10th Annual Women in Intellectual Property
Chair's Speech

Kelly M. Slavitt, Esq., Chair

Of the 25 NYSBA Sections, the IP Law Section has 2,000 members and the highest number of attorneys admitted ten years or less.  This September we’re celebrating our existence as a Section for 20 years by throwing ourselves a party at Gotham Hall – I hope when you get the invite you’ll RSVP yes and join us.

I enjoy being a member of NYSBA because I believe in its mission of education, no more so than its education efforts in the area of diversity.  And there is no greater event that the IP Law Section puts on every year that focuses exclusively on a diverse group of people than this event.  10 years ago this event was the brainchild of the founder of this event, and former Chair of the NYSBA IP Law Section: Joyce Creidy.

At the time when Joyce and I joined the Section, the IP Law Section’s Executive Committee was made up mostly of men.  Older men.  Patent attorneys.  But progressive men like Rory Radding (the Section’s founder) and Marc Lieberstein (the Section’s Chair at that time) and Jeff Cahn (recently retired), who never made us feel like it was an old boys club we weren’t welcome in.  Men who were as welcoming to women joining the Section as they were with all new members.  Men who saw the shift in IP law brought on by the Internet and e-commerce.  Men who saw the power of diversity.  They were supportive of our efforts to introduce new Committees like the Pro Bono Committee, and new Initiatives like the Diversity Initiative, and become elected Officers, and start new events like Women in IP. 

Joyce created this event when she recognized that men were getting ahead because they had a strong professional network.  Her vision was to challenge the “old boy’s club” by creating a “women’s network,” and her vision has been a complete success, in my opinion.  As I look around the room I see many people I met at this event over the past ten years, and many others who went from colleagues to friends as a result of this event.

Topics at Women in IP have included:
• Strategies for Success
• How the IP Field has Changed
• Developing a Client Base
• Mentoring Relationships
• Equality in Compensation
• Achieving a Balance between Home and Work.
and
• What it takes to work in the global IP economy

Joyce has also started the Diversity Initiative in the IP Section and is the current Chair.  With her leadership, the Section was recently honored again as a “Section Diversity Challenge Leader,” and presented with an award from the NYSBA President Vincent Doyle.

So how far have we come as a Section in the past ten years in advancing women?
On this day ten years ago, Marc Lieberstein was Chair, and there was one female Officer: the Section Secretary, Joyce Creidy.  There were two Committee Chairs, one of which was Deb Resnick, who “passed the tiara” to Joyce as the Section Chair. I remember this joyfully, as it was the first time a woman Chair succeeded a woman Chair. 

There were 4 other female EC members:
• Vicki Cundiff – House of Delegates rep
• Mimi Netter – Member at large (who passed away last year, so we created a scholarship in her name)
• Tricia Semmelhack – Past chair and honorary member
and
• Bernice Leber – NYSBA Executive Committee liaison, who went on to become the President of NYSBA.

Female representation on the Executive Committee was 23%. 

Fast forward ten years, and we now have 41% women.

And as if that statistic isn’t impressive enough, let’s look at the elected Officers of the IP Section.  Ten years ago 25% were women (i.e., Joyce) and now 75% are women: myself, Sheila Francis the Treasurer and Erica Klein the Secretary and host and Speaker at tonight’s event.

People like Joyce have helped us achieve these impressive statistics.  If any of you here have not met Joyce, you are in the vast minority so please make sure you introduce yourself to her.  There is no greater champion in the IP Law Section to diversity than Joyce.  And for that, a bunch of us conspired to get you this gift as a small token of the Section’s appreciation to all you’ve done in creating this opportunity for us all to make new friends and advance our careers.  [Presentation of gift to Joyce Creidy]

With people like Joyce leading the charge and inspiring all of us, I know I’m standing among future Chairs of the Section and leaders in the legal field.  I have every confidence that at the 20th Anniversary of Women in IP we’ll be sharing our business cards with titles like “General Counsel” and “Partner” and “President” listed on them.  Thank you to our sponsors over the past ten years; there have been too many to list them all.  Thank you to the Co-Chairs.  Thank you to the Speakers.  And thank you to all of you for making the time to be with us tonight, and for the past ten years.