Sidebars - SoundSage

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In this episode, we welcome Colleen Bear, Senior Professional Development Manager at Kilpatrick Townsend. Colleen has more than 20 years of experience in professional development, including organizational development and change talent assessment, leadership development, performance improvement, sales effectiveness, strategic planning, program management, and facilitation. She is an expert facilitator, and a highly impactful executive coach and strategic consultant.

In this conversation, Colleen shares the insights she has gained from helping attorneys understand their goals and then achieve them. She discusses how important it is to stay true to yourself while also being realistic about the constraints of your chosen path, and offers advice on developing a career that suits your personal definition of success.

Highlights include:

Being yourself while reading the room
The broad umbrella of professional development
The different approaches you can take to coaching
The unique challenges of coaching lawyers
Taking advantage of all the resources that BigLaw has to offer
Sponsorship vs. mentorship vs. coaching
Understanding the hurdles in your career path and the possibilities for overcoming them
How to avoid self-fulfilling prophecies
Being authentic to your personal work style
Considering the source of any advice and criticism
Ultimate success is being honest with yourself
The many benefits of stretch assignments
Reevaluating your goals as your career progresses
Taking ownership of your career to make it sustainable and enjoyable

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, we welcome Lydia Fenet, an auctioneer, bestselling author, podcast host, and globally recognized speaker as a Christie’s Ambassador. She has led auctions for more than 600 organizations, raising over a billion dollars for nonprofits.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Lydia travels the world on speaking engagements to empower women in the workplace. She has been named one of New York's most influential women, has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, and has appeared in numerous magazines, including Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Lydia is the author of the bestselling book The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You, which was optioned by Netflix. Her second book, published just this month, is titled Claim Your Confidence: Unlock Your Superpower and Create the Life You Want.

In this conversation, Lydia discusses the lessons she has learned in her lifelong quest to understand the ingredients that create true confidence. She shares why it is so critical for women to be more confident. Lydia also provides some shortcuts that any of us can adopt right now to tap into our already-existing reservoir of inner confidence and strength.

Highlights include:

Equity as having the right to live your life without prejudice or bias against it
Embracing discomfort as a path to confidence
Speaking up when you’re the expert
Success as an evolving concept
Giving yourself grace
A bathrobe over a cocktail dress
The myth of a perfectly balanced life
Do you know what your top priorities are right now?
An obstacle turns into a valuable career differentiator
Stepping into a new level of clout
“Perception is the copilot of reality”
Confident enough to wear bright pink
Making time for joy
Building confidence through travel
Controlling the room in a charity auction… and at Goldman Sachs

Connect with Lydia:

Listen and subscribe to Lydia's Claim Your Confidence podcast
Follow her on Instagram at @lydiafenet
Visit her website www.lydiafenet.com

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, April Abele Isaacson, Kate Geyer, and Megan Busseywelcome Joseph Rosenfeld, a personal branding expert and image consultant who works extensively with attorneys and high-profile Silicon Valley executives.

Joseph shares how being bullied as a teenager led to his fascination with the transformative power of personal branding, not only in shaping the perceptions of others but also in uncovering our own perception of ourselves. He discusses surprising elements that make up one’s personal image and how tiny changes can create major shifts in how we present ourselves to the world as well as how confident we feel. Throughout this episode, Joseph demonstrates again and again that getting our image right is not an exercise in vanity. Rather, it’s an exercise in self-respect and discovering the power that stems from our individuality.

Highlights include:

Equity as having the right to be unapologetically you, in all your facets
The epiphany that changed everything
How personal branding saved a 15-year-old bullied boy
Working on our outer selves as a way to help our inner selves
Connecting your body to positive feelings
Choosing clothes as an act of self-respect
How your positive and confident image serves everyone in the room.
Clothes must fit your mind as well as your body
Cultivating a countercultural look… like everyone else
Paying attention to what’s right in front of your face, like a dirty t-shirt
Standing out while fitting in
Who says it’s not OK to wear loud jewelry or clickety heels?
The goal is for fashion and makeup to fit in with your life and create ease
Not succumbing to the stereotypes of power
Bringing out the right persona to fit the occasion
The color of listening
Dressing for the day ahead, even if it’s just 12 hours in front of a computer
Creating a culture of change by representing yourself and who you are

Episode Links:

Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn
Visit josephrosenfeld.com to learn more about Joseph and his image consulting strategies.
Read an infographic case study on how he helps legal team leaders tip the scales in their favor, ethically.

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, we welcome Dr. Arin Reeves, a sociologist, business consultant, and a bestselling author. Her most recent book is titled, In Charge: The Energy Management Guide for Badass Women Who Are Tired of Being Tired.

Arin is the founder and Managing Director of the research and advisory firm Nextions, which specializes in workplace culture change. She began her career as an attorney, then went on to earn her Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern. Arin has designed and led comprehensive research projects on topics including gender equity, generational diversity, LGBTQI diversity, racial and ethnic diversity, cultural integration, implicit bias, and transformational leadership.

In addition to being a researcher and leading an advisor to many of America's top executives, Arin is a sought-after speaker, including for CLEs tackling some of the thorniest aspects of law-firm work culture.

In this episode, Arin discusses the undercurrents that are often left unaddressed in corporate and law-firm attempts to achieve gender equality. In this candid conversation, Arin, Megan, and April get real as they share their experiences with shouldering the heavy load of emotional work and dealing with chaos and messes not of their making. They also discuss what it means to be in charge of their lives and their careers, and how learning to conserve their energy by saying “no” enabled each of them to flourish.

Highlights include:

The difference between equity and equality
The universal experience of being a woman and the ongoing fight for equal rights
Why women take on emotional work that should not be theirs
The energy it takes to say no vs. cleaning up after others
The connection between domestic violence and interview dress codes for women
Being socialized to always care about what others think
Reserving energy for the things we truly love and make us happy
Practicing saying “no”
When you can’t tell whether a woman is talking about her boss, her husband, or her child
The cognitive and emotional toll taken by dealing with unfair asks
Reducing the energy drain on women as a means for achieving equity
Implicit biases about gender
Having it all….over the course of a lifetime
Generational shifts in how women perceive their role in the workplace
The slow march toward equality in the upper echelons of management
Focusing on outcomes, not the process, to see the true value someone brings to their work

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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This episode introduces a new co-host, Megan Bussey. Megan will be joining April and Kate to host the third season of the Sidebars podcast.

Megan is a Partner in Kilpatrick Townsend’s New York office. Her practice focuses on intellectual property law with particular emphasis on patent prosecution, patent litigation, and opinion work. Megan’s experience spans a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, mechanical devices, textiles, merchandizing displays, and telecommunications runs. Megan regularly prepares and prosecutes patent applications in the United States and internationally. She has also been involved in various aspects of patent litigation, including invalidity and infringement investigations, drafting written discovery motions, claim construction briefs, and appellate briefs. Megan was recognized in 2022 and the nine years immediately preceding as a New York rising star in the area of intellectual property by Super Lawyers magazine.

