The Diversity in IP & Tech Summit
The past years have brought unprecedented disruptions and uncertainty to our professional and personal lives, and amplified issues faced by women and other diverse individuals within STEM professions – even more so for those practicing in intellectual property and technology hubs.
The Diversity in IP & Tech Summit explores the career obstacles, risks and rewards faced by diverse and underrepresented leaders on the path to a fulfilling and productive career with a focus on how to overcome these challenges and support others striving to succeed.
What is the best way to manage your career? How can you help others succede? Are companies doing enough to promote high-potential individuals? What is unique about working in Tech cities and IP and how can you promote yourself and others in a largely white male-dominated field?
This conference will provide networking and learning opportunities on topics including cultivating allies, mentorship, addressing stereotypes and bias, and career management.
Speakers
Gail Su is senior counsel on the patent transactions team at Google, where she supports all forms of patent-related and IP-related transactions, including inbound and outbound licensing, SEP licensing, complex technology transactions, and M&A. Ms Su is also a Co-founder of the Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams initiative or ADAPT. She is passionate about supporting the next generation of IP professionals and giving every person the opportunity to be that next generation. Ms Su has a BS and BA from The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering and Plan II Honors Programme, and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Julie L. Langdon has broad experience in litigation, licensing and counseling involving all aspects of intellectual property in a broad range of industries and sectors. Her primary practice is patent litigation, which has involved patents in various technologies including biotechnology, chemical compositions and processes, software and computer-based systems, consumer products, consumer electronic products, oilfield fluid technologies, wearable technologies and pharmaceuticals, including Hatch-Waxman issues. She also handles litigation involving assertions of copyright, trademark and trade dress infringement, as well as trade secret misappropriation. She strategically helps her clients by identifying their intellectual property protection needs, obtaining and maintaining patent and trademark protection, and enforcing their rights through non-litigation and litigation strategies.
Claudia is a Legal Counsel at CI&T, an end-to-end digital transformation partner, where she oversees the legal aspects of the company’s operations in North America and Europe. Claudia advises the company on M&A deals, commercial transactions and corporate issues. Claudia is an attorney licensed in California and Brazil with 15+ years of Contract Law, Corporate Law, M&A and international Litigation experience leading the design and execution of results-oriented legal strategies. Born and raised in Brazil, Claudia practiced at Brazilian law firms before moving to the US in 2014. Prior to joining CI&T, Claudia worked at OnPoint Analytics, a litigation consulting firm based in Emeryville, CA. She was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley School of Law, and holds a Master’s Degree in Law and a LLB from Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo
Chloe Ma is the Vice President of China Go-To-Market in Arm’s IOT Line of Business, responsible for market development, ecosystem expansion and overall P&L of AIoT, edge computing, and data storage markets.
Before joining Arm, Chloe served as Vice President of Business Development at SiFive, a well-known semiconductor startup, responsible for global business development and product management in the fields of cloud data center, storage, communication and AIoT. She also assisted SiFive’s China joint venture StarFive in fundraising , strategy and ecosystem building. Chloe previously served as the senior director of cloud market development at the global semiconductor leaders Intel and Mellanox, delivering significant revenue growth in cloud compute, storage and high-speed cloud networking silicon and module products in the field of cloud infrastructure and hyperscale data centers. Before entering the semiconductor industry, Chloe has 15 years of experience in the field of networking, holding leadership positions in marketing, strategy and software engineering at multi-national corporations such as Cisco and Juniper Networks.
Chloe holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in Electronics from Peking University, China.
Puja Detjen is a partner at Patterson + Sheridan LLP who serves on the firm’s management committee. Her practice focuses on patent preparation and prosecution of both domestic and international patents, global brand protection, and IP due diligence.
Puja is able to parlay her knowledge of clients’ technology and business into a comprehensive IP strategy focused on developing and protecting their innovations and brands.
Prior to her legal career, Puja was an engineer for GE Energy supporting corporate strategy objectives across manufacturing, operations, and supply chain management. Today, she leverages her diverse industry experience to lead the way for clients seeking to align their IP efforts with a strategic plan.
Steve Gong is Patent Counsel and the Head of Data Science, Program Management, and Operations Teams at Google. He is passionate about making innovation more Diverse and Inclusive through Data Science and System Design.
