Medalith Albarracin

Partner, Barlaw—Barrera & Asociados (Peru)

Medalith Albarracin joined Barlaw in 2014 and now serves as a partner. She is responsible for non-contentious IP areas. She specialises in the registration of trademarks, patents, plant varieties, and copyright. In 2021, she was invited to become a partner.

She previously worked at Pierola & Asociados from 2008 to 2013. Albarracin was selected as a WIPR Trailblazer in 2019 and is a member of ASIPI’s industrial design and trade dress committee and INTA’s geographical indications committee.

Adjoa Anim

Trademark attorney and director, HGF (UK)

Adjoa Anim is a trademark attorney who provides advice concerning brand selection and suitability, trademark filing strategies and portfolio management. She is an active member of HGF’s diversity, equity and inclusion group, and a co-founder and co-chair of HGF’s first affinity network, Families@HGF, for carers of children and young people and their allies.

She is a mentor with IP Inclusive and a trustee of an organisation working to support Black female entrepreneurs with grants, pro bono support and know-how relevant to their businesses.

Isobel Barry

Partner, Carpmaels & Ransford (UK)

Isobel Barry advises innovator pharmaceutical companies across all stages of the pharmaceutical product lifecycle, with much of her time being spent on contentious matters. In 2020, she was named as a WIPR Trailblazer. Barry sits on two subcommittees of IP Inclusive, running events for the support and networking groups IP Out—as co-chair of the committee—and Women in IP.

She has also driven LGBTQ+ inclusion at Carpmaels & Ransford, coordinating events and setting up an internal affinity network. As partner, Barry is working with colleagues to further develop the firm’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) endeavours.

Ruth Burstall

Legal director (IP, data, healthtech transactions) Johnson & Johnson Innovation (EMEA)

Ruth Burstall is the regional legal lead for Johnson & Johnson Innovation EMEA. She specialises in IP, technology and data transactions in the life sciences industry and began her career in the IP team at Baker McKenzie, advising clients primarily in the consumer goods and healthcare sectors on complex IP-led issues.

She also completed several client secondments with GSK, Cancer Research Technology, Vodafone and Expedia, and lectures on the University College London IP and transactions course.

Isi Caulder

Partner, Bereskin & Parr (Canada)

Isi Caulder is a partner at Bereskin & Parr and chairs the firm’s D&I committee. Caulder is also the co-leader of the firm’s artificial intelligence group. She has an MSc in electrical engineering in addition to being a lawyer and registered patent agent. Caulder is active in the Toronto technology community and organises legal programming with deep tech and diversity themes.

As part of her leadership with the ChIPs Toronto chapter she organised a virtual event entitled ‘The Future is…Investing in Women Led Innovation’ that was held in April 2022.

Catherine Chammartin

Director general, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (Switzerland)

Catherine Chammartin has served as the director general of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property since 2015. Before joining the IP office, Chammartin worked as a policy adviser at the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters until 2010.

Then she worked as head of the exchange of information and individual taxation section at the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters, a role she held from 2011 to 2015. She has also served as a research assistant to the department chair for private and commercial law at the University of Zurich.

Sujata Chaudhri

Managing partner, Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys (India)

Sujata Chaudhri owns and manages IP boutique firm Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys in India. A majority of the firm’s top-tier of fee earners are women, and its associates come from diverse religious backgrounds and states. She formerly served as an equity partner at IP boutique firm Cowan, Liebowitz and Latman in New York City, before relocating to India in 2011.

She represents New Balance, Levi’s and American Eagle in India. Chaudhri was formerly an adjunct professor at the Franklin Pierce Centre for IP, University of New Hampshire Law School.

Mariel Chichisola

Partner, Ojam Bullrich Flanzbaum (Argentina)

Mariel Chichisola began working on IP in 2006 and now serves as partner at Ojam Bullrich Flanzbaum. Chichisola specialises in brand development and portfolio management, prosecution, and general advice on IP matters. She is a member of the Women in IP Network (WIN) and, along with Raquel Flanzbaum, co-founded the WIN Argentine chapter. She is a member of the board of directors of the Argentine Union of Young Entrepreneurs and an active member of INTA’s Unreal campaign committee.

Chichisola undertook the Women in Decision Making Positions programme of Fundación Flor, a foundation that trains leaders in building organisations with inclusion, diversity and good governance practices. She leads the firm’s startups team, providing training sessions and pro bono advice to women entrepreneurs.