Megan is a 2008 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. While in law school, Megan interned for Federal Magistrate Judge David Kessler in the Western District of North Carolina. Prior to law school, Megan earned a B.A. in physics from Dartmouth College.

In this episode, Megan shares how she has created the career and the life she wants, balancing a highly demanding practice with being present for her family. She discusses the level-headed approach she’s taken from the earliest days of her career, the representation and mentorship that have helped her achieve success on her own terms, and the value of understanding and leveraging the tradeoffs constantly cropping up along each of our journeys.

Highlights include:

Introducing the new co-host of Sidebars
An unexpected bout of solitude leads to a change of plans
Finding a way to be a well-rounded patent practitione
Refining one’s definition of success
Reevaluating the rat race when life happens
Understanding and accepting tradeoffs
Learning from others who took a winding path to partnership
Deciding to outsource the tasks that don’t bring you joy
Understanding that having a hard stretch doesn’t mean it’s the wrong job
Not mistaking your job for your identity
Being selfish in a positive way
How do we #EmbraceEquity?
Getting over fears with practice

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, hosts April Abele Isaacson and Kate Geyer welcome fellow Kilpatrick Townsend patent litigator Courtney Dabbiere for a conversation about allyship.

Courtney’s litigation practice, which includes cases in both federal court and the ITC, encompasses patent matters in a wide range of technologies, including telecommunication systems, electrical and mechanical systems, pharmaceutical products, textile products, athletic footwear, oil drilling software systems and medical device technologies as well as design patents. She has experience in many aspects of litigation, such as infringement and validity analyses, motion practice, claim construction, expert discovery, pre-trial and trial practice, and appellate briefing. Courtney is also a Registered Patent Attorney before the USPTO. She has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in a variety of technologies and has represented companies in inter partes review proceedings. In 2022 and 2023, Courtney was recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for Intellectual Property Law by The Best Lawyers in America®.

While attending Emory University School of Law, Courtney was Managing Editor of the Emory International Law Review. She also participated in the TI:GER® Program, a collaboration between the law school and Georgia Institute of Technology which focuses on technology commercialization in a multidisciplinary context.

In this conversation, April, Kate, and Courtney discuss what it takes to be a true ally for women in the legal field. Using their personal experiences as well as the trends they see in the industry, they highlight the difference between being an actually meaningful ally and merely having good intentions. This episode, sparked by the recent remarks of Douglas Emhoff, Vice President’s Kamala Harris’s husband and a partner at DLA Piper (currently on leave), identifies the practical aspects of how men can support women and the roadmap to building a welcoming place for everyone through impactful allyship.

Highlights include:

Realizing that the law – and litigation – is not just for loud, outgoing people
Allowing women to determine for themselves the type of support they need
Recognizing one’s limitations and others’ strengths
Being a good ally may mean setting one’s ego aside
A supportive communication style when providing opportunities goes a long way
Recognizing that some people are born on third base while others must work to get there
The disparate impacts of parental leave on the careers of women vs. men
Allies who help decode the unspoken rules of the old boys’ club
Building strong teams, not just checking boxes
Being willing to risk political and social capital
Being your authentic self, not a show pony

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Read our Medicine and Molecules (MEMO) Blog
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at socialmedia@kilpatricktownsend.com
Learn more about Kilpatrick Townsend

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this special episode, hosts April Abele Isaacson and Kate Geyer are joined by Kasey Koballa, an Associate from the Kilpatrick Townsend Raleigh office. Kasey’s practice focuses on patent litigation in federal courts and before the ITC in matters relating to a wide variety of industries, including video games and footwear and sport apparel. In 2015, Kasey received a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Biotechnology from North Carolina State University, where she graduated summa cum laude, was the valedictorian of her class, and received the Top 10 Scholar Athlete Award for her achievements in soccer. In 2018, she received her law degree from William & Mary Law School with an Intellectual Property Concentration.

With three very different backgrounds and life journeys, April, Kate, and Kasey discuss the issue of burnout in the legal profession, and particularly in the hard-charging, high-stakes world of patent litigation. They share their first-hand experiences and their earned wisdom about building resilience and thriving in such a pressure-filled environment. In this important conversation, April, Kate, and Kasey use compassion and humor to tackle a serious problem that continues to claim many promising legal careers far too early. They also provide a glimpse into what it takes to work at the highest levels of patent litigation while keeping burnout at bay.

Highlights include:
* Broadening career options * Definition of burnout * Why attorneys are particularly susceptible to burnout * The struggle to say “no” * Why women are more likely to suffer burnout than men * “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” * The signs of reaching your limit * Navigating the post-COVID hybrid work environment for greater productivity and better work-life balance * The critical importance of recognizing early signs of burnout * Recruiting your support system * Tiny recharging breaks can make a huge difference * Rethinking proactive management of work assignments to reduce overwork * Law-firm mentors as a first line of defense against burnout * Surprising reasons why burnout is a major threat to talent retention * The availability and value of external resources like employee assistance programs * Destigmatizing the use of therapy and other mental health support * Recognizing that blocking off time for self-care is not an indulgence but a tool to becoming a better lawyer

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, hosts April Abele Isaacson and Kate Geyer welcome a special cohost—fellow Kilpatrick Townsend patent litigator Taylor Pfingst—to discuss recent data on how law firms are doing on diversity, equity and inclusion, with particular emphasis on gender equality.

Taylor, a native Californian, is an Associate in Kilpatrick Townsend’s Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses on patent and trade secret litigation as well as other intellectual property disputes. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of industries, including technology, entertainment, and medical devices. Taylor was a key member of trial teams in high-stakes cases that resulted in more than $100 million in jury verdicts for the client. Every year since 2019, Super Lawyers magazine has recognized Taylor as a Northern California “Rising Star” for Intellectual Property Litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, Taylor served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Charles R. Breyer in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and as a law clerk in the Public Rights Division in the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. She received her BA in political science from UC Santa Barbara and her JD from UC Hastings College of Law. While attending law school, she was the Executive Notes Editor of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.

In a candid conversation, April, Kate, and Taylor identify the seismic shifts that have taken place in the legal profession since the days when Taylor’s mom became a trial attorney, and the hurdles that still remain today. They discuss the recently published Law360 2022 Glass Ceiling Report: Women In Law, which provides statistical proof of how the profession has changed and how much still needs to be done.

Through personal anecdotes and insights, April, Kate, and Taylor weave the experience of three generations—Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials—into a cohesive timeline that speaks of the progress and setbacks on the road to greater diversity and inclusion.