Patricia Young represents market-leading companies in intellectual property litigation, particularly high-stakes, complex, multi-patent, and multi-jurisdictional cases.
Ms. Young is a first-chair trial lawyer who litigates patent and trade secrets cases for a broad spectrum of companies, both as defendants and plaintiffs. She regularly tries cases across the country, including in state and federal courts, and before the International Trade Commission (ITC).
She deftly synthesizes technical, economic, and legal perspectives to develop unique, winning litigation strategies. As an incisive and trusted advisor for patent and trade secret matters, she is also well-positioned to counsel clients on intellectual property issues in corporate matters.
Ms. Young has developed an impressive record of leading and managing complex, multi-product, multi-claim disputes. Her experience spans industries from LiDAR, semiconductors, RF technology, memory, microprocessors, Wi-Fi routers and mesh network devices, file system and storage software and hardware, networking, gaming, e-commerce, telecommunications, UV LEDs, biotech, biologics, protein engineering, sequencing technology, microcoils, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals to consumer products.
Ms. Young was named one of the “Women Worth Watching in STEM” by Diversity Journal in 2021. She is also a collaborator on the Patent Case Management Judicial Guide, the Federal Judicial Center’s definitive patent litigation how-to guide for federal judges, now in its third edition.
Her pro bono work addresses Social Security disability, domestic violence, veteran disability benefits, housing, and §1983 civil rights actions. She served on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and received the California State Bar Wiley M. Manuel Award for pro bono service in 2013.
Shikha Mittal is a Senior Director of Product Management at VMware. She leads a global team responsible for product definition, strategy, and roadmap for Desktop-aaS across Private and Public clouds, a $1.5B+ business. Shikha’s industry experience spans product management and engineering in enterprise SaaS technologies and she has a proven track record for bringing emerging solutions to market. Prior to VMware, Shikha held senior product roles at Cisco Systems. She speaks regularly advocating for women in technology and is a Cal State East Bay Leadership Advisory Council member.
Abbey Ibrahim is an Intellectual Property Legal Counsel at Adobe, Inc. With more than 23 years of professional work experience within Fortune 100 companies and private law firm, Abbey possesses a unique set of technical, legal, as well as leadership skills that enables her to build the vital trust and confidence of her clients. In her current role at Adobe, Abbey serves as a patent portfolio manager for numerous products and research units at Adobe, litigation support, as well as a client counselor for various IP subject matters within the company.
Before her legal career, Abbey worked as a technical leader and Software architect in the technology industry for such companies as Intel Inc. and Varity Co., leading the development and deployment of various software programs at the respective companies. Notably, she earned the prestigious Department Recognition Award for her dedication and achievement and was recognized for outstanding technical leadership to local and remote team members and for achieving strategic and tactical goals for the programs she managed.
Abbey is an enthusiast about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts and has been an active member of DEI committees at each of her diverse workplaces. Abbey is also a promoter of diversity and gender equality efforts within Adobe and the broader community.
Abbey received her law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law and her Engineering degree from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. In her local community, Abbey serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the San Jose/Silicon Valley region of Juma; a nonprofit social enterprise that operates businesses for employing low-income transition-aged youth.
Manasee Dash has over 20+ years in enterprise technology in companies like Oracle and VMware launching new businesses and verticals, leading strategy, planning, operations, and X-BU transformational outcomes for high-growth enterprise software businesses. Currently in her 8th year at VMware, she has had multiple roles running Global Vertical Industry Marketing and Solutions for Financial Services, Chief of Staff for VMware’s largest SaaS business and until most recently she led the strategic and operational outcomes for one of VMware’s top 3 strategic priorities and first Cross-BU solution – VMware Anywhere Workspace.
Sabiha Chunawala is VP & Deputy General Counsel at Contentful Inc., the global leader in omnichannel content platforms. Sabiha serves as global legal advisor to the Go-to-Market (“GTM”) organizations consisting of Sales, Customer Experience, Partnerships, and Marketing and manages a global team of legal professionals focused on commercial transactions and is also responsible for Contentful’s trademark portfolio. She also leads development of foundational global policies for Contentful and is a member of Contentful’s Inclusion & Diversity Committee. Prior to Contentful, Sabiha held leadership positions at Juniper Networks, Inc. and Portal Software, Inc., later acquired by Oracle Corporation.
