Virtual Water Cooler Chat

A Chat with Bree Vculek, Patent Scientist at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 23

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Bree Vculek, Patent Scientist at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and a recent graduate at The George Washington University Law School, located in Washington, D.C.  Bree specializes in patent prosecution across a variety of technical disciplines, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology (agricultural and pharmaceutical), chemistry, plants, food technology, and nutraceuticals.  
Prior to joining DWT, she spent time in the lab conducting molecular agrobiotechnology research, working on state, federal and international science and agricultural policy and regulatory matters, and managing global business development in antibody discovery contract research organizations. She previously served as a student attorney in GW Law’s Intellectual Property and Technology Clinic, a research assistant focusing on communications for GW Law’s IP Law program, a Senator in the Student Bar Association, and was a member of the first place team  in the USPTO’s 2023 National Patent Application Drafting Competition.  
In her spare time, Bree enjoys practicing plant-based nutrition and holistic living, [solidcore] workouts under the blue lights, hiking with her dog, Kai, and riding her horse, Rico.  
Connect with Bree on LinkedIn. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Tara Kim Eberhart, Senior Director, Practice Management at Dentons US LLP | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 22

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Tara Kim Eberhart. Tara is a Senior Director, Practice Management at Dentons US LLP, President of the International Practice Management Association (IPMA), and a Founding Member of Chief.  She is proud to be a recovering Paralegal, having started off her legal career “doing real work” (as she says) before transitioning into management and ultimately focusing her career on the business side of the law. Tara is known for her in-depth, operational knowledge and ability to implement enterprise-level innovation/technology solutions.  
Tara is an avid reader and is learning how to be an empty nester with her husband, Robert, now that her daughter, Madison, is a fully launched adult.   
Connect with Tara on LinkedIn. 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

Trailblazing Ethical AI with Shawnna Hoffman | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 21

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Shawnna Hoffman President of Guardrail Technologies, a leading tech company focused on Enabling Responsible Technology, on Trailblazing Ethical AI.  
Previously, Shawnna served as the Chief Technology Leader, Legal Strategy & Operations of Dell Technologies.  Prior to Dell Technologies, she was the ServiceNow Technology Workflows Manager and Predictive AIOps Federal Lead and was at IBM in Digital Transformation & Strategy in positions including Co-Leader of the Global Watson AI Legal Practice. She is a sought-after Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Subject Matter Expert and has spoken at the United Nations at Blockchain for Impact (2018) and the UN Data Forum (2020 and 2021). Shawnna was appointed Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Distributed Ledger Technology and Market Infrastructure Subcommittee for 2018 – 2020.  
In 2019, she testified in front of the CFTC on “Blockchain Privacy & Confidentiality” and on “The Current State of Blockchain Adoption.” In 2017, she was awarded the Certificate of Leader Development in National Security and Strategy by the U.S. Army War College. 
Connect with Shawnna on LinkedIn. 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Brendy Belony, Paralegal Supervisor & Training Coordinator at Perkins Coie LLP | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 20

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Brendy Belony, a Paralegal Supervisor & Training Coordinator at Perkins Coie LLP in Washington, DC. With over 20 years of experience, Brendy is a people manager who supervises, mentors, and trains patent prosecution paralegals and paralegal assistants. She is passionate about the empowerment and development of her team and spends her days training, mentoring, managing projects and working collaboratively with individuals at all organizational levels. 
Brendy takes every opportunity to learn and express her creativity. She’s an avid reader, loves to visit museums, History channel fanatic and is currently learning to play the piano as an adult. She also served as a volunteer mentor with the Fresh Air Fund, so it’s safe to say sharing knowledge and ideas are her passion.  
Connect with Brendy on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Sara Cooksey, Supervising Paralegal at the ACLU of Northern California | Virtual Watercooler Chat Episode 19

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Sara Cooksey, Supervising Paralegal at the ACLU of Northern California. 
In her role with the ACLU, Sara provides oversight, training, and mentorship to the legal professional team and operational support for the Legal-Policy Department. Additionally, she supports active litigation in the Criminal Justice space.   
Prior to joining the ACLU of Northern California, Sara worked in civil and criminal litigation, transactional business law, and probate law. Most recently, she served as a supervisory paralegal and eDiscovery technician at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she supported complex civil and criminal litigation. During that time, Sara was part of a small team that investigated two large U.S. banks for their role in the 2008 financial collapse. These investigations resulted in multi-billion-dollar civil settlements, which included over $5 billion in relief to homeowners.  
Sara also served multiple times as a subject matter expert, advising on developing evidence and technology standardization across several federal agencies, redefining federal legal job classifications, and implementing discovery standards across all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. Her work in criminal prosecution increased Sara’s passion for criminal justice reform, as she saw the many inequalities and systemic injustices from the inside. 
Sara graduated as Valedictorian of the Fresno City College Paralegal Program, where she later received the Alumni Recognition Award for her contributions to the paralegal profession and continued outreach to paralegal students. Additionally, Sara has twice been nominated for the California Paralegal of the Year Award.  
Sara has previously served as President of the Fresno Paralegal Association and on the board of the California Alliance of Paralegal Associations. Sara enjoys mentoring and teaching other legal professionals, creating “moderately okay” art, spending time near the ocean, and rocking out at concerts. Sara lives in Fresno with her spouse, Jason, and their rescued pit bulls, Ariel and Owen. 
Connect with Sara on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Samhitha Medatia, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at FIS | Virtual Watercooler Chat Episode 18

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Samhitha Medatia, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel for Fidelity Information Services in Atlanta, Georgia and is hosted by Sheena Yap Chan, Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author of The Tao of Self-Confidence and Asian Women Who Boss Up, and podcast host of The Tao of Self-Confidence.  
Samhitha's career began at Dow Corning Ltd, where she used her chemical engineering degree and training to research and develop innovative manufacturing methods for high-purity silica. After graduating from The George Washington University Law School, she started her legal career at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, focusing on patent litigation and client counseling. Samhitha served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Now at FIS, Samhitha is a key member of an impactful global team managing the company's valuable intellectual property. In her role, she has the opportunity to leverage her technical and legal skills to craft business-savvy solutions for her clients. Samhitha serves on the executive committee of the Atlanta IP Inn of Court and is an active member of the South Asian Bar Association of Georgia (SABA-GA).  
Samhitha’s family also owns Coffee Bar Atlanta.   
 
Connect with Samhitha on LinkedIn.  
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

Mentoring the Next Generation of Leaders with Kara Specht | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 17

Today’s episode features patent attorney Kara Specht on the topic of 'Mentoring the Next Generation of Leaders.'
Kara focuses on patent litigation before district courts and before the International Trade Commission (ITC). Her practice covers a wide range of electronic and electrical technology areas related to computers, consumer electronics, and computer-implemented business methods. She has been recognized as a Trailblazer by the World Intellectual Property Review.  Kara also has experience before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in inter partes review (IPR) and covered business method (CBM) review proceedings, including prior art searching and analysis, petition preparation, motions to exclude evidence, and expert depositions. She has first-hand insight into corporate litigation procedures, having seconded at a leading multi-national technology company.  
Beyond trial-level litigations, Kara also has experience before the Federal Circuit, preparing appeal briefs and amicus briefs. In addition to litigation, Kara also practices patent prosecution before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as several international patent offices. Kara serves as an editor for Finnegan’s Federal Circuit IP blog. She served on Michigan States Journal of Business and Securities Law.   
Connect with Kara on LinkedIn or visit Finnegan.com.   
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Alyssa Holtslander, Trademark Managing Counsel and Senior Patent Counsel at Unified Patents, LLC | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Podcast Episode 16

This episode features Alyssa Holtslander, Trademark Managing Counsel and Senior Patent Counsel at Unified Patents, LLC, on her path to becoming a patent attorney. Alyssa handles PTAB filings and ex parte reexamination within Unified, and she is also primarily responsible for Unified Brands, a service within Unified Patents that help deter counterfeiting.  Prior to joining Unified Patents, Alyssa was an attorney at Finnegan, LLP.  She attended the George Washington University Law School, where she earned her J.D. Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University. 
Connect with Alyssa on LinkedIn. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

Build Your Own House with Jennifer H. Wu | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 15

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Jennifer H. Wu, founding partner at Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP, which she founded after seven years as a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. She is a patent trial and appellate lawyer recognized for her “great advocacy skills at trials” and “outstanding work in cutting-edge biologics cases.” Jennifer has been widely recognized within the legal industry and the patent litigation bar for her achievements. 
In 2022, she was recognized by Chambers USA as an “Up and Coming” lawyer in the Intellectual Property: Patent (NY) category. In 2019, Jennifer was named to Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under Hot List – Northeast.” In 2018, she was selected by the New York Law Journal as a “Rising Star,” an award that recognizes top attorneys under the age of 40. In 2017, Jennifer was a recipient of the “Best Under 40” award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). She is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA), and a former co-chair of the FCBA Patent Litigation Committee, the Mock Argument Committee, and the Rules Committee. She received the FCBA’s George Hutchinson Committee Award recognizing committee leadership in 2016 and 2018. 
Jennifer also has an active pro bono practice and represents a number of Asian-American victims of racially motivated violence and their families. She received the New York Law Journal’s Diversity Initiative Award in 2022 in recognition of her pro bono work. In addition, Jennifer is a frequent speaker on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She delivered the keynote speech, “Raising Our Voices for Equity: Good Leadership and Leading for Good,” at the Women in Law Section's 18th Annual Edith I. Spivack Symposium during the New York State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting 2022. She is also a co-chair of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)’s Women’s Committee, an Advisory Committee Member of the NYU Law Alumni of Color Association (LACA), and an Executive Board and Board member of USA for UNFPA, which supports the life-saving work of the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency, the United Nations Population Fund. 
Jennifer earned her A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she received the Vanderbilt Medal for Service to the Law School Community and the President’s Service Award for Leadership. Following law school, Jennifer clerked for the Honorable Alan D. Lourie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 
Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn. 
 
This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Barrister Digital Solutions. Barrister Digital Solutions is a full-service litigation support company that has been supporting the legal community for over 20 years. With decades of experience serving a variety of clients, from corporate firms to nonprofits, BDS is the right extension for your legal team.
Learn more about BDS here. 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here. 

A Chat with Lisa Nguyen, Partner at Allen & Overy LLP | Virtual Water Cooler Chat Episode 14

This episode of Virtual Water Cooler Chat features Lisa Nguyen, Partner at Allen & Overy, LLP.  
Lisa represents cutting-edge technology companies in intellectual property matters, particularly in litigation against non-practicing entities. Lisa is adept at resolving disputes efficiently and identifying pragmatic solutions for her clients. Her practical and deliberate approach to preparing cases for trial regularly disposes of claims early in the process. 
Lisa has a proven track record of obtaining successful trial verdicts, summary judgment rulings, and dismissals at the pleading stage. She has also obtained multiple walkaways for defendants (obtaining dismissals with no payment to plaintiffs), as well as attorneys’ fees. Lisa represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex multi-jurisdictional, multi-patent cases, and has substantial experience handling cases pending before district courts across the country, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). 
Lisa regularly speaks and writes on patent counseling and IP issues. Her speaking engagements include presentations at the Advanced Patent Law Institute, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, the National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Lisa has been listed among Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence, the Top 50 Women in the PTAB, an Asian Leader Worth Watching, and a Rising Star in IP Litigation. Lisa previously served as the Chair of the Diversity Committee of the PTAB Bar Association and now serves as a Board Member at the PTAB Bar Association.  
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn. 
Email Lisa. 
 
This episode is sponsored by Lango Legal. Discover Lango, your all-in-one language toolkit for the legal world and beyond. Lango Legal specializes in legal interpretation, translation, and transcription services in over 200 languages.  Think of Lango Legal as the Swiss Army knife of legal language solutions, streamlining your communication and helping you conquer linguistic barriers with ease. Elevate your practice with Lango.  
Visit Lango.co to learn more. 
 
Virtual Patent Gateway (VPG) reduces overhead costs by providing PTAB attorneys with on-demand and affordable paralegal support services. Virtual Patent Gateway Founder Ashley Cheung has a passion for supporting the next generation in the workplace and is committed to developing a growth mindset within VPG.  
Learn more about VPG here.