups.”
The Stats … According to the 2019 Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Survey on overall law firm demographics, 82% of all lawyers and 89% of all partners are Caucasian. Just 2% of all partners are African-American, under 3% are Hispanic and under 4% are Asian. None of the statistics regarding specific minority percentages have changed over the past decade, despite the fact that those populations in the U.S. have increased during the same timeframe.
About the Minority Firm Incubator … Harrity—which has launched a variety of service-driven initiatives under its H4C philanthropic arm—is hoping to help be the change for diversity in the legal field with the MFI program, which supports the recruitment, retention and advancement of attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of the legal field by launching minority-owned patent firms. A year-long, multi-phase program, Harrity’s MFI program works to train minority attorneys in patent law and help them overcome the barriers to launching their own patent law firms. The program encourages minorities to become leaders in the field for both quality and diversity and sets them up for success.
Commented Elaine Spector, a partner at Harrity, who co-chairs the firm’s diversity committee. “Having a diverse workforce leads to a more integrated practice. Women and diverse inventors want to consult capable attorneys who look like them and who understand them and the context of the goals they are working to achieve.”
Adds partner John Harrity, who co-chairs the diversity committee with Spector, “Diversity generates quality legal innovation. The benefits of differential skillsets, outlooks, approaches and ways of processing make a team stronger, bringing varied and valuable insights to cultures, systems and policies, which is what is required to be change leaders.”
More H4C News on ‘Driving Diversty’ … Visit us online to learn more about Harrity’s multi-faceted diversity initiatives, which, in addition to MFI, also include The Diversity Channel, The Harrity Academy and Harrity for Parity: A Women’s Patent Workshop. Visit the firm’s weekly vlog, Driving Diversity, which addresses such issues as hiring practices; how intersectionality relates to underrepresented groups falling into more than one community; implementing the Rooney Rule 2.0; how a firm’s culture affects diversity; flexibility; patents pathways for women of color; mentoring/tutoring programs; and more.
With combined experience (private practice and in-house) in the electrical, software and mechanical technology areas, the Onyx IP Group provides legal counseling for patent drafting, patent prosecution, trademark, and transactional matters. Visit us online at https://onyxipgroup.com
About Harrity & Harrity, LLP:
Harrity & Harrity, headquartered in Fairfax, Va., is a leading patent preparation and prosecution firm specializing in the electrical and mechanical technology areas. The firm has obtained more than 8,000 patents since its founding in 1999. Our clients trust in our high-quality work, experienced people, industry-leading innovation, and outstanding service. Harrity actively promotes diversity and inclusion at the firm and throughout the legal industry, with an additional focus on giving back to the community through Harrity 4 Charity. Visit us online at https://harrityllp.com
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY ONE | FLORIDA CLE REGULATIONS CONTINUED
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWENTY | THE IDEA ACT
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity Partner and Diversity Co-Chair Elaine Spector meets with Diversity thought-leaders Charu Kurani of Facebook, Scott Barker of Micron, and Sandra Nowak of 3M to discuss the landscape of diversity in innovation and how to overcome gender and racial barriers in this interactive and thought-provoking webinar.
Questions covered in this discussion include:
There is clear evidence that women and diverse groups are underrepresented in patents compared to their presence in the workforce. Why does diversity in innovation matter?
Some resources have identified a number of causes for disparity in innovation, such as the pipeline, a leaky pipeline, and a lack of engagement. What have you found at your respective companies to be the biggest issue with regard to disparity in innovation?
Diversity of Innovation is a complex problem. How did you go about addressing the issue within your company?
Have you seen progress from your efforts? Are there areas you still need to work on? What key initiatives have you implemented?
What recommendations would you give a company who is just beginning the process?
Are there resources you found helpful, such as the Gender Diversity in Innovation Toolkit, developed by the IPO Women in IP Committee?
How can your approved law firms support you in the process?
Are there specific questions they should be asking during the inventor interview process?
What is one thing our audience can do as a result of our amazing discussion?
You can watch the full session below.
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Diversity Dialogue webinars, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity Partner and Diversity Co-Chair Elaine Spector serves as a Diversity Expert Panelist for the Chicago Bar Association on “Flipping the Script: Ways Law Firms Can Increase DEI in the Legal Profession.”
“A first step is to recognize the history in why black inventors are not being listed at the same rate of white inventors.”
You can watch the recording, which shares various perspectives and stories to help and empower law firms to move the needle towards increasing Diversity and Inclusion in a significant way, below.
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE NINETEEN | ARE CLE PROGRAMS DISCRIMINATORY?
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE EIGHTEEN | SIMPLE STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING DIVERSE INVENTORS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE SEVENTEEN | GENDER DIVERSITY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE SIXTEEN | BLACK INVENTORS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE FIFTEEN | DIVERSE INVENTORS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE FOURTEEN | CATEGORY B DEGREES
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE THIRTEEN | DESIGN PATENTS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWELVE | PATENT BAR ELIGIBILITY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE ELEVEN | INTERSECTIONALITY
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Women have been advocating for change with regard to work/life flexibility for years. For decades, choices for women starting a family while working in a law firm setting have been limited: either return to work full-time to stay on the partnership track or return to work part-time and be put on the dreaded “mommy track.” Women in partner roles would often return to work within days of giving birth. That is just how things have always been, the model many women had no choice but to follow. So, it is no surprise that many women, myself included, defaulted to the “mommy track,” or worse yet, left the practice of law entirely.
In addition to a lack of flexibility regarding part-time work, law firms have been reluctant to allow flexibility with regard to remote work. Often, law firms equate lawyers who want to work remotely with a lack of commitment. As such, if a law firm actually agreed to a remote work arrangement, the lawyer working remotely would be taken off the partnership track.
While the pandemic has been a struggle across the world, a lot of women are quietly cheering from their homes. Finally, our employers are forced to allow us to work remotely, and now they see that we can work well at home. In fact, for some of us, working at home is where we shine. We are happy, less stressed, and feel some sense of control and balance. At least, that is the way I feel.
I began working remotely a few years before the pandemic hit. My firm allows for any lawyer at the firm, regardless of the numbers of hours they work or whether they show the requisite face time in the office, to make partner. And I did. Remotely. Working part-time hours. Many of my female colleagues at other firms have reached out to me to ask, “How can we keep the remote work going?” “How do we continue to develop relationships and culture within our firm?” and “Can someone make partner while working remotely?”
