Microsoft employees (L to R): Aileen O'Brien, Bruce Jackson, and Casiya Thaniel.
As the economy goes global and customer populations become increasingly diverse, some leading IT corporations are making efforts to better reflect those who buy their products and services. Since March 2005, Microsoft has twice joined with other top companies and law firms—first in Microsoft's New York office, and again at a San Francisco hotel the following November—in holding a Law Student Intellectual Property Summit to encourage women and minority law students to pursue careers in intellectual property law.
– Bruce Jackson
Why software companies need IP lawyers is clear enough: For corporations, it is essential to protect their wares, especially in a competitive market in which the technology is rapidly evolving. Their survival depends upon it. But why is it important for Microsoft and the other IT corporations to attract minorities to the IP law field?
"Other than it simply being the right thing to do, there is a business justification behind diversity," explains Bruce Jackson, senior attorney in Microsoft's New York office. "IP law can benefit quite a bit from the increased presence of women and minorities. We need young, diverse people to stay fresh and competitive in today's marketplace. There is value in diverse ideas."
The idea for the summit was conceived by Microsoft in early 2005, and although numerous other IT giants participate in the summit (including Google, Yahoo, America Online, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and Hewlett Packard among others), to date, Microsoft has taken the lead in driving these events. However, Microsoft is looking to partner with other companies for future events.
"When you start talking about IP law, students think it requires a science or engineering background," says Jackson. "At the summit we work to demystify that misconception. In reality, IP law covers many practice areas, including entertainment. It takes an educational process to get students interested."
A day-long event, the summit kicks off with a luncheon that is open to companies, sponsoring law firms, and professional organizations. A diversity roundtable follows, in which sponsoring firms give brief presentations along with an open discussion on best practices and ways to partner. Next is a corporate panel presentation open to all attendees including students with questions designed to display the breadth of law that include IP issues. Then, there are two hours of social networking where students become acquainted with law firms and in-house professionals. Finally, all resumes submitted by attending students are electronically forwarded to participating law firms.
The summit's goal, says Jackson, is primarily to educate students on the different areas of IP law and to increase the pipeline of diverse law school candidates available to law firms. It also strives to jump-start a dialogue between companies and law firms regarding the value of increasing diversity, and to further create a network of diverse in-house counsel. According to Jackson, it is important to have actual employment opportunities as a result of the event. The students attending the summit come to learn about IP law, but by also distributing their resumes to law firms, Microsoft demonstrates that it is serious in its commitment to the students.
Given the caliber of participating Fortune 100 companies, creating excitement surrounding the summit is not difficult. Microsoft works in cooperation with various law firms and law schools near where the event is to be held, personally contacting deans and student organizations. Also, they work with the various local bar associations in addition to the American Bar Association, National Bar Association, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as well as various trade associations to help publicize the event. The next summit is planned this fall at an as of yet unsettled East Coast location.
"We're eager to partner with other companies," says Jackson. "It makes sense: We all have a common goal and interest. Initially we have focused on IP law, but upcoming summits may become less narrow. Maybe we'll look for students who want to pursue a career as an in-house counsel."
Natasha A. Saggar, a first-year law student at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, attended the IP summit in San Francisco last fall. She says, "Entering, I had a preconceived notion that IP law was something that I could never do because I lack technical skills. It never crossed my mind that this was an area of the law that I might be qualified even to explore."
By the close of the summit, Saggar says she came to the conclusion that IP law is something that she could pursue if she chooses.
"At the summit, it was explained to me that a lack of technical background can actually prove to be an asset in certain circumstances. It's not a detriment in any case. I no longer feel that entire avenue is closed off to me," says Saggar. "The summit acts as a great introduction to IP law. The attorneys are encouraging; I made some very helpful contacts. At this point, IP law is a possibility, whereas it wasn't before I came to the summit." Steve Crown, deputy general counsel for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, serves on the company's diversity committee and runs a legal team at Microsoft. Along with other Microsoft attorneys, he is involved in the summits, making certain there is full support for the initiatives driving the events.
"Over the years, I've been a part of a number of our diversity efforts, and by working to increase the pipeline of diverse law school students available to law firms, the summit seems to go to the core of one of the challenges we face," explains Crown. 's a creative way of saying we're not in this because we want to hire people immediately, but we're here to increase the attractiveness of a legal career in IP to students while they're still in law school. In terms of creating a pipeline for corporations, Microsoft doesn't see the impact for at least four to five years from now, to when we start looking at candidates with relevant experiences. In the meantime, we'll invest with firms to get great people interested in the field, so that over time it's simply not going to be acceptable or true to say that we or our outside counsel can't find the people we need."
Microsoft rarely hires anyone straight out of law school, preferring lawyers who have already been trained by firms, but still the company works to encourage law students, particularly women and minorities, to pursue careers like IP. This way, Microsoft will have a greater pool of people with firm experience not only to use as their counsel outside, but also potentially as company employees in the future.
Through its summits, Microsoft encourages students to not write off IP law as a career simply because they do not have the background they assume it requires. Instead, as explained by Microsoft, be willing to keep one's options open.
"I think the students find it valuable simply talking with people and learning that you don't have to have studied electrical engineering as an undergrad to end up with an exciting career in IP," explains Crown. "A lot of people still think of IP as related solely to patent or highly technical engineering questions when really it isn't."
"In fact, I think most of us don't have a technical background," adds Crown. "I have a background in the social sciences and humanities, yet I have a career that I love in IP. But what especially resonates with the students," says Crown, "is the importance of enjoying the law and finding clients and a type of work that is exciting, interesting, and rewarding."
"Microsoft is passionate about increasing the number of women and minorities among our future IP law professionals, and the Law Student IP Summit plays an important role in making it happen," says Rosa Kim, associate general counsel and co-chair of the Microsoft Legal and Corporate Affairs Group's diversity committee.
In addition to the summit, Microsoft has taken measures to diversify its pool of potential employees by building relationships with minority bar associations. Microsoft helps to fund MCCA's Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr. Scholarship program for law students who demonstrate leadership and a commitment to diversity, and sponsors a two-day Future of the Law Institute in Seattle to encourage minority high school students to pursue law-related careers.
"The legal department's diversity work isn't an isolated endeavor," says Kim. "Microsoft as a corporation has a huge commitment to diversity and inclusion at the corporate level. It's strongly endorsed by senior executives within the company and spans across the 19 different business groups within Microsoft."
According to Bruce Jackson, "So far, the summit program has been immensely rewarding. Not only are companies establishing relationships with each other that were previously nonexistent, but they're also allowed a venue in which to share ideas on their common goal to further diversity. And what's more important is that students are truly getting excited about IP law and the jobs to which the summit might lead them."
Steve Crown agrees, "The summit has proved successful in getting dialogue going in a way that is particularly meaningful. Talking to students and law firms, we make it clear that it's possible to be creative in directly attacking an issue like diversity in the IP legal profession—it is not enough just to talk about the challenges we collectively face. Ultimately, it's a great experience for everyone throughout the continuum, from the students to law firms to bar associations to the corporate legal departments."
To learn more about this year's summit, send an email to iplawss@microsoft.com.
Patrick Folliard is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.
From the May/June 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®