Highlights include:

Destined for life in the law (1:24)
Seeing how an earlier generation of women balanced work and family obligations, and were taken seriously as a lawyer (4:25)
How not to be a mentor (11:18)
Working mothers as role models for both men and women (18:07)
Working while female; there is no excuse not to mentor (19:49)
Good news in the pipeline (25:56)
The value of not being the only woman in the room (28:04)
Sobering statistics about women in leadership in the legal profession (37:46)
A silver lining to the COVID pandemic (40:07)
An invisible burden of proving everyone wrong (41:48)
The inclusion tax (43:32)
The surprising origins of wanting to do everything for everyone (49:33)
The luxury of being disorganized (53:09)
Capitalizing on the momentum generated by greater numbers of women partners (59:51)
Demystifying the path to partnership (1:07:04)

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, we interview patent litigator Amanda Brouillette, a Senior Associate in the Atlanta office of Kilpatrick Townsend. Amanda has defended a wide range of clients accused of patent infringement through all stages of litigation, including at trial. Her cases encompass a variety of technical fields, including telecommunications, medical billing, pharmaceuticals, and mechanical systems. In 2022 and 2023, Amanda was recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for Intellectual Property Law by The Best Lawyers in America®.

Amanda has a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in English from the University of Georgia, where she graduated summa cum laude, highest honors. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School with pro bono distinction for her work with the Stanford Domestic Violence Pro Bono Project. During law school, Amanda served on the Stanford Technology Law Review, first as a Lead Editor, then as Editor In Chief.

From an early age, Amanda thrived on learning new things. Her decision to double-major in Physics and English proved a perfect recipe for never being bored or feeling like she was stagnating with her studies—and it turned out to be the perfect gateway to patent litigation, too.

Amanda is a firm believer in taking charge of her own professional destiny and creating her own opportunities, including by actively developing connections with other patent law practitioners. Her brilliance, can-do attitude, and sunny disposition, which she brings to any task set before her, have helped her build strong relationships with mentors and sponsors within the firm, with clients, and with more junior attorneys whom she now supervises.

In this episode, Amanda shares her insights about what it takes to build a successful career as a patent litigator. She also discusses the importance of communication and relationship-building for professional development. And she talks about the two-pronged approach that firms—and individuals—can take to accelerate the creation of a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

Highlights include:

A chain of happy accidents leads to a career in patent law (1:49)
Thriving on the feeling of success (4:33)
The theater bug as translated into litigation (6:48)
Taking deliberate steps toward more diversity in hiring (11:33)
The cultural cues that may discourage women from pursuing a patent litigation career (12:55)
Mentorship vs. sponsorship (19:09)
How to find sponsors and build relationships with them (20:34)
Bonding in a personal way for increased work productivity (27:59)
Motivating factors (30:24)
Managing up and managing down (32:05)
Developing a leadership style (37:57)
A personal professional highlight that demonstrates the importance of sponsorship (39:09)
A collaborative approach to better serving clients through diverse teams (44:34)
A two-pronged approach to diversity and inclusion (46:56)
The paradox of emphasizing female mentoring for junior women (50:15)

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, we welcome Roger Wylie, the Managing Partner of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Roger was the Co-Managing Partner of Townsend and Townsend and Crew prior to its merger with Kilpatrick Stockton.

Roger is a registered patent attorney with over 20 years of experience in a variety of technologies, including software, business methods, consumer goods, complex machinery, and medical devices. He focuses his practice on patent prosecution and counseling, advising start-up and established corporations, venture investors and other intellectual property stakeholders with regard to all aspects of patent prosecution and acquisition, counseling, licensing, and litigation. He also counsels clients on a wide range of trademark, copyright, trade secret and other IP-related issues.

Roger has obtained or assisted in the procurement and management of hundreds of U.S. and foreign patents, many of which have been successfully litigated and enforced. Much of his current work involves product clearances and freedom to operate analyses, Inter Partes disputes in the patent office, infringement and validity analyses for litigation settlement evaluation, and acquisition due diligence.

Growing up in southern Georgia in a family of teachers, Roger was exposed to a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. From an early age, he internalized the values of equity and inclusion emphasized by his grandfather and his mother. As a patent attorney, Roger saw that others, including his wife—who is also a patent attorney—faced career obstacles that he did not have to overcome because he was a White male. His upbringing and his ability to see other perspectives have made him a determined leader in leveling the playing field in the legal profession.

In this episode, Roger tells us about his career path from studying material science to becoming a leader in the IP world and the Managing Partner of Kilpatrick Townsend, and he explains his philosophy of management and leadership. He also explores the strides made to date by the legal profession in general and Kilpatrick Townsend in particular to make the profession more welcoming to underrepresented groups as well as the work that still needs to be done to achieve greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Highlights include:

Learning about diversity at the dinner table in southern Georgia
Being married to a patent attorney and seeing the patent bar from a woman’s perspective
The importance of making people feel like they belong
Fitting right in as a young lawyer while seeing women and visible minorities having a harder time
An undercurrent of change rippling through the legal profession, partly due to client demands for greater diversity
The value of having women role models in management
Seeing diversity in broader terms than just gender and race
How to open your horizons and gain new perspective through volunteering and pro bono work
Managing a successful legal practice sometimes requires getting out of the team’s way
Leading by asking questions
Examining the entire pipeline, from grade school to law-firm partnership for opportunities to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion
The chicken-and-egg problem of representation
Making paternity leave more acceptable as a means of helping retain legal talent
The definition of success
Creating seats at the leadership table for diverse voices
The satisfaction of seeing colleagues build their careers at the firm and move up through the ranks

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In this episode, we welcome Temple University professors Rachel Rebouché and Paul Gugliuzza, authors of a forthcoming paper in the North Carolina Law Review titled, “Gender Inequality in Patent Litigation” —a data-rich paper that touches on many of the central themes in Season 2.

Rachel is a leading scholar in feminist legal theory, reproductive health law, and family law. She is the Interim Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law, the James E. Beasley Professor of Law, and a Faculty Fellow at Temple’s Center for Public Health Law Research. Rachel is an author of Governance Feminism: An Introduction and an editor of Governance Feminism: Notes from the Field,a co-author of the sixth edition of the casebook, Family Law, and the editor of Feminist Judgments: Family Law Opinions Rewritten. Rachel received a JD from Harvard law school, an LLM from Queen's University Belfast, and a BA from Trinity University.

Paul is an award-winning scholar, a sought-after author, and a teacher who specializes in civil procedure, federal courts, and intellectual property law with a particular focus on patent litigation. He has testified before both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on topics of patent law, and his scholarship has been cited in over a dozen judicial opinions across all levels of the state and federal courts. A summa cum laude graduate from Tulane University School of Law, Paul clerked for Judge Ronald M. Gould of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced in the Issues and Appeals group at Jones Day prior to his academic career.

In this episode, Rachel and Paul discuss the shocking gender disparity that continues to persist in private-practice patent litigation and the much more equitable distribution of legal work in government agencies. They also highlight the mechanisms that militate against greater equity in law firms.