As offices begin opening back up, I encourage law firms to look at this time as an opportunity to re-evaluate their outdated policies regarding remote work. Despite the physical separation, you can build a firm culture focused on nurturing relationships. Relationship building is the core of culture, inclusion, and ultimately, success at your firm. Here are five tips to improve your firm culture while working remotely.
Assign each lawyer in leadership an associate or member of support staff to meet with weekly.
It is critical to continue to build relationships in the remote work environment. How do we replicate water cooler conversations? One way is to require leadership to meet weekly or biweekly with both lawyers and support staff via a video call. This type of face-to-face interaction is so much more engaging than a telephone call, as we have all experienced over the past year. When holding the call, talk about your life to whatever extent you feel comfortable sharing, just as you would at the water cooler. Set up a rotation within the firm, so that leadership is meeting with different individuals throughout the year and be sure to mix it up from those who typically work closely together. This personal connection, untied to any pressing work matters, will transform your internal relationships.
Hold monthly firm-wide meetings.
Get in the habit of holding monthly firm meetings, which include both lawyers and support staff. The firm meeting is a great place to talk about your shared vision, to highlight people who have done exceptional work that particular month, and to address any issues that might need attention. The firm meeting is also an opportunity to get to know each other. Have a few employees present about their families/backgrounds, or cultural holidays and celebrations. The days of keeping your family and work life separate are over! An appropriate overlap, where employees feel the firm knows what is important to them, will make everyone feel more comfortable and supported in the workplace.
Form firm committees that meet regularly.
A game changer at our firm was when one of my colleagues suggested forming committees focused on firm goals, such as diversity, employee relations, recruiting, automation, and new client development. These committees perform optimally when the majority employees of the firm participate in at least one committee. It is important to firm culture and work satisfaction that everyone at your firm has a voice, which also inspires innovation and progress. The committee work furthers important objectives at your firm, while forging important relationships among your employees as they work together to create and implement new initiatives and reach common goals.
Start a Book Club.
A virtual book club is yet another way to build relationships among employees of your firm. The topics can range from fiction, to self-help, to business-oriented books. A book club allows support and professional staff yet another way to get to know each other on a personal level, which is important for firm culture. Participants can grow better through sharing their perceptions of what was read and have a better sense of camaraderie. When employees feel seen and valued, the work environment becomes so much more effective and fulfilling.
Talk to your staff virtually.
It is important to replicate face-to-face meetings as much as we can. These interactions are crucial to developing meaningful relationships. Face-to-face meetings allow you to see expressions on your colleagues’ faces and talk on a more personal level to allow for a more understanding culture. Make it a policy at your firm, that when you would ordinarily walk into someone’s office, to instead, make a quick Zoom or Teams call with video always on. After all, you wouldn’t force your colleague to speak to you through a closed door in the office – why make them talk to a blank screen? Again, virtual face-to-face meetings are integral to developing a highly effective, remote working environment.
CONCLUSION
It is far past time to shift perspectives from the old rigid mindset to embracing a more diverse work force. One where we, as women, don’t have to give up the important job of raising our children, while also providing top quality service to our clients. In addition, lawyers should not be excluded from partnership because they work remotely or prefer to work a reduced schedule. An attorney can contribute just as much to the success and advancement of the firm, its culture, and its future without packing in the hours. In fact, the benefits of working a flexible schedule may contribute to more growth and innovation in the firm, as, from my own experience, those who work reduced-hours tend to be less stressed and more engaged. Flexibility is essential for advancing talented women and other lawyers seeking balance in their life and careers.
Law firms have essentially two options for proceeding when offices begin opening back up. Return to the way you ran things, pre-pandemic, with rigid work policies and lack of flexibility. Or, embrace the future, where environments of flexibility and freedom reap the benefits of a happy and productive workforce. You choose.
Harrity’s LaTia Brand & Elaine Spector’s research regarding the the gender gap and lack of diversity in the field of patent law, specifically as it pertains to the mechanical and electrical engineering space, was quoted in a recent Forbes article.
“Although some patent practice areas where women are well represented, such as biotechnology and chemistry, other areas continue to lack significant diversity. According to an Article published by Elaine Spector and LaTia Brand for the American Bar Association ‘women account for only 11.4 percent of patent practitioners with a technical background in electrical engineering and only 11.1 percent of patent practitioners have a technical background in mechanical engineering…”
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TEN | THE LOST GROUP
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE NINE | RACIAL BREAKDOWN OF THE PATENT BAR
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
“The expectation of firms to create programs that bring more diverse candidates into the field, rather than merely manipulating data to check boxes or achieve unrealistic quotas, will help address the issue from the ground up.”
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it is important to point out the role of women in the field of patent law. Women have been members of the patent bar since as early as 1898, when Florence King became the first woman registered to practice before the U.S. Patent Office, as well as the 685th registrant. She became a lawyer first, and then went back to school to obtain a degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering so that she could register on the patent bar. As a woman patent practitioner with a mechanical engineering degree, I feel a lot of gratitude to women like Florence King, who paved the way for me. Yet, despite her trailblazing efforts over a century ago, there is still a considerable lack of gender diversity in the patent bar…
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE EIGHT | HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE PATENT BAR
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE SEVEN | DIVERSITY OF THE PATENT BAR
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity diversity thought-leaders Elaine Spector, Edward Kim, and Ayana Marshallprovided comments in response to USPTO‘s National Strategy for Expanding American Innovation alongside other members of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)‘s Women in IP and Diversity & Inclusion committees.
“An important aspect for moving innovation with respect to under-represented groups is to understand the extent of the issue, and then track improvements with regard to innovation and commercialization.”
The first Diversity Dialogue webinar in a series of diversity-focused discussions hosted by Harrity’s Elaine Spector features HP’s Shruti Costales and MCCA’s Sophia Piliouras as panelists and covers challenging topics associated with increasing diversity in the patent field.
Some of the questions covered during the panel discussion include:
What is one action step patent professionals can take today to improve diversity for the Patent Bar?
What do you think is the greatest issue affecting diversity in general? Is it appropriate to apply the Mansfield Rule to the patent bar?
What alternative strategies do you believe would be helpful for moving the needle in the patent bar?
Why do you think women and other diverse groups are not pursuing degrees/careers in the field?And more!