Outside of work, Sabiha serves as a mentor for students in the Santa Clara University School of Law: Entrepreneurship Law Clinic, Tech JD program, and ChIPs chapter. She also serves as Library Commissioner for the Town of Los Gatos Library and serves on the Board for OPEN Silicon Valley, a global network of entrepreneurs, investors and professionals that provides a platform to network, collaborate, and mentor each other in developing businesses and the laying the foundation of entrepreneurship in various fields and Iqra Fund, an NGO that establishes high quality self-sustaining school systems in the remote, mountainous regions of northern Pakistan.
Hannah Lee litigates high-stakes patent disputes for clients in the biotech, medical device, pharma and computer technologies sectors. Hannah has represented her clients as plaintiffs and defendants in all stages of litigation, including conducting direct examination and cross-examination of fact and expert witnesses, in both jury and bench trials. She practices in federal district courts throughout the country, before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Among her most notable work, Hannah successfully managed a patent litigation for a computer network security company that resulted in a judgment of over $2 billion in damages after a six-week bench trial. She also managed a patent litigation for a pharmaceutical client and obtained a $62 million settlement against Purdue Pharma LP in a patent litigation involving OxyContin.
In 2021, Hannah was recognized by Law360 as a Rising Star in intellectual property, and was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under list in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The Daily Journal named Hannah to its 2021 Top 40 Under 40 list. Hannah is a managing editor of Kramer Levin’s Bio Law Blog and is a member of the firm’s Women’s Committee, Diversity Committee and Attorneys of Color Affinity Group.
Jasmine Lawrence currently serves as a Staff Technical Product Manager on the AI Platform team at Cruise, where they’re providing fully driverless rides in cities across the US. Prior to this, she held a number of positions creating consumer and developer-focused products at companies like Everyday Robots (Google), Facebook, Softbank Robotics America, and Microsoft. At age 13, Lawrence founded EDEN BodyWorks, a natural hair, and body care products company. After nearly 20 years in business, the products continue to see strong sales at stores around the world. Outside of work, Jasmine is a poet, STEM advocate, and Advisory Board Member for several non-profits like NFTE.
Tao Zhang is Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of IP and Product at Juniper Networks. Her responsibilities include patent portfolio development and optimization, product risk management, security/privacy/open-source compliances, IP transactions, supply chain and procurement contract negotiations. Prior to Juniper, she was Associate General Counsel of IP and Technology, at Ansys, and senior director of IP strategy, at Huawei Device USA, respectively. Before Huawei, she was with Hewlett-Packard for 23 years. She obtained a JD from Concord Law School and a PhD in Physics from Stanford University.
Dr. Zhang is a member of the California Bar and a registered patent attorney with the US Patent and Trademark Office. She is co-author of the book “Mining Ideas for Diamonds – Comparing China and US IP Practices from Invention Selection to Patent Monetization”. She also co-authored several IP articles, including “Call for Standardization in Patent Claim Drafting” (Santa Clara High Tech Law Journal, Volume 34, Issue 3, April 2018), “Making Trademark Decisions Based on Cost Considerations: A Model for Action” (World Trademark Review, April 2020). Dr, Zhang was recognized by the IAM Strategy 300 in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Wade Yamazaki is a Supervising Principal Counsel of IP at Cruise, a self-driving vehicle company based in San Francisco. In addition to being responsible for a sector of Cruise’s patent portfolio, he manages IP operations and open source software. Recently, Wade has had a role in co-founding Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams (ADAPT.legal) in collaboration with several corporate legal teams seeking to advance and scale DEI efforts in the industry. Wade was previously a patent attorney at Carr & Ferrell LLP and a patent agent at Munchkin, Inc. He holds a J.D. and B.S. from the University of Southern California.
Marcela Robledo is a Privacy and Cybersecurity expert who specializes in technology transactions and has advised numerous high-profile corporations in complex IP and privacy issues, particularly around generative AI. Marcela has been advising technology companies for decades and has participated in some of the most significant technology transactions. A thought leader in technology, intellectual property, and data privacy field, Marcela often attends and speaks at industry-led events and authors articles on topical issues. She is a regular contributor to Cleary IP and Technology Insights blog and Cleary Cybersecurity and Privacy Watch blog.