Theresa Conduah

Partner, Haynes Boone (US)

Theresa Conduah is a partner in the IP practice group in the Orange County office of Haynes Boone. She focuses her practice on advising clients on trademark disputes, patent litigation and technology transactions. She has served as an in-house IP counsel at United Airlines, Toyota Motor North America, and, most recently, at dosist, a health and wellness company. Previously, as a lawyer in private practice,

Conduah counselled both Fortune 500 and startup clients in the technology, financial services, entertainment and sports industries about IP prosecution and enforcement matters.

Yvonne Draheim

Partner, Hogan Lovells (Germany)

Yvonne Draheim has developed her practice to cover almost every type of contentious and advisory IP work in Germany, Europe and the US. She has helped numerous clients to prevent and resolve disputes in the areas of trademarks, unfair competition law, copyright, domain names and designs. Draheim teaches IP law at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and is a member of the German Association for Intellectual Property and Copyright and INTA.

She is the partner in charge of the inter-schools debating competition ‘Debate It!’ in Hamburg, which aims to improve pupils’ skills and knowledge.

Elizabeth Ferrill

Partner, Finnegan (US)

Elizabeth Ferrill is a partner in Finnegan’s Washington DC office. She co-leads Finnegan FORWARD (Focused on Raising Women’s Advancement, Representation, and Development), the firm’s women’s business initiative. She works with firm management to lead efforts regarding the inclusion of women at all levels, external promotion of current and future women leaders, and client and firm co-aligned efforts.

Ferrill is the vice chair of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) industrial designs committee, and received IPO’s Carl B. Horton Distinguished Service Award in 2021. She has also been involved with veterans’ pro bono cases for more than a decade.

Marion Heathcote

Principal, Davies Collison Cave (Australia)

Marion Heathcote focuses her practice on trademark law where she has gained extensive experience in strategically advising on international trademark portfolio management and protection, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region. Heathcote has developed a particular knowledge in relation to geographical indications and agro economic and ecology issues. Heathcote chairs INTA’s Brands for a Better Society committee and, in 2019, was the recipient of INTA’s president’s award.

On INTA’s behalf, she has provided support to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s education initiatives for indigenous peoples and local communities, including their Women’s Entrepreneurs Project-based IP training and mentoring programme.

Zuzana Hecko

Counsel, Allen & Overy (Slovakia)

Zuzana Hecko is lead IP counsel at Allen & Overy in Slovakia and leads the firm’s IP/technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) in Bratislava. She has been instrumental in building the firm’s profile and IP offering locally. Hecko has experience advising on various IP/TMT issues, including representing clients in litigation before the courts, advising on licensing schemes, and providing advice on software and copyrights, anti-counterfeiting, electronic commerce and IP aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Hecko previously worked as a legal advisor at the European Commission where she handled issues related to the enforcement of IP rights.

Ling Jin

Head of digital, Lusheng (China)

Ling Jin is general manager of the Shanghai branch office and head of digital and commercial at Lusheng Law Firm. With more than 20 years of experience in commercial, IP, technology and marketing law, Jin leads clients through IP and regulatory challenges in the digital arena. Previously, Jin spent ten years at the State Council Legislative Office, where she was involved in the development of more than 50 laws and regulations.

She is also responsible for service innovation, creating solutions to address client needs in cutting-edge areas such as non-fungible tokens and the metaverse.

Sandamali Kottachchi

Partner, Julius & Creasy (Sri Lanka)

Sandamali KottachchI is experienced in all aspects of IP law. She assists clients with prosecution and litigation and provides IP advice. Kottachchi has experience in IP due diligence work and has been involved in major due diligence projects. Additionally, Kottachchi advises clients on regulatory matters including regulations for food, drugs, cosmetics and tobacco. She liaises with various government authorities on behalf of her clients and specialises in patent drafting.

Kottachchi is a member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association and an alumni of the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys’ academy of education.

Vera Kühr

Partner, Forresters IP (Germany)

Vera Kühr began her career in the Munich office of an international law firm, focusing on the fields of vaccines and pharmaceuticals. Now, Kühr concentrates her practice on patent prosecution. She has experience in providing infringement and validity opinions, as well as opinions on freedom to operate. Kühr graduated from Kiel University with a diploma in biology focusing on plant molecular biology, microbiology, and biochemistry.

She has also worked as a scientific assistant at the Institute of Plant Breeding at Hohenheim University/Stuttgart. Kühr does voluntary work for the German Canadian cultural exchange and German Canadian business development.