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE SIX | BE A FIRM THAT GIVES BACK
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Law360 (March 1, 2021, 5:19 PM EST) — Diversity and inclusion have garnered much attention over the past few years, particularly in the field of law, which is one of the least diverse professions in the U.S.According to the 2019 Law Firm Diversity Survey by Vault and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, over 80% of lawyers in the U.S. are white.[1] Not only are men overrepresented in the practice of law, but they outnumber women in equity partner positions nearly 5-to-1. In addition, around 90% of equity partners are white, and approximately 9% of equity partners belong to minority groups with only one-third of them being women of color.
Diversity statistics become even more troubling when we examine patent attorneys. The patent bar requires a hard science background, such as a degree in engineering, chemistry, physics or biology; however, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field has historically been dominated by men, who, as of 2017, accounted for 76% of all STEM jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.[2]
For patent firms seeking to increase diversity in their practice, existing diversity data is problematic. For starters, 94% of the patent bar is white, as seen in Figure 1 above.[3] In addition, less than 15% of registered practitioners are women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community in the areas of computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
As registered patent practitioners move along their career paths, there is inevitable attrition, as reported in the Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Survey report. Accordingly, it will be difficult for firms practicing in the areas of computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering to improve their diversity numbers, particularly at the partnership level, given that the diversity numbers are so low before adjusting for attrition.
Diversity of the patent bar is not only important to those practicing in this profession, it is essential for broadening participation in the innovation process by underrepresented groups.
Innovation by underrepresented groups will start to improve when they can go to patent attorneys who understand them, who look like them, and who can relate to them. Improving the innovation ecosystem to include all groups of people will foster a more robust economy.
Despite the lack of diversity of the patent bar, an intellectual property boutique can increase diversity by first examining its hiring practice. For example, a rule similar to the NFL’s Rooney Rule can be implemented.
According to the Rooney Rule, for each new head coach position available, at least one candidate from an underrepresented group must be interviewed. In essence, to meet the requirements of the Rooney Rule, just one candidate from an underrepresented group would need to be interviewed for a position among a limitless number of other candidates.
This process can be taken one important step further — Rooney Rule 2.0. Instead of requiring only one candidate from an underrepresented group to be interviewed per position, Rooney Rule 2.0 requires such a candidate to be interviewed per each candidate who doesn’t belong to an underrepresented group.
This rule has been instrumental in increasing the diversity of applicants and, in turn, hires at my firm. In January 2016, prior to implementing Rooney Rule 2.0, 8% of my firm’s attorneys were women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities. Today, 30% of our attorneys belong to those groups, nearly quadrupling our diversity numbers in five years through the implementation of just one policy.
If your firm is serious about increasing diversity, revisiting your hiring practices is a vital place to start. Here are five key hiring strategies to increase diversity at your firm.
1. Increase the pool of candidates from underrepresented groups to be considered.
As discussed above, implementing Rooney Rule 2.0 will help increase the pool of candidates from underrepresented groups considered. While rules like the Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule have become popular over the last few years, it is exceedingly difficult to fill equity partner and leadership positions when there is not a proper base of lawyers from underrepresented groups to consider for the role.
To achieve Mansfield certification, law firms are required to demonstrate progress in increasing diversity in senior recruitment and leadership decisions by affirmatively considering a minimum of 30% women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities for these roles, including women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities.
By comparison, Rooney Rule 2.0 requires a 1-to-1 ratio of attorneys belonging to these groups and those who do not interviewed for positions at every level, rather than just leadership roles. This creates a larger pool of candidates from underrepresented groups at earlier career stages, allowing individuals from these groups to gain the necessary experience to eventually secure a role in leadership, and firms to have more success in achieving Mansfield certification.
By implementing policies like Rooney Rule 2.0, firms can significantly increase the number of applicants from underrepresented groups considered for a position, thus increasing the number of such candidates hired at the firm and those eligible to fulfill the Mansfield Rule.
2. Prepare a job posting to attract candidates from underrepresented groups.
A properly worded advertisement can help attract candidates from underrepresented groups. For example, words like “competitive” and “leader” attract more male candidates, while words like “support” and “interpersonal” attract more women.[4]
In 2017, I came across a job advertisement for my firm that included the words “reduced hours available,” and “flexible schedule.” As a working mom, it was that very language that got my attention and ultimately persuaded me to leave an in-house position and return to private practice. It is also important to highlight reduced billable hour requirements, or elimination of such requirements, in job postings.
A simple advertisement to recruit women and minority candidates may read, “Remote Work, Flex Hours, Great Firm Culture.” You can also include information related to work-life balance, such as, “Work where you want, when you want, and how much you want,” or represent your firm’s culture by adding highlights, such as, “Casual culture, flexible schedules, positive people, supportive leadership, and a focus on giving back.”
Simply including words like “inclusive,” “people-oriented,” “friendly” or “forward-thinking” can also convey a welcoming message.
To garner the most attention from women and minority candidates, share videos created by your own employees discussing reasons why they love working at your firm. If these candidates can visibly relate to your employees, the wording of the posting will resonate with them that much more. After all, your job posting needs to be a reflection of the candidates you want in the role and show if your firm is inclusive.
3. Revamp your interview process.
I highly recommend revamping your interview process by migrating to the topgrading methodology.[5] In this method, interviewers ask all candidates the same questions — questions that are very specific to their job tasks and responsibilities. The interviews are immediately documented and scored by interviewers.
All interviewers can be trained specifically in this technique. Having a structured interview minimizes “bias by allowing interviewers to focus on work competencies rather than on what they have in common with the person being interviewed,”[6] as noted in the Intellectual Property Owners’ Association’s Practical Guide on Diversity and Inclusion. The guide further recommends including underrepresented minorities in the interview team.[7]
4. Include a component of blind hiring.
Blind hiring can be an important aspect of your application process when it comes to skill evaluation. Your firm may decide to require candidates to partake in a testing phase, such as submitting a writing sample or taking a writing test, as writing is an important part of a career in patent law. A candidate’s performance on such tests may be a crucial determinant in whether the candidate will move on to the next step of the job application process.
There is no question that many interviewers have implicit biases. Implementing a component of blind hiring addresses any biases, unconscious or otherwise, when evaluating any skills-based test.
In the area of patent law, tests can be administered to evaluate skills related to either drafting a patent application or responding to an office action. A mediator, who first receives the test, can assign an anonymous identifier to the candidate, replacing all identifying information on the submission. Evaluators can then be sent the writing sample without reference or access to any information on the writer of the sample.