Andrew Ong is a partner in Goodwin’s Intellectual Property practice and a leader of the firm’s Trade Secrets, Employee Mobility & Non-Competes group. Andrew focuses his practice on complex intellectual property matters, including patent and trade-secret litigation. Andrew has broad experience litigating in federal courts as well as in proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including inter partes reviews and reexaminations. He has worked on cases relating to a variety of different technologies, including network devices, design automation software, data storage, and semiconductor chips.Andrew also frequently works on pro bono matters. His recent matters include assisting individuals with renewing DACA applications and filing suit on behalf of immigrant detainees based on in-custody treatment.
Shawn focuses his practice on IP procurement, management, defense, and enforcement, which involves developing strategies for securing IP as valuable assets that increase corporate revenue and can be leveraged in corporate transactions and agreements. Shawn’s career started with a leading Department of Defense contractor where he designed and tested digital circuits and boards, which included programming circuit chips. Following this experience, he began his career in IP as a patent examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and later while in law school moved into private practice as a patent agent.
Kevin currently serves as Associate General Counsel, Patents for Meta, where he has pioneered new ways to increase patent submissions from underrepresented inventor groups at Meta. He also counsels on legal issues related to the development of augmented and virtual reality products, including the Meta Quest line of VR products. Kevin currently resides in Southern California. His hobbies include golf and teaching his four-year-old son how to surf.
Raymond Doss is Associate General Counsel in the Intellectual Property & Litigation Law group at Amgen. In his current role, he supports Amgen’s worldwide patent strategy, focusing on the prosecution of Amgen’s global large molecule therapeutics patent portfolio, supporting contested cases, and supporting the Oncology Therapeutic Area on intellectual property and collaboration matters. He is a member of the Talent Council at Amgen’s South San Francisco site which is responsible for community development and site engagement. Having seen firsthand the benefits of a diverse and inclusive work force, Raymond is consistently looking for opportunities to sponsor and mentor group members in their career development. Raymond has a PhD in Chemistry from Caltech, a BS in Chemistry from NYU, and a JD from Fordham Law School.
David Chun is a partner in the Ropes & Gray IP Litigation Practice and one of the founding partners of the firm’s Seoul office. David focuses his practice on litigating patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement matters in district and appellate courts and in connection with government enforcement actions. David represents both foreign and domestic clients in litigations involving a broad range of subject matters. Representative technologies include semiconductor and flash memory, wireless mobile devices, digital signal processing for hearing aid devices, on-line gaming, hard disk drives, alternative fuels, software interfaces, medical devices, business methods and consumer products. David has been recognized as a leading individual by Chambers-Asia Pacific, Chambers Global, Legal 500, The Daily Journal, and others.
Sponsors
Latham & Watkins LLP
Latham & Watkins advises the businesses and institutions that power the global economy.
We bring together the world’s best legal talent in every major jurisdiction to shape the deals and win the disputes that transform markets. Our experience at the cutting edge of commercial, financial, and legal innovation enables us to deliver results that fuel our clients’ success.
Our approach is guided by our commitment to quality, our collaborative culture, and our core values.
Unwavering Client Focus
We adopt the urgency of our client’s mission in each engagement. Leveraging vast global resources, we work relentlessly and efficiently to accomplish your goals.
Consistent Excellence
We draw on elite capabilities across more than 60 disciplines to meet the precise needs of each client and matter. With our broad and diversified platform we can anticipate and address any legal or business challenge anywhere in the world — with flawless coordination.
True Partnership
We work to understand your business, goals, and strategy to ensure we deliver advice that meets your legal needs and supports your success.
Strong Teamwork
We collaborate across continents, languages, and time zones to support every client.
Patterson + Sheridan
Patterson + Sheridan LLP is a boutique IP firm with eight offices nationwide. Our firm’s broad and deep technical expertise sets us apart with 80+ attorneys, patent agents, and technical advisors spanning disciplines in engineering, physics, computer science, biology, materials science, and chemistry. P+S combines technical expertise with an in-depth understanding of intellectual property law and our clients’ business objectives to provide a pragmatic, efficient approach to support licensing and litigation efforts.