Rachel’s and Paul’s paper shows unequivocally that gender disparity is neither a generational issue that will be resolved by the passage of time nor is it a pipeline issue due to insufficient female STEM lawyers. Through their research, we gain a greater understanding of how law firms must change their economic incentives and entrenched, unconscious cultures if they are to foster true gender equity.

Highlights include:

• Studying the experience of women patent litigators from two different perspectives (4:37)

• Data-driven insight about gender disparity in the private sector vs. public sector (7:50)

• Why the government seems to do better on equality (9:36)

• Do client-created carrots and sticks actually nudge firms to improve gender equality? (17:26)

• Pulling the ladder after you climb it (24:48)

• Highlight, add women & stir (28:59)

• Unconsciously perpetuating exclusionary practices (31:37)

• The myth of not having enough women in the patent litigation pipeline (38:06)

• The arc of history is not inevitably leading to greater equity (43:00)

• Objective metrics as a means to track progress and propel further improvements (50:01)

Further Reading:
• Overqualified and Underrepresented: Gender Inequality in Pharmaceutical Patent Law
• Extraordinary Writ or Ordinary Remedy? Mandamus at the Federal Circuit
• @TempleLaw
• @RRebouche
• @prgugliuzza

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This episode introduces the new co-host of the Sidebars podcast, Kate Geyer. Kate is an Associate in Kilpatrick Townsend’s Seattle office. Her practice focuses on patent litigation in federal court and at the ITC, as well as post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent Office.

Kate is a 2019 graduate of George Washington University Law School. She graduated with high honors, Order of the Coif, and won the Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck Award. While in law school, in addition to being a research assistant and an articles editor for the George Washington Law Review, Kate also won the 2018 and 2019 AIPLA’s Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition and served as a judicial intern for the honorable Kara Stoll Carto on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and as a law clerk in the Office of Unfair Import Investigations at the ITC.

Prior to law school, Kate graduated from MIT with a BS in physics and minors in mathematics and political science, then followed her passion for the intersection of technology and policy to a position as a business analyst in Washington, DC, dissecting emerging technologies for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers.

In this episode, Kate shares her journey to becoming the patent litigator and fierce advocate she is today. This journey also built her determination to break the barriers and institutional biases that still persist for women and minorities in patent law, and to create a more welcoming and inclusive profession - one in which there is a seat at the table for everyone.

Highlights include:

Introducing the new co-host of Sidebars (0:38)
Turns out, learning physics and doing physics are not the same thing (2:44)
Finding practical ways to indulge a passion for tech and policy (3:44)
Participating in the arena, expanding one’s horizons, finding law school (4:47)
Breaking “it’s not what we do around here” institutional norms (8:33)
A multigenerational perspective on gender barriers and mentorship (10:59)
The unexpected dynamics of being a young and female litigator (14:40)
New opportunities for younger attorneys (15:59)
The importance of giving associates freedom from micromanagement (20:29)
Taking ownership and handling mistakes (26:00)
Finding a job you love (28:48)
Perfectionism and not being the smartest person in the room (31:13)
Getting over fears with practice (37:22)
Crushing arguments with preparation (43:35)
The critical need to address the shortage of women and minorities in leadership (48:40)

Meet the Hosts

April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
Kathleen Geyer

Mentioned in the Episode

"Gender Inequality in Patent Litigation," Paul Gugliuzza & Rachel Rebouche

Learn More

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, hosts April Abele Isaacson and Kimberlynn Davis along with the podcast’s producer, Kristina Travaillot, reflect on the first season of the Sidebars podcast and provide a preview of Season Two.

Sidebars, the first podcast released by Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, grew out of April’s, Kim’s, and Kristina’s shared recognition that underrepresented voices in patent law had many valuable things to say. A podcast seemed like the perfect platform to showcase trailblazing women and members of other underrepresented communities. The resulting 14 episodes of Season One created a tapestry of interesting, honest, and sometimes even raw conversations that never fail to move listeners.

In this episode, April, Kim, and Kristina discuss the many surprises they encountered in bringing Sidebars to fruition and the work that is yet to be done in their journey to help the practice of patent law continue to grow in diversity and inclusion.

Highlights include:

The power of authenticity to awe and inspire (2:10)
The unexpected value of launching a podcast in the middle of a pandemic (3:23)
Realizing that there is more to say (8:18)
Season Two’s focus on the realities of seasoned and rookie women patent litigators (9:11)
Fostering an environment where everyone is a unicorn (11:14)
Paying it forward by spotlighting and breaking biases (22:22)
Tackling the self-editing that members of underrepresented groups impose on themselves (25:11)
The shifting norms of acceptable behavior (26:25)
Dealing with unfounded assumptions and taking back your power (31:25)
Finding new ways to build bigger tables so many more people can have a seat at it (40:00)
The difference that hearing actual voices makes (43:12)

Meet the Hosts:

April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, we welcome multi-faceted inventor and author, Dr. Arlyne Simon to the podcast. Arlyne is juggling three successful careers at the same time – as a biomedical engineer, an award-winning children’s book author, and the CEO of an invention education company, Abby Invents.

Arlyne works as a platform architect in the Health and Sciences Group of Intel Corporation. Prior to her work at Intel, she was a senior R&D engineer at Becton Dickinson. Arlyne received her BS in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Georgia Tech and her Ph.D. in macromolecular Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan.

In addition to her responsibilities at Intel, Arlyne is the author of a series of books chronicling the adventures of young inventor named Abby. The books also serve as the basis for the curriculum of the education training company, Abby Invents, that Arlyne founded and now helms as the CEO. The company aims to inspire kids everywhere – including those from backgrounds that are underrepresented in STEM – to use their imagination and see themselves as inventors.

Growing up on the Caribbean Island of Dominica, Arlyne was inspired by her father, who was an engineer, her mother, who was a teacher, and her stepmother, who had a deep and abiding love of reading and books. Her strong family support allowed her to dream big and believe that she could achieve anything. She credits her family – as well as her graduate school advisor and mentor – with having the fortitude to persevere through the ebbs and flows of her academic journey, when she sometimes was the only woman in the lab, and she was one of very few students of color in the whole department.

In this episode, Arlyne shares how the right role models and mentors have shown her the way to success and how critically important it was to see herself as they saw her – a brilliant engineer and inventor who can hold her own in a field that has been traditionally male and White. She also discusses how she is now carrying this torch forward, ensuring that the next generation of children, regardless of their backgrounds, have the representation they need to see themselves as curious adventurers and inventors.

