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.