Dear IPLAC Members and Friends:
It is hard to believe that my term as President of IPLAC is drawing to a close. I want to shout out an enormous thank you to my committee chairs and vice-chairs, as well as my fellow officers and board members for their gracious support and many efforts on behalf of IPLAC. With every year, this organization exhibits new levels of professionalism. We strive jointly to make time spent on and with IPLAC valuable to our practices as well as our personal and professional growth.
This year, we saw the advent of a number of new events and initiatives. For example, we launched our quarterly CLE-social cocktail hour events, hosted a Winter Social for members and prospective members, and held a social event for our committee chairs and vice-chairs. To make participation easier, we fully migrated to online event registration and online dues payment. We will be launching online committee sign-up in the coming days.
Our hard-working committees hosted a record number of CLE and social events this year – over 30 events. Many people contributed behind the scenes to the planning and execution of our many successful events. And many of you came out and supported our events.
This year, we saw more than 200 new members join our organization. Thanks to the efforts of various committees including the Law School Outreach Committee (chaired by Joshua Sarnoff), the Young Members Committee (chaired by Melaina Jobs), the Membership Committee (chaired by Anthony Gabrielson) and the Paralegal Committee (co-chaired by Cindy Schermerhorn and Theresa Emanuelson). We have enjoyed the active participation and enthusiasm of our new members who will continue to grow our legacy.
We were also very active with outreach beyond our organization. Our U.S. Patents Committee (chaired by Paul Kitch) worked diligently to follow various proposals coming out of the U.S. Patent Office and to submit comments. Our Amicus Committee (chaired by Charles Shifley) filed a number of amicus briefs. We greeted the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada during their Annual Meeting in Chicago. Currently, we are planning a jointly-sponsored event with the AIPLA.
I am so fortunate to have led this fine group of professionals for the year. I have learned immensely from all of you and am touched by the volunteerism by many. I ask that all of you carry the IPLAC torch, participate more, enjoy old and make new relationships within the organization, and, of course, recruit new members.
With enthusiasm, I am pleased to be passing the baton to the new board to be led by Janet Pioli as your new President. I hope to see many of you on May 1st so we can celebrate the beginning of a new IPLAC year together.
In IPLAC,
Janet M. Garetto