Highlights include:

Inheriting a passion for learning, understanding, and caring (4:29)
A student and a teacher (8:00)
Discovering chemical engineering, then pivoting to biomedical engineering (11:40)
The benefits of attending an all-girl school (14:03)
The culture shock of finding oneself in a slim minority (18:37)
Meeting the perfect mentor and discovering the process of inventing (20:44)
Finding out that publishing is not the only coin of the academic realm (25:17)
Learning to fail and to keep going (27:42)
The long and winding road to a patentable invention and a provisional application (32:11)
How being the only woman in the lab inspired a pivot to writing children’s books that break down ethnic and gender barriers to STEM inventing (42:27)
Why representation matters at every level (46:21)
Gaining recognition for the book series, even though it had to be self-published because it was rejected by traditional publishers (48:40)
Kids ask the best questions (53:20)
From inventing to entrepreneurship (58:25)

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, guest host Stephanie Sanders, Global Patent Operations Chief at Kilpatrick Townsend, speaks with two professional development experts about how to become the CEO of your legal career.

Katie White is the Director of Employer Outreach at the George Washington University Law School and the principal at KT White Law Careers, a career coaching firm specializing in working with attorneys embarking on new careers. Before joining GW Law, Katie was Chief Attorney Recruiting Officer at Akin Gump, and prior to that role, she worked in attorney recruiting and professional development at a number of firms, including Dickstein Shapiro, Morgan Lewis, and Cleary Gottlieb.

Colleen Bear is the Senior Professional Development Manager at Kilpatrick Townsend. She has more than 20 years of experience in professional development, including organizational development and change talent assessment, leadership development, performance improvement, sales effectiveness, strategic planning, program management, and facilitation. She is an expert facilitator, and a highly impactful executive coach, and strategic consultant.

In short, our two guests are the ideal people to speak with when you need career advice.

In this episode, we’re going to discuss the challenges and opportunities that all lawyers face, regardless of whether they are just starting out or are more advanced in their careers. From upleveling yourself as a lawyer to effective networking strategies to making good career choices in the moment to speaking up and creating the right work environment for yourself, this episode is all about how – and why – you should take charge of your career in 2022.

Highlights include:

The evolution of law firms (3:33)
Taking advantage of professional development opportunities (4:37)
Building relationships at all stages of a legal career (8:24)
Accruing career equity by contributing to the firm and the legal profession (10:12)
The value of being visible and engaged (13:20)
Diversifying your work portfolio (20:35)
How to economy-proof your job (24:58)
Succeeding as an introvert (26:46)
Growing a network of loud fans (29:44)
Becoming aware of the thousands of individual choices that create our career (34:20)
The importance of speaking up for yourself as a woman attorney (40:57)
Recognizing and accepting informal mentorship (46:40)
Managing first impressions for best impact (49:28)
Learning to be more observant in order to become a better lawyer and leader (52:09)

Meet the Hosts:

Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.
April Abele Isaacson, M.S.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Anthony Jones is an enrolled member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe of Washington and an intellectual property attorney. An associate at Perkins Coie, his practice focuses on patent matters, including prosecution & portfolio counseling, involving complex technologies such as telecommunications, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurrency & blockchain, and software-based technologies.

Anthony’s journey to the practice of IP law includes a variety of legal experiences. He served as an in-house attorney for the Tulalip Tribes, focusing on tribal governance, economic development, and Tribal court litigation. He was also an appellate and pro tem judge for the Northwest Intertribal Court System and a hearing examiner pro tem (trainee) for the City of Seattle Office of Hearing Examiner. In 2021, he was named one of the 20 under 40 honorees by Leadership Kitsap. He is currently the president of the Northwest Indian Bar Association.

An avid tinkerer from childhood, Anthony first set his sights on an engineering career and therefore applied and was accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with a B.S., Engineering. But when he realized that a career in engineering would not provide an outlet for his people skills, he changed tacks and embarked on a career in the law. Then, Anthony made another small course correction to fully embrace both his engineering background and his legal training by passing the patent bar exam after studying for it on his own.

Anthony grew up steeped in the traditions, culture, art, & living history of his Tribe. From a young age, he participated in Tribal journeys with his grandfather, building his capacity for perseverance, determination, & success. In this episode, Anthony shares how growing up on the reservation instilled in him a strong sense of self & allowed him to pursue his dreams - without limits.

From growing up on a reservation to culture shock at MIT (3:24)
Being in a place where you’re one of just a handful of people like yourself (5:31)
Coping with implicit bias from a young age (6:53)
A precursor experience to becoming a lawyer (7:55)
Stretching one’s wings and finding new challenges (10:51)
Handling imposter syndrome and gaining a feeling of belonging (12:45)
Living history (14:16)
Finding the perfect way combine one’s soft skills with one’s engineering expertise (17:20)
Finding a community in law school (19:37)
The value of a solid grounding in tribal culture (22:53)
Tribal journeys that build a strong sense of self and the ability to persevere (24:38)
Art as a means of keeping Native American traditions alive and passing them down to future generations (30:28)
Walking in two worlds: Native American cultural traditions vs. BigLaw (34:45)
The shocking rarity of attorneys in general – and IP attorneys in particular - from Native American backgrounds (37:05)
Using your status as the first or only person in a situation to set an example for others (39:49)

Learn More:

Anthony's artwork on MV Chimacum, "Thunderbird Moon" - via West Sound Magazine
Anthony's artwork in Burke Museum - "Coast Salish art piece will welcome visitors to the New Burke"

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Bree Black Horse (Indian name: Prized Woman) is an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. A self-described “legal warrior,” she focuses her practice on Native American affairs & litigation, and is admitted to numerous tribal courts.

Bree’s legal career spans a variety of roles and experiences, including working on a wide range of cases, both criminal and civil. In addition, she worked as a youth advocate and case manager for United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, where she worked with formerly homeless young adults in transitional housing. She also served as a judicial extern to Chief Judge Theresa M. Pouley in the Tulalip Tribal Court, a legal clerk in the Office of Tribal Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice, and a law clerk to the Hon. Brian M. Morris in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.

Bree’s work has garnered many recognitions and awards. In 2021 and the three years immediately preceding, she was recognized as a Washington “Rising Star” for Native American Law by Super Lawyers magazine. Bree was also recognized in 2022 as one of the "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch" for Native American Law by The Best Lawyers in America®. In addition, Bree received the Public Service & Leadership Award from the Washington Young Lawyers Committee of the Washington State Bar Association in 2019 & the “40 Under 40” Award from the National Center for American Indian Economic Development.

Bree grew up steeped in Tribal traditions, culture, and art. Regularly attending powwows – and performing in them – she listened to tribal elders as they discussed the issues and concerns facing Native American communities. Realizing that many of these matters have legal aspects, she decided that she could best serve her community by becoming a lawyer. In this episode, Bree tells us how her career journey is inextricably linked to the unimaginable suffering that Native Americans have endured since the United States was formed and how her people’s history forged her determination to conquer adversity, stand tall, and be counted.