Often, gender and race can be assumed from a person’s name, and additional information such as location, education and previous employers can carry other assumptions. This strategy will help to eliminate any implicit bias that may occur at one of the most critical steps in an interview process and will ensure that candidates move forward based only on their qualifications, rather than an interviewer’s preconceptions.
While skills-based tests are a great way to objectively screen potential candidates, measures such as anonymization must be taken to ensure the test grading is truly objective.
5. Be a firm that gives back.
The legal community needs to recognize the importance of creating an unbiased, equal and harmonious working environment for all legal professionals. Unfortunately, the lack of diversity is widespread in the legal field, and the numbers show the industry is moving at a slow pace to address the issue.
To truly move the needle, firms will need to develop programs to specifically increase the diversity of the patent bar from 80% white men to a breakdown more representative of the population as a whole, as well as enhance existing female and minority practitioners’ quality of practice in patent law. This may include free mentoring, tutoring or interning programs, and a focus on both current practitioners and students as young as middle school in order to garner interest in joining the field.
Whatever program your firm creates, it should focus on giving back by providing more resources and opportunities to diverse individuals and give representation to currently underrepresented groups. Not only will such programs contribute to moving the needle with respect to diversifying the patent bar, they will also draw candidates from underrepresented groups to your firm.
[1] Not only are men overrepresented in the practice of law, but they outnumber women in equity partner positions nearly five to one. In addition, around 90 percent of equity partners are white, and approximately 9 percent of equity partners are racially diverse minorities with only one-third of them being racially diverse women. https://www.mcca.com/resources/reports/2019-vault-mcca-law-firm-diversity-survey/.
[2] “Women in STEM: 2017 Update,” U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Office of the Chief Economist ESA Issue Brief #06-17 (November 2017).
[3] “Diversity in Patent Law: A Data Analysis of Diversity in the Patent Practice by Technology Background and Region,” Landslide Magazine (September 2020).
[4] Gaucher, D., Friesen, J., & Kay, A. C. (2011). Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 109–128.https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022530.
[5] Smart, Bradford D., Ph.D. Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People. Portfolio, 2005.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE FIVE | INCLUDE A COMPONENT OF BLIND HIRING/strong>
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity & Harrity, LLP has released its 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Report, focused on identifying and addressing the lack of diversity in the patent legal profession.
Our Diversity Mission has always been to promote and nurture a respectful, highly engaged, family-friendly, and inclusive culture that values the diversity of our talented team by leveraging and learning from our team’s diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, skills, talents, and capabilities. Our goal with this report is to educate the field on the root of the issue and both suggest and inspire innovative diversity-focused solutions to instigate change, so that the future of our field is representative of the diversity of our population.
HARRITY & HARRITY DIVERSITY & INCLUSION REPORT
FEBRUARY 2021
THE ISSUE
As Harrity’s LaTia Brand and Elaine Spector point out in a 2020 article for ABA Landslide Magazine, the practice of law remains one of the least diverse professions in America2. Not only are men overrepresented in the practice of law, but they outnumber women in equity partner positions nearly five to one2. In addition, around 90 percent of equity partners are white, and approximately 9 percent of equity partners are racially diverse minorities with only one-third of them being racially diverse women2.
Diversity statistics become even more troubling when we examine patent attorneys2. The patent bar requires a hard science background, such as a degree in engineering, chemistry, physics, or biology; however, the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field has historically been dominated by men2, who, as of 2017, account for 76 percent of all STEM jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce1.
Since 1950, less than 6 percent of USPTO registrants have been racially diverse (Fig. 1)2. For example, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, an average of 1.7 percent of registrants per year were racially diverse2. During the 1990s, the average for racially diverse registrants increased to approximately 4 percent of registrants each year. Despite significant increases in 2000 (16.2 percent increase) and 2013 (20.1 percent increase), respectively, the average USPTO registration rate for racial minorities since 2000 has hovered around 6.5 percent2. Among racially diverse women, the numbers are significantly worse, hovering at an average of 1.7 percent of registrants since 19502. In fact, there are more patent attorneys and agents named “Michael” in the United States than there are racially diverse women2. From 1950 until 1999, an average of 0.2 percent of USPTO registrations each year were racially diverse women, with the first being registered in the late 1980s2. Since then, those numbers have improved very little, with an average of 2.2 percent of registrants being racially diverse women since 2000 (Fig. 2)2.
Figure 2. Historical racial breakdown of patent practitioner registrations by year, including racially diverse female registrations 2
For patent firms seeking to increase diversity in their practice, existing diversity data is problematic. For starters, less than 15 percent of registered practitioners are diverse (race, gender, LGBTQ+, individuals with disabilities) in the areas of computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering2. As registered patent practitioners move along their career paths, there is inevitable attrition, as reported in the Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Survey report3. Accordingly, it will be difficult for firms practicing in the areas of computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering to improve their diversity numbers, particularly at the partnership level, given that the diversity numbers are so low before adjusting for attrition.
Diversity of the patent bar is not only important to those practicing in this profession- it is essential for broadening participation in the innovation process by underrepresented groups. Innovation by underrepresented groups will start to improve when they can go to patent attorneys who understand them, who look like them, and who can relate to them. Lowering barriers to the innovation ecosystem to include all groups of people will foster a more robust economy.
CURRENT APPROACHES
The lack of diversity in the field of patent law is no secret, and several approaches have been tried in an effort to drive change, with two of the most popular approaches being internship and mentoring programs. These programs help STEM/law students and new patent agents/attorneys improve their skillsets; however, these approaches do little to move the diversity needle in a meaningful way. If they were truly impactful, we’d have seen more significant results over the many years these programs have existed. Even if internships and mentorships focus strictly on helping diverse groups, the programs still only help the minuscule number of diverse individuals who are already in the field, which does nothing to increase overall diversity numbers in patent law.