With a focus on patent preparation and prosecution since our beginning, P+S has formed decades-long partnerships with companies working seamlessly together to build, leverage, and protect their IP assets. P+S also works with some of the world’s best-known brands, providing cost-effective IP strategies and protection for a range of assets.
Kramer Levin
Kramer Levin provides proactive, creative and pragmatic solutions that address today’s most challenging legal issues. Headquartered in New York, with offices in Silicon Valley and Paris, our firm fosters a strong culture of involvement in public and community service. We regard it as imperative that we maintain an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can flourish. Over the past three years, 62% of new Kramer Levin partners were promoted from within and 50% were women.
Goodwin Procter LLP
The Goodwin story began with a chance encounter on a Boston sidewalk. After some friendly conversation, two young lawyers, former classmates from college, decided to start their own law practice. An eavesdropper on State Street that late spring morning in 1912 might have been amused at their bravado as Robert Eliot Goodwin and Joseph Osborne Procter, Jr. mapped their professional future. But the firm they forged would flourish, setting the foundation of a professional enterprise that would grow beyond anything either might have imagined. Today, nearly 2,000 Goodwin lawyers focus on building authentic, long-term relationships with our clients, who are some of the world’s most successful and innovative investors, entrepreneurs and disruptors at the convergence of and within the life sciences, private equity, real estate, technology, and financial industries.
Our Global Operations Team (all business professionals) partners with our lawyers and clients across multiple business of law functions, providing for a truly unique and differentiated client service model.
Our immersive understanding of our clients’ industries – combined with our expertise across high-stakes litigation and dispute resolution, world-class regulatory compliance and advisory services, and complex transactions – sets us apart.
Ropes & Gray LLP
Ropes & Gray’s global intellectual property team provides clients with a full range of IP services, from strategic patent evaluation and litigation to strategic transactions. Our IP litigation team has an exceptional record of accomplishment prevailing for clients in complex, bet-the-company litigation. We litigate issues of first impression before state and federal courts, at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and before the International Trade Commission. Our IP transactional lawyers, meanwhile, guide billion- and multi-million dollar deals that enable companies to access new markets, accelerate research, advance product development, and guide clients in groundbreaking, first-of-their-kind licensing and collaboration agreements. Indeed, Ropes & Gray’s IP group has been consistently recognized for its excellence by independent ranking publications such as Chambers, Legal 500, U.S. News—Best Lawyers, Managing IP, LMG Life Sciences, and IAM Patent 1000.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is a national law firm with a proven reputation for providing progressive, industry-leading legal, business, regulatory and government relations advice to our clients. Our attorneys and government relations professionals represent some of the highest profile companies in the nation, including 50 of the Fortune 100. We bring to our clients an intimate knowledge of the players, market forces, and political and regulatory landscape to protect, defend and advance our clients’ businesses.
Vedder Price
Vedder Price is a thriving general-practice law firm with a proud tradition of maintaining long-term relationships with our clients, many of whom have been with us since our founding in 1952. With 315 attorneys and growing, we serve clients of all sizes and in virtually all industries from our offices in Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Singapore, Dallas and Miami. Vedder Price offers its clients the benefits of a full-service patent, trademark, copyright and technology law practice that is active in both domestic and foreign areas. We develop and protect the intellectual property assets for our clients, and effectively enforce such rights and defend our clients in courts throughout the country and before federal agencies and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Cleary Gottlieb
Cleary Gottlieb is a leading international law firm, with 16 offices located in major financial centers around the world, that has helped shape the globalization of the legal profession for more than 75 years. Our AI practice is renowned for providing sophisticated interdisciplinary and cross-jurisdictional advice in connection with high-profile, high-value, and often cross-border AI-related matters. Clients from around the world and a wide range of industries rely on the firm’s IP litigation and arbitration experience, and when IP disputes are fought in multiple jurisdictions, Cleary’s global reach sets us apart. Cleary’s innovation stretches to its eDiscovery team that are pioneers in the litigation space using AI, as well as ClearyX, an ALSP that is wholly owned by the Firm, that was founded to reimagine the future of legal services. Cleary’s globally recognized lawyers and professionals have a proven track record for providing work of the highest quality to meet the needs of our domestic and international clients.