From Powwow to law school (3:15)
A mother’s wish comes true (04:25)
Power Royalty and public speaking (05:43)
The Nordstrom gig that helped support a family, build leadership skills, and pave the way to law school (08:44)
Stepping into a brand-new world (12:20)
A bracing dose of straight talk (14:14)
The gift of adversity (17:53)
Serving the law-school community and leaving a mark (21:00)
Being the only Native American person in the room; representing a people who experienced government-led ethnocide and genocide (22:21)
The forced assimilation campaign against Native Americans and the Trail of Tears (24:40)
Becoming a legal warrior for Native American rights (31:02)
The power that comes from knowing who you are (32:45)
Finding multiple opportunities to serve the community as a lawyer (35:08)
Impact litigation through the ACLU (38:47)
The epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women (40:37)
The disproportionate service of Indian veterans (49:28)
The opportunity inherent in being the first or the only (53:10)

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this special episode, hosts April Abele Isaacson and Kimberlynn Davis are joined by Kilpatrick Townsend Communications Manager (and co-producer of the Sidebars by Kilpatrick Townsend podcast) Kristina Travaillot to discuss the topic of mental health in the workplace. This is an especially important topic these days, when the whole world is still reeling from the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken over our lives for the last 18 months.

With three very different backgrounds and life journeys, April, Kim, and Kristina share their mental health experiences and their hard-won wisdom about building resilient, thriving lives despite tragedies, obstacles, and just plain old garden-variety stressors. This is an important conversation, filled with compassion, humor and grace, even as it touches on deep and existential questions that we all face by virtue of being human.

Highlights include:

Why this year’s Mental Health Day is particularly important (01:32)
Kim’s “mental health day” that wasn’t (02:52)
Growing up at a time when mental illness was stigmatized and how times have changed (04:56)
Getting to the point where we treat mental health like we do physical health (5:47)
Learning to feel like we do not owe the world an explanation about mental health concerns (06:49)
Admitting your limits when you’re an overachiever (9:20)
Learning to hear the stories we tell ourselves and probe whether they are true (11:01)
The subtle and insidious ways that COVID-19 is amplifying our insecurities (12:36)
The importance of creativity and beauty for self-care (15:12)
Developing a lifelong exercise habit as an antidote to stress and trauma (17:10)
Rediscovering childhood hobbies as adult stress-relief activities (19:18)
The invaluable comfort of being in a family or community that has your back – and the importance of letting go of relationships that have run their course (20:33)
The many impacts of growing up in a family that didn’t talk about “those things” (25:53)
The difference between getting over something and getting through it (33:21)
The magical power of quiet alone time (36:58)
How to loosen your death-grip on control (40:10)
The power of a simple breath (43:06)

Meet the Hosts:

Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.
April Abele Isaacson, M.S.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend
World Health Organization's World Mental Health Day 2021
World Health Organization's Mental Well-Being Resources

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Stephanie Sanders is currently the global patent operations chief at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. In this role, Stephanie is responsible for ensuring that the firm’s IP teams continually improve their patent prosecution practice and enhance their efficiency. Stephanie’s career journey includes the roles of patent examiner, patent attorney, law school career counselor, and IP training manager at a boutique law firm.

Originally from Long Island, NY, Stephanie earned a BS from Binghamton University, the top-ranked public university in New York, where she majored in computer engineering. She then attended law school at George Washington.

Although Stephanie claims to not have had a career plan, she was always attuned to her natural strengths, her interests, and her principles. Thus, even without a plan, she was able to blaze a trail that led her to a string of great jobs – each a better fit than the previous one.

In this episode, Stephanie shares her nontraditional journey in the legal profession, the opportunities that can be found if you keep your eyes open, and the strategies that have allowed her to home in on authentic, perfect-for-her positions in patent law.

Highlights include:

No career plan? No problem! (02:59)
The blinking cursor leads to a college major (04:19)
How to randomly fall into engineering, and love it (05:21)
Capitalizing on natural strengths (08:13)
Feeling like an ugly duckling and floundering (11:19)
A fed-up mother and a new career in patent law (13:24)
Landing in the Patent Office and receiving great patent training (18:02)
Pivoting again to law school and battling imposter syndrome (20:55)
Finding out that practicing law in BigLaw isn’t a good fit (30:36)
Being good at your job but feeling like a failure (39:50)
The drawbacks for women attorneys in firms without strong female leadership (43:34)
Judging a job by the fit, not by the prestige (48:30)
Finding an even more perfect job in the classifieds (52:37)
An ugly duckling turns into a swan (53:33)
Being authentic and genuine as a young attorney (55:52
When doors open and great offers start coming your way (59:17)

Meet the Hosts:

Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.
April Abele Isaacson, M.S.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend
Listen to Stephanie's personal podcast, "Are You New Here?"

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Danielle Abramson is currently SVP, Global Head of IP at RedHill Biopharma. She is a registered patent agent with an almost 20-year career in the legal field, which includes stints at several law firms where she created her own career path.

Danielle has a BS in mechanical engineering from Binghamton University, the top-ranked public university in New York. She also has a PhD in medical sciences from Brown University where her research centered on biomaterials and tissue engineering.

A diagnosis of scoliosis in eighth grade introduced Danielle to a life-long passion for science and engineering. A willingness to take risks, speak up, and consistently create new opportunities out of thin air have translated this passion into a trail-blazing career in patent law that has translated into better career paths for her fellow patent agents as well.

In this episode, Danielle generously shares her actionable and practical blueprint for building a charmed, passion-filled career.

Highlights include:

The curve that started it all (02:14)
The dogs that shifted a career path (5:27)
The switch to biomaterials and tissue engineering (07:50)
Getting things done, with a light touch (10:04)
The dining-room-table patent law firm (11:06)
Dipping a toe into patent law as a tech specialist in Boston (13:34)
Finding a law-firm position that fits (15:40)
A mentor’s positioning advice to a young patent agent (17:03)
The value of strong relationships in building career flexibility (18:21)
Who says a patent agent can’t develop business? (20:42)
Speaking up – for the good of your client work (23:08)
Setting boundaries and keeping toxic colleagues at bay (24:34)
Building the first-ever patent agent career track in a law firm (29:02)
Creating one’s own in-house position (34:30)
Busting myths about the life of an in-house counsel (40:10)
The blueprint for a dream career (45:38)
The value of admitting you don’t know what you’re doing and asking for help (52:03)

Meet the Hosts:

Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.
April Abele Isaacson, M.S.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Jamie Graham is currently Associate Director and Senior Patent Counsel at Boehringer Ingelheim USA. Prior to joining Boehringer, Jamie practiced patent law for 30 years at Kilpatrick Townsend, many of them as a partner. At the firm, she focused on IP issues relating to biological and chemical technologies, particularly in the areas of biotechnology, diagnostics, immunology, and pharmaceuticals. A registered U.S. Patent Attorney since 1986, Jamie claims title to being the first female patent attorney in Atlanta, back when there were fewer than 25 registered patent attorneys in the entire city.