The Mansfield Rule® is another well-meaning approach for addressing diversity in the legal profession, specifically when it comes to diversity within leadership roles. To achieve Mansfield Certification®, law firms are required to demonstrate progress in increasing diversity in senior recruitment and leadership decisions by affirmatively considering a minimum of 30 percent diverse candidates for these roles, including women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+, and lawyers with disabilities. Today, women account for a mere 20 percent of all USPTO registered attorneys and just 5 percent of all registered patent attorneys are racially diverse2. Therefore, it becomes statistically impossible for every patent law firm to have diverse candidates make up 30 percent of their leadership talent pool. The data doesn’t get much better for the general legal profession either, which has less restrictive requirements to practice as compared to patent law. As of 2019, all racial minorities combined make up just 17.48 percent of practicing attorneys, and only 3.43 percent of all attorneys include individuals with disabilities or that are openly LGBTQ+3. While women account for just over 36 percent of all attorneys, women of color only account for 9 percent (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. 2019 Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Survey overall law firm demographics
The Coca-Cola® “Heavy Stick” approach is similar to the Mansfield Rule®; however, it actively punishes firms that do not meet certain diversity requirements. According to a January 2021 article by Bloomberg Law4, “Coca-Cola® is forcing its outside counsel to staff at least 30% of new matters with diverse attorneys, with at least half of that billable time going to Black lawyers in particular.” The corporation’s General Counsel, Bradley Gayton, stated he hopes to increase the overall diverse billable hour staffing requirement to 50% within the next two years, calling the initiative “one of the legal industry’s most rigorous outside counsel diversity programs yet” and withholding a nonrefundable 30 percent of fees from firms that fail to meet diverse staffing metrics4.
As with the Mansfield Rule®, this approach poses several logistical issues based on the fact that only 3.45 percent of attorneys are Black (Fig. 3). Even after adding in all racially diverse attorneys, Coca-Cola® is limiting its legal talent force to less than 18 percent of the legal field (Fig. 3). Applying this approach to the patent field produces even worse results. For example, 86.5 percent of all intellectual property attorneys in the United States are Caucasian, meaning just 13.5 percent are racially diverse5. Looking at the patent field specifically, merely 1.7 percent, or 578 of the total 34,000 registered patent attorneys are Black (Fig. 4).
The “Heavy Stick” approach is sure to result in some level of quality reduction for client work products, because work is assigned based on physical characteristics instead of relevant legal skills and experience. Coca-Cola®, and others adopting the “Heavy Stick” approach, should expect a downward shift in quality, and perhaps also timeliness, efficiency, and expertise, if they decide to eliminate their existing standards in favor of this new diversity driven approach.
The overriding problem among the diversity approaches discussed above is that none address the root cause of the diversity issue: the numbers. It may be idealistic for an organization to say that it will hire a specific number of diverse candidates or counsel; however, when it comes time to make diverse hires, where will these diverse individuals come from? If, for example, every organization requires that 30% of their work goes to Black patent attorneys and, as we know, there is a pool of 578 of them5, how much work can those attorneys handle? What happens to the firms whose fees are withheld because these 578 attorneys already have too much work on their plates? How is it statistically viable to meet these standards, and what impact will it have on the health and work/life balance of the 578 attorneys?
HARRITY ADVOCATES FOR A NEW APPROACH
For the reasons above, we believe that the Coca-Cola® “Heavy Stick” approach (i.e., an approach that punishes law firms that do not meet certain metrics) is not the correct approach to improve diversity in the legal profession, especially when the standards cannot be met with today’s pool of diverse attorneys. Instead, we recommend a “Carrot” approach, which rewards firms that innovate when it comes to diversity solutions. With the “Carrot” approach, companies can require firms to create and implement new diversity solutions, and explain how these solutions actually help solve the diversity numbers problem in the legal profession. The expectation of firms to create programs that bring more diverse candidates into the field, rather than merely manipulating data to check boxes or achieve unrealistic quotas, will help address the issue from the ground up. Companies should encourage and reward innovative and disruptive diversity solutions however they see fit. Whether this be awarding the firms with the most disruptive and beneficial solutions with a nominal monetary amount, investing in programs themselves through sponsorships or scholarships, or other applicable incentives, firms will switch their focus from scrambling to find diverse attorneys or recruiting from competing firms to making a lasting impact in the field.
HARRITY’S DIVERSITY SOLUTIONS
Our Diversity Mission has always been to promote and nurture a respectful, highly engaged, family-friendly, and inclusive culture that values the diversity of our talented team by leveraging and learning from our team’s diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, skills, talents, and capabilities. At Harrity & Harrity, we are committed to The Rooney Rule 2.0, a hiring policy we pioneered that demonstrates our firm’s commitment to our Diversity Mission is not just lip service.
The Rooney Rule is a National Football League policy that requires league teams to interview one minority candidate for every head coaching or senior football operations job opening. However, this means that if 1,000 individuals apply to the opening, only one minority individual needs to be considered and the other 999 can be white males. Our Rooney Rule 2.0 takes this policy a step further; we are committed to interviewing one female or minority candidate for every male, non-minority candidate interviewed for any position at our firm. While this is similar to the Mansfield Rule® in that diverse candidates are considered, the Rooney Rule 2.0 applies to all positions at the firm, not just leadership roles. Prior to implementing our Rooney Rule 2.0 in January of 2016, 8 percent of Harrity & Harrity attorneys were diverse. Today, 30 percent of our attorneys are diverse, nearly quadrupling our diversity numbers in five years through the implementation of just one policy.
We also remain committed to producing top quality work for our clients, so unlike the “Heavy Stick” approach that selects candidates based on physical characteristics, our candidates must go through a rigorous hiring process, which includes skills-based testing. Once a candidate submits their test, all identifying information is removed to eliminate potential scoring bias and is replaced with an anonymized code prior to sending the test to a separate grading team. We aspire to grow our diversity numbers; however, we cannot sacrifice the quality of our work or the value of our clients’ IP assets. Our process allows candidates to be screened based solely on their abilities, rather than physical characteristics. Once hired, every individual is reviewed based on a scorecard that relates to their position and includes strictly objective metrics to be graded on (timeliness, work product volume, efficiency, etc.). This process allows individuals to be reviewed solely based on their job performance, and again removes the likelihood of bias.
We recognize that our high standards for quality limit the overall pool of eligible candidates, and that not enough diverse individuals exist in that pool in the first place. To fix the root cause of this problem – the lack of diversity in the legal profession – requires a long-term approach to be measured in years, not months or days. Several factors contribute to this problem, which, in turn, requires a multi-pronged solution:
Insufficient number of diverse students entering law school. This aspect requires educating young diverse individuals about legal career opportunities in high school and undergraduate programs; putting programs in place to steer these individuals toward law school (e.g., pre-law classes, scholarships, tutoring for LSAT, summer internships, etc.); and encouraging underrepresented groups to participate by addressing and eliminating historical obstacles (e.g., lack of financial resources, college readiness, institutional stereotypes, lack of focus and self-motivation, lack of assistance and engagement6). This aspect has at least a 3-year lead time to see results.