Candice Kwok

Partner, Squire Patton Boggs (US)

Candice Kwok is a partner in the IP and technology practice at Squire Patton Boggs. With nearly 20 years of experience in IP, Kwok focuses her practice on international trademark portfolio management, enforcement counselling and contentious trademark proceedings. She represents clients in industries including fintech, food and beverage, healthcare and fashion. Kwok has acted in multiple opposition and invalidation proceedings in Singapore for a European luxury streetwear brand taking action against an Asian copycat company.

Kwok formerly served as chair of INTA’s trademark office practices (Asia-Pacific subcommittee) and is a member of INTA’s non-traditional trademarks committee.

Anne-Charlotte Le Bihan

Partner, Bird & Bird (France)

Over the past 17 years, Anne-Charlotte Le Bihan has built extensive experience across the full spectrum of IP, with a particular focus on patent litigation. In addition to experience in patent litigation in the pharmaceutical, electronics and telecoms industries, she has experience in ‘soft IP’, advising pharmaceutical, luxury, sports, food and beverage, and electrical goods companies on trademark and design matters.

Le Bihan currently serves as president of the French chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LESI). As well as teaching IP law at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, she is a regular speaker at legal and industry conferences.

Christine Lehman

Managing partner, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg (US)

Christine Lehman is managing partner of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg’s Washington, DC office and a member of the firm’s executive leadership team. A commitment to diversity was a founding principle of the majority women-owned firm. More than half of its lawyers are women, two-thirds of the partners are women, and nearly 30% of the firm’s lawyers are ethnically diverse. Lehman has made her mark in US International Trade Commission litigation with 25 years’ experience representing clients in complex IP disputes.

She also spearheads the firm’s efforts in the Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification process coordinated by Diversity Lab.

Ivy Liang

Director, Gowling WLG (China)

Ivy Liang is a director of Gowling WLG in China. She previously served as presiding judge in a Chinese court, where she also served as the deputy director of its IP division. Liang worked in the judiciary for more than 15 years and has experience in all areas of contentious IP matters, with a particular focus on trademark, anti-counterfeiting, unfair competition and patent.

Now, Liang is the chair of the IP rights Working Group within the EU’s Chamber of Commerce (South China chapter). She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

Coleen Morrison

Partner, barrister and solicitor trademark attorney, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall (Canada)

Coleen Morrison was the first female vice president of the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) where she served from 2012 to 2015. Now, she is president of FICPI’s work and study group and helped found the organisation’s D&I group. Morrison is also the current president of FICPI Canada and chair of the IP Institute of Canada’s trademark committee.

She is an active member of her firm’s D&I committee and a strong advocate for D&I and mentoring. Morrison was managing partner of an IP firm for more than ten years before joining her current firm

Lisa Mueller

Partner, Casimir Jones (US)

Lisa Mueller is a patent attorney with more than 28 years of experience. She provides counsel on patent issues to clients in the plant, food, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemistry sectors. Mueller is also involved in a number of D&I initiatives, including as the creator and instructor of the Casimir Jones Life Sciences Patent Academy and the chair elect of the Association of University Technology Managers’ D&I committee.

She is the author of the blog, ‘BRICS & Beyond’ which provides insights on patent law developments in the life sciences industry, and is the host of the ‘TechTransfer IP Podcast’.

Kathrine Myhre

Director general, Norwegian Industrial Property Office (Norway)

Kathrine Myhre has served as director general of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office since January 2021. She began her career at the University of Oslo, where she was one of the initiators of Birkeland Innovation in 2004 (a forerunner to today’s technology transfer office) and was director of innovation. In 2009, Myhre established the health cluster Norway Health Tech as a non-profit member organisation, focusing on innovation, business creation and international scaling of health companies.

Now, Myhre serves as vice chair of the board of the Norwegian Export Strategy Council.

Alissa Naran

Partner, Adams & Adams (South Africa)

Alissa Naran is a qualified trademark practitioner who specialises in trademark prosecution and enforcement in South Africa and foreign territories. Her practice also includes advising on copyright protection and litigation, domain name disputes, company name objections and ASA complaints.

She was selected as a WIPR Trailblazer in 2021, and has helped to train candidates from historically disadvantaged backgrounds with a view to mentoring, retaining and easing their transition into the workplace. She offers free consultations to new entrepreneurs on all aspects of IP.