In her science work, Jamie conducted enzyme isolation and characterization research at Sloan-Kettering, and cardiac and allergy drug disposition/metabolism research at Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd. She also performed graduate research in neuroimmunology and virology, including HIV research conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jamie co-founded Women in Bio (WIB) Atlanta, was active in Women In Technology (WIT) to help build women’s careers, and promoted STEM initiatives through a variety of organizations. As an American Cancer Society (ACS)-GA Board member, Jamie successfully led the regional ResearcHERS Initiative – an inaugural nationwide program with a goal of $3,000,000 to fund women-led cancer research – working with 12 high profile female community leaders and ACS executives.

Jamie charted a unique course in her career, scrambling the traditional steps of a patent practitioner to create her own path to success as a lawyer, a scientist, an engaged community member, and most importantly to her – as a mother. For example, she was already a member of the patent bar and a licensed, practicing attorney when she went to graduate school for a degree in molecular biology. She was five years out of law school when she asked to be a summer associate at Kilpatrick Townsend, intending to stay a summer, then staying 30 years.

Highlights include:

A refreshingly honest reason for ending up in patent law (3:05)
Experiencing formative female leadership in college (5:42)
The strength of the Wellesley network (6:48)
Being the only woman in a meeting and learning to not make copies – or coffee (8:43)
Making career decisions based on childcare considerations (9:12)
A trick for making women be heard in meetings (13:09)
Juggling the demands of a high-powered career and caring for aging parents (14:33)
Learning from Madeleine Albright (19:40)
Building a nationally recognized patent practice by hiring women (21:30)
Voting for diversity with your time and attention (24:41)
Discovering patent talent on an Uber ride (25:44)
Building Career blocks “out of sequence” (27:01)
Supporting female cancer researcHERS (31:12)
Launching a new career chapter after a storied 30-year stint at one law firm (32:59)
Early-morning partner meetings and small children (41:44)
The value of making decisions and sticking with them (44:55)

Meet the Hosts:

Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.
April Abele Isaacson, M.S.

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, Cecilia Andrews, Director of Intellectual Property for Novelis, Inc., shares her approach to building an authentic brand and delivering high-impact value for clients and colleagues. Cecilia relates her career path from aspiring mechanical engineer as an undergrad to top patent guardian and IP legal strategist for a global firm. Growing up in New England, she navigated different cultures as a first generation American whose parents had immigrated from Argentina. She grew up bilingual but not quite fitting the conventional mold of “Latina.” Like her two older sisters, she won a scholarship to Vanderbilt University where her professional sights shifted from engineering to patent law.

After Vanderbilt Law School, she interviewed in Atlanta, fell in love with the urban forest atmosphere and joined a large firm. With a fellow lawyer’s advice and help, Cecilia moved to a patent boutique where her career took off. Eight years ago she joined Novelis and embraced the challenge of earning respect from older, mostly male, colleagues by learning to be seen as a contributor of value in every engagement.

Key Points

From New England to Memphis – a Connecticut Latina goes South: 7:15
Choosing Atlanta to start her career: 12:40
How great mentors opened doors for her: 15:30
The Cecilia Andrews way of building a personal brand: 17:00
Winning peer respect as a woman in a largely male field: 23:00
The critical process of developing trust: 25:40
Going in-house – how her viewpoint shifted: 32:00
How the power of wellness has changed her life: 36:24
Her perspective on interacting with different cultures: 43:20
Cecilia’s “first and foremost” – her goals as Mom: 49:38
Strategic approach for being the “first or only” at the table : 56:15

Meet the Hosts:

April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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Huong Nguyen is currently Vice President, General Counsel, of Fosun Pharma USA Inc. She has spent the majority of her nearly two-decade law practice actively working in the pharmaceutical industry as both an in-house counsel and a private practitioner, with deep and wide-ranging experiences in litigation, IP, compliance, M&A, BD and commercial transactions, and employment. Throughout this time, she has partnered with a wide variety of cross-functional groups, and has directly counseled senior management and Boards of Directors in her areas of expertise. Huong received her BA at the University of California, Los Angeles and her JD at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Arriving in the U.S. as a child refugee from Vietnam, after her family was separated in the aftermath of Saigon falling to the North Vietnamese and her father being sent to a re-education camp, Huong had to learn a new language, reintegrate with her family, and find a new identity in her adopted country. In this episode, Huong shares her story of never giving up, devising solutions to whatever situation she found herself in, and creating a path that is truly her own. She is a gay Asian-American woman who’s achieved success in traditionally inhospitable terrains, such as the patent bar while staying true to her authentic self. Her grit, determination, and grace under extreme circumstances are truly inspiring.

Highlights include:

How Huong’s family fared after the fall of Saigon (2:03)
The fraught journey to America (4:20)
How to speak to kids about challenging topics (12:30)
The melting pot and how diverse a single family can be (14:20)
The long-lasting effects of trauma (18:00)
The principles that shaped Huong’s worldview (19:45)
Starting to succeed by flourishing academically (21:09)
Building self-respect and community through sports (27:51)
The military comes calling, and Huong answers the call (31:16)
The military in 1992: you can be gay, but we’ll kick you out for gay conduct (35:00)
Choosing authenticity (36:40)
A surprising pivot to philosophy, then law school (42:03)
The importance of diversity in outside counsel pitch teams (48:27)
Paying it forward – giving your kids a better life (53:36)
Walking into a room with senior management and feeling like you belong, authentically (60:51)

Meet the Hosts:

April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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In this episode, April and Kim interview Mary Hannon, the woman who started the public conversation about the gender gap in the patent bar and inspired this podcast. Mary is currently a law student at DePaul University and in the fall she will be joining Sidley Austin as an associate in the IP litigation group. She is the author of The Patent Bar Gender Gap: Expanding the Eligibility Requirements to Foster Inclusion and Innovation in the U.S. Patent System, which was published in IP Theory in the fall of 2020. This article generated significant media attention and in December 2020 U.S. Senators Hirono and Tillis referenced Mary’s article in the letter they sent to the Director of the USPTO concerning the gender gap among patent practitioners.

In March 2021, the federal register published a request for comments by the USPTO to propose changes to the eligibility requirements to sit for the patent bar.

In this podcast, we will explore the trajectory of Mary’s education and career, which led her to formulate her ideas about the gender gap in the patent bar, and her innovative ideas about the solution to this problem.