Insufficient number of diverse students entering STEM programs(which is a prerequisite to a career in patent law). This aspect must be tackled at the middle school and high school levels to increase enrollments in undergraduate programs. The above approach can be applied when students are in middle and high school STEM programs to inform them of legal opportunities. This aspect has at least a 2-year lead time (assuming high school juniors are the most advanced targets) for changing college admission rates, and at least 6 years before individuals graduate high school, complete undergraduate degrees, and can enter law school. Realistically, it will take 7 to 9 years before law school graduation demographics change noticeably for the patent field under this solution.
Insufficient number of mid and upper-level attorneys that arediverse. This aspect requires that firms provide targeted training, mentoring, and work opportunities to diverse attorneys to grow their skills and help them advance within firms. Merely advancing people based on physical characteristics and regardless of skillset will impair quality delivered to clients and will blemish diversity efforts going forward. This aspect has at least a one-year lead time because meaningful training for a narrow skillset takes at least a year to complete. Lead time will be longer for more varied or advanced skillsets.
Using this knowledge, Harrity’s Diversity Committee has dedicated many hours to creating, implementing, and evolving Diversity Programs that are focused on serving the legal community by helping to increase the number of diverse legal practitioners and enhancing their quality of practice in patent law.
Minority Firm Incubator Program: We hired our first Minority Firm Incubator (MFI) candidate in 2020. This program was established to help train, cultivate, and launch minority-owned patent law firms. The program consists of four phases: Drafting Patent Applications, Prosecuting Patent Applications, Firm Management, and Firm Launch. In the fourth year, program participants have the tools, knowledge, and experience required to launch their own patent law firms with the added benefit of established corporate relationships based on Harrity working with our clients to send work to a graduate’s new firm. Firm leaders will receive ongoing mentorship from Harrity to help ensure their success. The goal of the program is to increase the number of minority owned law firms. Incubator programs are vital because they help jumpstart a new law firm in the same way venture capital funding helps startups ramp up their operations. Minority-owned firms are less likely to have access to the capital and resources needed to run a sustainable business, and the Harrity MFI reduces these obstacles by connecting new firms with clients and by providing personalized training to the firm’s leadership team.
Minority Firm Incubator 2.0: In an attempt to make our Minority Firm Incubator program more impactful to the patent field, we are developing an enhanced version of our program. This program will be both a virtual and condensed version of our current MFI and focus on helping diverse individuals launch their own patent firms and help existing, struggling minority-owned firms to succeed. The program will teach best practices of firm management and focus on improving quality processes within the firms, which will in turn allow them to give better pitches, win more business, and produce higher quality work product.
Annual Women’s Patent Law Workshop: We are currently planning our Fourth Annual Women’s Workshop, to be held May 2021. This four-day virtual workshop introduces the field of patent law to female science and engineering students, law school students, and recent graduates. Women from across the country join us for skills training in patent preparation, prosecution, and writing; career and resume mentoring; patent bar preparation; and to learn first-hand from partners at major law firms, leaders in university tech transfer, and in-house counsel about their experiences as women in the legal field. By engaging women at the early stages of their careers, we hope to encourage them to join the patent field and provide them with tools to do so successfully.
The Harrity Academy: Launched in September of 2020, the Harrity Academy is a free virtual program comprised of three courses that introduce diverse participants to the field of patent law; provide exclusive training, practice materials, and mentorship; and teach how to effectively and efficiently draft and prosecute high-quality patent applications. The goal of this program is to help increase the number of diverse candidates entering the patent field by targeting diverse students in STEM programs and law schools; newly practicing attorneys; and early career engineers. Courses are held each Spring and Fall, with 20 participants per class, and are voluntarily taught by Harrity attorneys.
The Diversity Channel: In January 2021, Harrity launched The Diversity Channel, a collection of resources aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion in the patent field by sharing ideas and sparking conversations. The channel includes published articles on the issues surrounding diversity in the legal field; Driving Diversity, a weekly vlog produced by Diversity Co-Chair Elaine Spector with consumable tips to drive diversity within an organization; and Diversity Dialogue, a series of webinars held throughout the year featuring diversity-thought leaders that provide the benefits, challenges, and processes associated with increasing diversity in the patent field.
Patent Pathways: While each of our Diversity Programs have the implicit goal of encouraging diversity and inclusion in the patent legal field, Patent Pathways will have the most direct impact on the least represented group (i.e., Black female patent practitioners), with a goal of increasing the number of Black female registered patent practitioners. The program includes an introduction to patent careers, several weeks of patent preparation and prosecution training, and a clear pathway to taking and passing the patent bar. This program will include corporate sponsorships for patent bar preparation courses as well as taking the bar, and potential law school scholarships offered to those who pass the patent bar. Patent Pathways participants will also be matched with patent attorneys for ongoing mentorship opportunities and maintain a network of other Patent Pathway participants to help each other succeed throughout their careers.
Harrity’s Tutoring Program: While internships and mentoring programs help diverse individuals who are already in the field, tutoring programs aimed at middle and high school students in math and science classes focus on encouraging diverse individuals to enter the patent field. By enlightening students, at a young age, to education opportunities in the STEM field, we provide students with the encouragement needed to become interested in a patent law career, and give them the tools they need to pursue such a career. Our proposed program consists of three phases:
Phase 1 – Provide free STEM tutoring to girls/women who are interested in STEM, starting as early as middle school and continuing through college. This program will help increase the number of women who go to college to pursue a STEM degree and greatly increase the chances that they graduate with such a degree. We recommend that all participants of this program be required to partake in free mentoring sessions, which will include an introduction to the patent field.
Phase 2 – Expand the program to include all categories of diverse students.
Phase 3 – Expand the group of schools and colleges involved.
Possible Expansion – Provide free English tutoring (since writing is an important part of a career in patent law).
The overall goal of the program is to increase the percentage of diverse USPTO-registered patent professionals in the patent field so as to better represent the diversity of the U.S. population. This program requires partnering with skilled tutors for complex STEM courses and requires the support of corporate sponsors.
Internal Progress: In early 2020, we named our first female partner, Elaine Spector. Along with her twenty years of experience in the patent field, Elaine serves as Co-Chair of the Harrity Diversity Committee, Chair of the AIPLA Women in IP Law Committee’s Global Networking Event and Outreach Subcommittee, Vice-Chair of IPO’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair of IPO’s Diversity & Inclusion Outreach Subcommittee, and a Board Member and Secretary at the non-profit No More Stolen Childhoods.
As a firm, we are actively involved with several organizations that promote Diversity within the legal community: AIPLA- Women in IP Law Committee; Association of Legal Administrators, ChIPs; IPO Diversity & Inclusion Committee; and Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). We will also be conducting monthly Affinity Group meetings led by Edward Kim, former president of the largest government-affinity group, USPTO-Asian Pacific American Network (APANET). In addition, we are proud to report that all employees at the firm completed diversity and unconscious bias training in the last year. We continue to work every day to ensure inclusion within our firm through open communication, weekly leadership check-in calls, and regular committee meetings which allow any member of our firm to participate in brainstorming initiatives for all aspects of our business development, including our Diversity Committee.
HARRITY SEEKS PARTNERS TO IMPROVE THE PATENT LAW PROFESSION
Imagine the future of our legal profession if companies adopted our proposed Carrot approach, where a majority of law firms are developing new and disruptive diversity programs to finally make the diversity issue a thing of the past. One of the largest obstacles we face in this battle is a lack of action. While current approaches attempt to address internal diversity counts, rarely are organizations creating external programs directed at fixing the root cause of the issue. The legal profession first needs to recognize that the problem is not that firms do not want to hire diverse candidates, but that a sufficient number of diverse candidates do not exist in the field in the first place. Using this knowledge, organizations that require law firms to seek practical and attainable solutions that bring more diverse individuals into patent law will be the ones responsible for revolutionizing the field with respect to diversity. In turn, we can create proportionate opportunities for diverse individuals to thrive in the field, such as described in the Mansfield Rule® and Coca-Cola® approaches.
That being said, Harrity & Harrity is currently taking action to tackle this issue head-on. As outlined in our aforementioned Diversity Programs section, we have dissected the causes of the diversity issue and created realistic plans of action to begin addressing diversity issues from the ground-up. While we recognize that this will be a long-term effort, we are confident that we can drive the field in the right direction, beginning now.
Next Steps:
Patent Pathways
This program is scheduled to launch in Spring 2022. Materials for patent training will be provided by Harrity, and classes will be taught by both Harrity attorneys and other leaders in the patent field. The goal of this program is to increase the number of Black female registered patent practitioners; however, this training is only successful if participants actually go on to take the patent bar. This opens up several partnership opportunities, including:
1. Exclusive Program Sponsorship: Pay for patent bar preparation course, patent bar exam, and USPTO registration fees for all of the women who participate in our Patent Pathways program. This equates to $500 per preparation course, $400 per patent bar exam and $100 per registration for up to 20 women in the class at a time.
2. Non-exclusive Program Sponsorship: Pay for one or more women for one or more stages of the patent bar registration process. This equates to roughly $500 per preparation course, $400 per patent bar exam and/or $100 per registration.
3. Scholarships: Offer law school scholarships to any number of women who both complete the Patent Pathways training and obtain registration with the USPTO. The amount of any particular scholarship is discretionary.
Harrity’s Tutoring Program
Providing diverse students with the resources needed to succeed in the STEM field at a young age will increase the likelihood of them going on to pursue a degree and a career in STEM, which is a critical first step for entering the field of patent law. With a long-term goal of increasing the percentage of diverse USPTO-registered patent professionals, students need to both be aware of this opportunity, and be equipped to succeed should they pursue it, which this program accomplishes. Our tutoring program will have several partnership opportunities, including:
1. Exclusive Program Sponsorship: Pay for full tutoring program for entire participant group, which includes multiple tutors for multiple schools. (cost TBD)
2. Non-exclusive Program Sponsorship: Pay for one or more tutors for one or more students. (cost TBD)
3. Scholarships: Offer undergraduate scholarships to any number of students who complete the tutoring program and enter a STEM program at an accredited university. The amount of any particular scholarship is discretionary.
We are actively seeking partners to join us in transforming the legal profession to one that mirrors the diverse landscape of our society as a whole. This starts with giving diverse individuals the tools required to enter and succeed in the patent field and encouraging early interest in pursuing a career in patent law. We feel that our Patent Pathways and Tutoring Program will do exactly that. However, these programs require the partnership of corporations and/or law firms to achieve a significant, nationwide impact. Will you join Harrity on the forefront of this transformation?
For more information on Harrity’s diversity initiatives, click here. To contact us regarding this report, please email info@harrityllp.com.
CITATIONS
“Women in STEM: 2017 Update,” U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Office of the Chief Economist ESA Issue Brief #06-17 (November 2017).
The names and logos of third-party products and companies used in the materials are the property of their respective owners and may also be trademarks.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE FOUR | REVAMP YOUR INTERVIEW PROCESS
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE THREE | WORDING YOUR JOB POST
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector, joined by Ayana Marshall, presented on diversity-related issues in the field of IP for Emory Law’s 2021 TIGER Innovation Conference: Advancing Equity in Innovation. The conference explored issues concerning gender and racial gaps in the innovation system such as access to resources for entrepreneurs who are women and people of color and the underrepresentation of diverse inventors in the patent system and included several expert speakers in this area.
Elaine’s presentation focused on Diversity in Patent Law: A Data Analysis of Diversity in the Patent Practice by Technology Background and Region, a topic on which Elaine & data analyst LaTia Brand co-authored an article of the same title. Elaine also discussed several of Harrity’s Diversity Initiatives aimed at addressing the lack of diversity in our field by increasing the pool of diverse candidates and providing resources for those individuals to succeed.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE TWO | INCREASE THE POOL
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Join Harrity’s Elaine Spector as she shares tips and sparks conversations to drive diversity in the legal field in her weekly vlog, ‘Driving Diversity.’
EPISODE ONE | THE ISSUE
To learn more about Harrity’s diversity efforts, visit harrityllp.com/diversity. For more diversity resources, including all Driving Diversity episodes, check out The Diversity Channel.
Law360 (December 23, 2020, 4:20 PM EST) — To address some of the issues underlying a lack of diversity in patent law, Harrity & Harrity LLP has announced a new set of free classes the firm hopes will inspire more patent lawyers from underrepresented populations.
The Harrity Academy, which the midsize firm launched this fall, consists of three Zoom classes that will convene throughout 2021. Ranging from four to eight weeks in length, the three classes address different aspects of patent law and range in scope depending on the participants’ experience. Each course will be led by a Harrity & Harrity attorney and has 20 spots available, the press release says. The program also includes mentorship and breakout sessions for more individualized attention…
“Women are amazing advocates for other people, but not good advocates for themselves.”
Harrity Partner and Diversity Chair Elaine Spector was featured on the IP Breakfast Podcast with hosts Albert Decady & Emmanuel Coffy to discuss the gender gap in IP, her experiences as a female practitioner, and what needs to change to bridge the gap and give women the tools and confidences to succeed in a male-dominated field. Listen now at http://ow.ly/fyMu50CnogQ.
The Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the Intellectual Property’s Owners Association has released ‘A Practical Guide to Diversity & Inclusion in the Legal Profession.’
The IPO D&I Guide is designed to help improve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, with contributions by Elaine Spector, Carlyn Burton, Shruti Costales, Serena Farquharson-Torres, Gloria Fuentes, and Rachael Rodman.
Harrity’s Elaine Spector and LaTia Brand provide a deep-dive analysis of the lack of diversity in the patent practice for the American Bar Association’s Landslide® Magazine. Read the full article here:
Harrity & Harrity just completed its 3nd Annual Women’s Workshop. Due to the quarantine, we shifted gears to host our Women’s Workshop virtually for the first time, which allowed us to offer more women seats in our program. The Women’s Workshop is part of Harrity’s Diversity Initiative, whose Diversity Mission is to “promote and nurture a respectful, highly engaged, family friendly, and inclusive culture that values the diversity of our talented team with diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, skills/talents, and capabilities.” 35 women, including recent law school graduates and current law students, participated in a 3 ½ day long workshop. The interactive programs included patent preparation and prosecution skills training, resume and interview preparation, and sessions with prominent women guest speakers in the intellectual property field. Ed Good joined us this year to provide a ½ day seminar in effective legal writing.
The guest speakers ranged from IP partners at major law firms (both litigation and prosecution partners), former leaders at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Chief IP Counsel and IP Counsel at major corporations, and leaders within Diversity and Inclusion organizations. The speakers included Barbara Fiacco, a partner at Foley Hoag LLP and AIPLA’s President, Barbara Fisher, Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property and Technology Law for Lockheed Martin Corporation, Courtney Holohan, Accenture’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Mercedes Meyer, a Partner at the law firm Faegre Drinker, Sophia Piliouras, president of MCCA’s Advisory Practice at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), Teresa ‘Terry’ Stanek Rea, a Partner at the law firm Cromwell & Moring and former acting and deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and Ellen Smith, a Partner at the law firm Sughrue Mion.
A favorite session among the participants was the Drafting 101 session with Harrity attorney, Peter Glaser. The participants were taken through the application drafting process. Another favorite session was led by Harrity attorney, Tim Hirzel, who instructed the participants on patent prosecution. Both sessions included a hands-on training assignment, which was reviewed by their instructors to maximize learning opportunities.
The session also included two-hour Q & A with Harrity attorneys, which included partners John Harrity, Paul Harrity, and Paul Gurzo. John and Paul Harrity both agreed that their best career advice includes reading as much as possible with a focus on continued learning. We hope the participants had a great time, and we are looking forward to next year’s workshop!
The legal profession is making inroads in terms of diversity, but the National Association of Law Placement reports these gains as slow and incremental. The percentage of African-American associates, for instance, was 4.76% last year, finally breaching the previous milestone mark of 4.66% recorded in 2009. Unfortunately, women of color remain grossly under-represented, accounting for only 2.8% of associates last year — down from 2.93% in 2009. Clearly, the legal profession remains one of the least diverse industries, even with institutions like Harvard Law School reporting ever-increasing minority representation.
Invariably, this lack of diversity can only be addressed through change leadership and decisive action, like implementing diversity initiatives and offering incubator programs for minority-owned firms. This desire to make a difference compelled Harrity & Harrity managing partner John Harrity to incubate women- and minority-owned law firms. The legal industry needs more people like Harrity, with Maryville University noting that a change in society comes from those who have the courage to make a difference. This is why more people and industries need to grapple with social inequalities such as under-representation in various professions. But why are incubator programs important, and what are their benefits to minority-owned firms?
Giving necessary support
Incubator programs are vital because they can help jumpstart a firm in the same way venture capital funding helps startups level up their operations. This aid is the main benefit of incubator programs, which support up-and-coming law firms by providing a range of resources such as office space and professional services for a reasonable fee that is often paid out in installments or via negotiated arrangements. This support is invaluable to minority-owned firms, as they are more likely to have less capital and fewer resources to run a sustainable business.
Helping a firm focus on the core business
Crucially, being part of an incubator program can also help minority-owned law firms focus on their core business, which is to provide top legal services to their clientele. This is possible because the program already puts in place the necessary infrastructure to get the firm up and running. This gives all members the ability to fully focus on their cases, as they are freed up from having to accomplish mundane, day-to-day administrative tasks.
Expanding the network
Fast Company details how membership in an incubator program means gaining access to a strong professional network, including industry partners. This network expansion, in turn, opens up plenty of exciting possibilities, like collaborating with big firms, that are often non-existent for a firm in its infancy, especially if the firm is minority- or women-owned. Not to mention, being part of a growing network is also a public relations coup, as associations with bigger firms can help raise the profile of a smaller ones — without necessarily investing a fortune in marketing and PR.
Access to mentors
Another thing about being part of an incubator program is that it gives a firm access to mentors, who can then provide expert knowledge not only on the legal profession, but also on the best practices in terms of running a law firm. Take, for instance, the Minority Firm Incubator program, which is now accepting applicants for its second participant and whose goals include training, developing, and launching minority-owned patent law firms. As such, Harrity & Harrity’s finest get involved in the program and provide guidance to all participants — and by year 4, they already have the necessary knowledge to fully launch their firms.
A final word
We at Harrity & Harrity are committed to promoting diversity in the legal industry, and will continue to nurture our minority-focused programs and their participants to effect change. We hope that initiatives, like our Minority Firm Incubator, will not just begin to address the issue, but inspire others to be change leaders in diversity as well.
By Sharon Drew Written exclusively for Harrityllp.com
Learn more and/or apply to the 2020 Minority Firm Incubator program HERE.
With COVID-19 sending everyone into lockdown, you may find yourself looking for something productive to do. Now is a great time to learn something new. Particularly since many events that would not typically be found online are now offering free virtual versions via live streaming and video conferencing. The ability to get online provides access to innumerable resources to stay entertained and learn new skills. It is the ideal time to reconnect with your goals and start achieving them. For those interested in patent law, IP firm Harrity & Harrity, LLP is one of those resources.