Astha Negi

Partner-designate, Fidus Law (India)

Astha Negi is a partner-designate at Fidus Law Chambers. She advises Fortune 500 companies and primarily focuses her practice on trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings. Negi manages and supervises trademark prosecution and contentious portfolios for the firm’s clients in South and East Asia, the US, EU and the Middle East.

Negi is a member of INTA’s data protection committee and regularly trains students and university faculty on IP issues in her trainer role with the Indian government’s cell for IP rights promotion and management.

Valentina Nieß

Counsel, Noerr (Germany)

Valentina Nieß advises clients on trademark, design, unfair competition and domain law. She has experience advising on building and defending trademark and design portfolios as well as litigating IP and unfair competition law infringements, including in preliminary injunction proceedings.

She helps spearhead the diversity efforts throughout her firm, in particular as part of the Noerr HER network dedicated to providing a community and platform for female lawyers to network and exchange ideas. Nieß is an active member of the Munich branch of the network Women in IP and mentors young women.

Laura Orlando

Italy managing partner, joint global IP head and EMEA life sciences head, Herbert Smith Freehills (Italy)

Laura Orlando focuses her practice on patent and regulatory law in the life sciences sector. When establishing Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) Milan office in 2018, Orlando was the first woman in Italy to become the founding partner of the Italian office of an international law firm.

She has been involved in numerous D&I initiatives, including mentoring junior female colleagues and being a member of HSF’s gender diversity IP panel. Orlando is a member of the Italian non-profit initiative ‘Carica delle 101’, supporting Italian start-ups with at least one female founder.

Stella Padovani

Worldwide IP and brand protection senior manager, Moncler (Italy)

In 2017, Stella Padovani joined the Moncler Group and is now responsible for the protection of the brand’s IP assets and their enforcement on a global scale. She is an Italian attorney at law and an EU and Italian trademark attorney.

Padovani has undertaken an internship at the European Patent Office and has been part of the EU-China cooperation project IPR2 in Beijing. Padovani is currently vice president of AICIPI.

Riikka Palmos

Senior partner, Papula-Nevinpat (Finland)

Riikka Palmos is a European trademark attorney and a senior partner at Papula-Nevinpat. She has worked at the firm since 1995 and also serves as director of the trademark department. Palmos regularly speaks at conferences and has been a member of many INTA committees. Recently she has been involved in INTA’s pro bono programme. Palmos has 25 years of experience in trademarks in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

She is the head of Papula-Nevinpat’s legal team in Russia. Previously, Palmos worked at Unilever Finland as an assistant IP rights attorney.

Wallis Pons

Partner, Angeles Pons (Dominican Republic)

Wallis Pons has more than 20 years of experience in trademarks, copyrights, patents and unfair competition litigation and serves as chair of Angeles Pons’ IP and regulatory practice. She is the former co-chair of INTA’s brand restriction committee, former president of both the Central American and Caribbean group of AIPPI and the Dominican Republic Intellectual Property Association (ADOPI) and chair of the Knowledge-Net in the Dominican Republic of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Pons obtained the first declaration of a well-known trademark in the Dominican Republic for ‘Gatorade’. She is also an IP professor at Pontificia Catholic University of Dominican Republic and a former tutor at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Alina Popescu

Founding partner, MPR Partners (Romania, UK)

Alina Popescu has extensive expertise in legal management, M&A, competition law, technology and commercial and corporate projects, as well as in regulatory and international arbitration matters. She has been a qualified lawyer since 2004 and is a member of the international and competition sections of the New York State Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the International League for Competition Law and the Bucharest Bar.

Popescu has represented a leading European car rental company in a Competition Council investigation pertaining to an alleged anti-competitive horizontal agreement on the operational leasing market.

Monika Rai

Partner and head of EIP Life, EIP (UK)

Monika Rai is a proud immigrant who believes that heterogeneous groups are crucial for inclusivity and good decision making, and tries to implement this belief in her legal practice. She specialises in advising on patents in the life sciences sector and her experience of two decades includes stints in-house and at private practice firms in the UK and India. Since joining EIP in 2020, Rai has been an advocate on D&I matters including EIP’s schools initiative, which raises awareness of IP and careers within IP focusing on school and college students.

She has participated in podcasts on the topic of women in STEM and this year’s International topic of ‘Break the Bias’.

María José Sánchez Rey

IP coordinator, Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (Colombia)

María José Sánchez Rey has served as the IP coordinator at Federación Nacional de Cafeteros—the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation—for four years. She is responsible for the administration of the appellation of origin Colombian Coffee, and the licensing processes for the Café de Colombia and Juan Valdez brands. Her team designs IP strategies that ensure the proper protection and exploitation of intangible assets, delivering more benefits to the coffee growers and profitability to the organisation.

The federation promotes gender equity and develops projects that empower women to lead processes on their farms and their communities.

Meghan Rooney

IP legal counsel, Accenture (US)

Meghan Rooney is director of legal services—patents at Accenture, where she oversees the management of Accenture’s global patent portfolio. She is also the IP lead for Accenture’s technology innovation group, which focuses on research and development in cutting-edge technology areas such as quantum, blockchain, extended reality and robotics.

Prior to joining Accenture, Rooney practised at the law firm of Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery in Chicago.

Mariam Sabet

Senior associate, Al Tamimi (United Arab Emirates)

Mariam Sabet is a member of Al Tamimi’s IP team in its Dubai office, working on a range of contentious and non-contentious IP matters. She advises both local and international clients on the protection of their IP and has assisted in building and developing their brands and copyright portfolios. Sabet manages complex cross-jurisdictional IP disputes and has extensive experience in handling domain name disputes and online infringements.

She has led a major anti-piracy software project in UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia on behalf of a large French software company.

Donna Schmitt

Partner, Armstrong Teasdale (US)

Donna Schmitt manages global trademark portfolios and advises clients on copyright, trade dress and trade secrets. With experience in private practice and in-house, Schmitt implements protection and enforcement programmes for clients. Her clients include multinational consumer product brands, global agricultural and plant science companies, healthcare systems, fashion houses, professional athletes and entertainment industry clients.

She is an active champion for women through mentoring and is a member of Armstrong Teasdale’s Women’s Inclusion Network. She served as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law, and has volunteered for Whole Kids Outreach and the City of St. Louis Mental Health Board.

Ina Schreiber

Partner, Plasseraud IP (France)

Ina Schreiber is a triple qualified French, German and European patent attorney. She started her career as a patent engineer and joined Plasseraud IP in 2004 where she became a partner in 2012. Schreiber mainly works in the fields of chemistry and life sciences. She has a recognised expertise in opposition proceedings in the three official languages of the European Patent Office and in litigation.

She is co-chair of the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Jurisdiction (UPC) committee of the CNCPI, and a member of the UP and UPC committee of AIPPI.

Julia Semeniy

Partner, Asters Law (Ukraine)

Julia Semeniy focuses her practice on IP, data protection, anti-corruption and other compliance matters. She advises clients on IP issues related to acquisitions, licensing and assignment, in addition to enforcement of IP rights. Semeniy provides extensive pro bono assistance to the ‘She is Science’ project, organised by the STEM is FEM educational initiative with the support of UN Women in Ukraine and UNICEF in Ukraine.

Semeniy is a member of INTA’s internet committee, AIPPI, the Ukrainian Bar Association and a board member of the National Association of Patent Attorneys in Ukraine.

Maya Skubatch

Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Maya Skubatch is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a member of the firm’s board of directors. She focuses on strategic patent counselling for healthcare and other technology-driven companies. Skubatch also helps companies and investors in IP due diligence and IP matters pertaining to financings, M&A, and partnership deals.

She advised synthetic biology platform Hexagon Bio on IP matters through its $61 million Series B financing and represented Thorne Research in an inter partes review against Dartmouth College.

Elaine Spector

Partner, Harrity & Harrity (US)

Elaine Spector is a patent attorney with more than 20 years of experience in IP law. She mainly prosecutes patent applications with a focus on electromechanical technologies, but has also worked on patent application drafting, trademark prosecution and enforcement, and patent litigation.

Spector serves as board member at non-profit No More Stolen Childhoods and hosts ‘Driving Diversity’, a weekly vlog sharing diversity-related tips and FAQs, as well as quarterly webinars in a series called ‘Diversity Dialogue’ as part of Harrity’s Diversity Channel. She is vice chair of the IPO’s diversity committee.

Nicole Spence

Data and AI brand legal counsel, IBM (US)

As the brand legal counsel for data and artificial intelligence (AI) at IBM, Nicole Spence advises clients on issues related to data governance, data privacy and AI. She provides IP legal support on M&A deals and divestitures, as well as negotiating IP transactions. Spence is a member of the IBM diversity and inclusion legal department committee and is a 2022 legal fellow with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

She is also a member of the IPO emerging technologies and AI committee, AIPLA’s AI and emerging technologies committee, and the Caribbean Attorneys Network.

Alice Stephenson

Founder and CEO, Stephenson Law (The Netherlands, UK)

Alice Stephenson founded Stephenson Law in 2017, with the mission of building a forward-thinking, innovative legal services firm which puts people at the heart of everything it does. ‍Stephenson is responsible for the overall strategic direction and success of the firm. ‍She aims to inspire young women to challenge the perceived barriers to success and see that anything is possible.

Stephenson also offers training and consulting services to lawyers and law firm owners on topics including starting a law firm, marketing, personal brand and D&I.

Jennifer Truelove

Principal, McKool Smith (US)

Jennifer Truelove has been involved in many significant trials that have taken place in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Truelove has helped secure a $131 million antitrust verdict for Red Lion Medical Safety against General Electric and a $506 million patent infringement verdict for PanOptis against Apple. After the verdict was set aside, she helped secure a $300 million patent infringement verdict for PanOptis.

Truelove is very involved in mentoring McKool Smith’s female lawyers. Most recently, she took a leadership role in the firm’s women’s leadership development programming.

Malaika Tyson

Shareholder, McAndrews, Held & Malloy

Malaika Tyson joined McAndrews, Held & Malloy in 2011 and became the firm’s first female, African-American shareholder in 2020. Tyson was the first recipient of the McAndrews Diversity in Patent Law Fellowship while in law school. At McAndrews, she serves on the firm’s professional development, Mansfield, and diversity committees and actively mentors young attorneys both inside and outside the firm.

Tyson is a board member of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and secretary/treasurer of the Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law’s National Board. Tyson is also the immediate past president of the Coalition’s Chicago Chapter, and during her tenure, she spearheaded inclusion efforts, pipeline issues, and financial literacy.

Katherine Vidal

Director, US Patent and Trademark Office (US)

Katherine (Kathi) Vidal is the current head of the US Patent and Trademark Office. Nationally recognised for leading high-profile patent disputes, her experience covers complex technologies from semiconductors and software to medical devices and consumer products. As USPTO director, Vidal is working to expand American innovation and serves as vice chair of the Council for Inclusive Innovation. Vidal is one of four law firm advisory board members for ChIPs.

She formerly served as head of Winston & Strawn’s Silicon Valley office, and founded the Next Gen initiative and advocates for training and opportunities for junior lawyers.

Jane Wainwright

Partner, Potter Clarkson (UK)

Jane Wainwright is an experienced life sciences patent attorney who joined Potter Clarkson in 2001 and became a partner in 2011. She has experience in coordinating patent strategies across the world, including both patent prosecution and third-party issues and has also been involved in a number of due diligence projects relating to company and IP acquisitions.

She is a passionate advocate for normalising the conversation around mental health and inclusivity for those suffering from mental ill health. She regularly talks and writes about mental health, including an openness about her own mental health struggles.

Angela Wilson

Senior Counsel, The Hershey Company (US)

Angela Wilson has 13 years of experience advising corporations on matters including trademark and copyright portfolio management, anti-counterfeiting, licensing, contracts, and deal execution. She has served as the lead IP lawyer at The Hershey Company since May 2021, responsible for developing and overseeing Hershey’s global brand protection and enforcement strategy and managing the patent portfolio.

Wilson is a member of the in-house practitioners’ committee where she co-chairs the development of in-house counsel professionals subcommittee. She volunteers her time mentoring diverse students, including law school interns participating in Hershey’s Dinisa H. Folmar internship programme.

Alicja Zalewska-Orabona

Counsel, CMS (Poland)

Alicja Zalewska-Orabona is the head of the EU trademarks team in CMS Poland. She is an active member of the IP community, working with the EU Intellectual Property Office as an external expert on projects, as well as promoting IP law among female law students and IP enthusiasts. Zalewska-Orabona is responsible for the overview of the General Court case-law in the “Annual Review of EU Trademark Law”.

She is involved in women’s rights activism and provides pro-bono help to protesters in Poland, as well as the refugees from Ukraine.

Claudia Maria Zeraik

Partner/head of Foreign Department, Montaury Pimenta, Machado & Vieira de Mello (Brazil)

Claudia Maria Zeraik is a partner and head of the foreign department at Montaury Pimenta, Machado & Vieira de Mello. She has experience in civil and criminal IP litigation, copyright, unfair competition, domain name, and software matters. Zeraik is a member of the geographical indications committee of INTA and a member of the membership committee of AIPPI. She is also a panelist at ABPI’s IP dispute resolution centre for domain name disputes.

Zeraik is studying a masters in IP and technology transfer for innovation at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.