Highlights include:

The many facets of a science-related career (3:23)
The path to IP law (5:11)
Handling rejection with grace and turning it into a job offer (9:14)
The best advice Mary got from her dad (11:22)
Work-life balance as a trial lawyer (15:07)
The inspiration behind Mary’s ground-breaking article (26:05)
The arcane criteria currently used to determine patent bar eligibility (29:17)
Possible fixes to the outdated eligibility criteria for the patent bar (32:09)
Increasing the visibility of patent law as a career option (35:52)
Expanding opportunities vs. lowering the bar (37:35)
Sailing through unexpected celebrity and controversy (41:00)
Finding your voice and seizing the day (50:18)

Meet the Hosts:

April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Articles Mentioned in the Episode:

“The Patent Bar Gender Gap: Expanding the Eligibility Requirements to Foster Inclusion and Innovation in the U.S. Patent System” by Mary Hannon
"USPTO Is 'Institutionally Biased' Against Women, Study Says," Law360, October 6, 2020
U.S. Senators' Letter to USPTO Director
USPTO Director Andrei Iancu's response to U.S. Senators' Letter
Federal Register | Request for Comments on the National Strategy for Expanding American Innovation

Learn More:

Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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April Abele Isaacson has 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer and a registered United States patent attorney. Before starting her legal career, April earned a MS in Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences and was an HIV/AIDS research scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital. This technical background plays a significant role in her success as a patent litigator who focuses her practice on pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical patent litigation, particularly on behalf of drug innovators. Her patent litigation experience includes trying cases in several federal district courts throughout the United States, as well as appeals before the Federal Circuit, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. April also counsels biopharma companies on patent and related regulatory issues, including patent portfolio strategy, litigation preparation and strategy, licensing, patent term extension strategy, and Orange Book patent listing and Use Code strategy. April’s experience also includes a 5-year stint as in-house counsel at a public specialty pharmaceutical company, and serving as a U.S. Navy JAG Corps prosecutor where she won several high-profile jury cases and earned multiple achievement medals and letters of commendation for superior service and leadership.

April’s career is a truly her own creation, and her success is built on grit, tenacity, and love of learning. At every turn, she bet on herself and did the hard work that opened new doors. In this episode, April shares her journey and the forces that shaped her life and her career – from mental illness in her family to a changing political landscape in the country to the crucible of serving in the Navy. She also shares how determination and focusing on being her best self allowed her to build a bespoke career that fits her perfectly and that she loves – a career that didn’t come with an instruction manual.

Highlights include:

Why 1984 was the perfect year to attend a Seven Sisters college (2:00)
Embracing culture shock (4:35)
Finding your tribe (6:38)
Leaving it all on the (track-and-)field (7:42)
Spurning an athletic scholarship (10:13)
The invaluable support of others when there’s no family support to lean on (12:14)
How Shirley Chisholm derailed plans for medical school (15:06)
Letting go of other people’s dreams and expectations and finding your own (20:53)
Creating a Master's degree in a school that doesn’t award them (24:16)
Hello, law school, Hello Nashville (27:42)
Growing as a leader and a litigator through the Navy JAG Corp experience (30:43)
Cross-country and cross-careers: the move to California and to patent litigation (37:21)
The generational shift from women competing against each other to a collaborative, symbiotic approach (42:27)
Getting ahead in life does not require a “sharp elbows” mentality (45:45)

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Kim Davis is a rising star in the patent bar. Kim earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Emory University and her scientific training is instrumental in her practice, which focuses on prosecuting foreign and domestic patent applications in pharmaceuticals, the chemical arts, and metallurgy, due diligence and freedom to operate analysis, and client counseling and portfolio strategy for companies, universities, and research institutions. Among Kim’s many honors and accolades, she was recognized in 2018, 2019, and 2021 as a Georgia "Rising Star" in the area of Intellectual Property by Super Lawyers magazine, and named a “40 Under 40 Leader” by Emory University Alumni Association in 2020. Kim also serves as the co-chair of KT Voice, Kilpatrick's resource group focused on promoting the interests of Black attorneys. Kim is also a National Board Member and Chair of the Atlanta Advisory Board for Jumpstart, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring all children enter Kindergarten prepared for success.

The story of how Kim got to her present position and her current career success is full of pivots, twists, and surprises. In this episode, Kim pulls back the curtain and shows us how her relentless drive for excellence and achievement, which has been a constant factor in her life since her high-school days, allows her to navigate an imperfect career path to reach her perfect outcome.

Highlights include:
• The eternal question: doctor or lawyer? (1:06)
• A valedictorian competition, a pivot, and a prestigious new path (3:40)
• A reality check, a gut reaction, and yet another pivot to a new career (8:02)
• An Eli Lilly internship provides a glimpse of two potential futures: bench science vs. patent law (12:13)
• The importance of honesty for finding the right mentor (17:00)
• Being proactive in building networks pays huge career dividends (20:01)
• Working 9-5…and 5-9 (in evening law school) (26:05)
• Making the move from to Kilpatrick Townsend (29:44)
• Designing a great career takes thought…and a checklist (31:48)
• Tackling the PTO presidency during a pandemic (34:29)
• When your career takes an unexpected detour on its way to partnership (37:09)
• How to be a great mentee and how to mentor others (42:22)
• The value of being “the only” in your category (46:33)

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Why does a gaping gender gap persist in the patent bar and what’s to be done about it? In this inaugural episode of Sidebars, a limited-series podcast for women in patent law, Kilpatrick Townsend partners April Abele Isaacson and Kim Davis set up a discussion of these issues, which they will continue to explore in future episodes through interviews with phenomenal women in patent law, many of whom are “firsts,” or in some cases “onlys” even today. April and Kim also share some stories of their own careers and the pivot points that inspired them to create this podcast.

Meet the Hosts:
• April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
• Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Articles Mentioned in the Episode:
• “Senators Tell Iancu Patent Bar Needs More Women” (Law360)
• “The Patent Bar Gender Gap: Expanding the Eligibility Requirements to Foster Inclusion and Innovation in the U.S. Patent System” by Mary Hannon
• “Diversity in Patent Law: A Data Analysis of Diversity in the Patent Practice by Technology Background and Region” (American Bar Association, Landslide)
• U.S. Senators' Letter to USPTO Director
• "Where Have all the Patent Lawyers Gone? Long Time Passing..." by Kenneth L. Port, Molly Littman, and Lucas Hjelle
• USPTO Director Andrei Iancu's response to U.S. Senators' Letter

Learn More:• Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
• Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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We're pleased to introduce Sidebars! This limited podcast series by Kilpatrick Townsend's biopharma team showcases today's leading women in the patent bar. Each of the episodes is a candid conversation between groundbreaking women legal practitioners about their career paths, the obstacles they overcame in reaching success, and the steps we as a profession must still take to close the gender gap in intellectual property law and the patent bar.

Meet the Hosts:
• April Abele Isaacson, M.S.
• Kimberlynn B. Davis, Ph.D.

Learn More:• Visit the Kilpatrick Townsend MEMO Blog
• Check out other insights from Kilpatrick Townsend

The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Sidebars: Recent Episodes

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP