The Jabot

In this episode, Kathryn talks with Dr. Anjali Vats about the intersection of race and IP law -- something that may not strike the average person as particularly obvious. They delve into how do the seemingly colorblind patent and copyright laws continue to favor white men, the role of American mythos in maintaining that system, and the stories about invention we should be telling. They also talk about the key moments or decisions that locked the white gaze in as the dominant one in American IP law. They also discuss the concept of IP citizenship and look at the copyright infringement case against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and TI, and how race and IP law work in that historic case.

Episode Resources

• [email protected]
• https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas/departments/communication/people/faculty-directory/vats--anjali.html Episode Highlights
• Taking some IP classes - 2:43
• Intellectual property laws - 3:24
• Racial stereotypes emerging - 6:12
• Women and color - 10:00
• The copyright law - 15:10
• Having collaborative processes - 17:06
• Maintaining a racial power - 25:12
• Language and capitalism - 26:12

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Kathryn talks with author and lawyer Robyn Gigl, who has a legal thriller being released at the end of March - By Way for Sorrow. They talk about Robyn's long-time dream of being an author, and how she balanced her legal practice with writing. They also delve into Robyn's process for developing the characters in her novel and share tips for aspiring writers out there. In addition to being a lawyer and writer, Robyn is also a speaker and activist who was honored by the ACLU-NJ and the NJ Pride Network for her work on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ community. They talk about her activism and being one of the founding members of the Trans Affirming Alliance.

Episode Resources

• Robyn Gigl, [email protected]
• https://robyngigl.com/ Episode Highlights
• Deciding to go to law school - 1:19
• Being a lawyer for something good - 2:38
• Starting to write novels - 5:25
• Experience as a transwoman - 9:37
• The justice system - 12:11
• About her novel - 12:55
• So many trans issues - 14:04
• A piece of advice for aspiring authors - 18:20
• Never give up! - 18:57
• Do not let a failure make you feel that you're a failure - 20:07
• Being an activist and attorney - 20:57
• Being free to take the path that she wanted to follow - 26:39
• Being in an alliance for the trans community - 28:52 Subscribe, Share and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn chats with Iffy about how she settled into an estate planning practice, and the turns her career has taken to get to this place. Iffy also offers advice for lawyers that struggle with finding the right practice area for them. They talk about how estate planning can embolden women, and why estate planning is an important tool for building generational wealth. Plus, they discuss how Iffy balances her legal practice, being an entrepreneur, family life, and her creative side.

Episode Resources

• Iffy Ibekwe [email protected]
• [email protected]
• https://ibekwelaw.com/about
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ifeoma-iffy-ibekwe-esq-7b319238 Episode Highlights
• Why she decided to go to law school - 1:28
• Being in education law - 4:48
• A great way of learning - 6:22
• Law and estate planning - 14:22
• Estate planning is freedom - 15:06
• Estate planning is for everybody - 15:53
• Preserving your voice - 17:40
• Using estate planning to protect an asset - 21:22
• Loving art - 23:25

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Kathryn talks with David about diversity in Biglaw and the challenges of recruiting and retention of diverse attorneys. They discussed his recent lateral move to Brown Rudnick, the things he looked for in making that jump, and advice for others looking to move firms. They also talk about David's passion for pro bono work and why is that so important for the legal industry.

Episode Resources

• David Moreno [email protected]
• http://brownrudnick.com/people/david-a-moreno-jr/
• Episode Highlights
• A unique journey and path - 1:22
• Discrimination practices - 2:55
• Empowering the community - 5:49
• Building trust - 7:43
• His change to Biglaw - 9:27
• What information are you looking for? - 11:28
• It's all about the relationships - 11:57
• Promoting diversity - 12:27
• Diversity in Biglaw - 14:33
• We need unity not uniformity - 16:02
• Wanting to promote diversity - 16:47
• What he is passionate about - 20:42
• Learning to be resilient - 22:09
• A memorable moment in his legal career - 22:25
• Always work towards your goal - 26:38 Subscribe, Share and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn talks with Laura Leopard, founder, and CEO of Leopard Solutions. They talk about Leopard's recently rolled out ethnic diversity data in your law firm index and why it's vital for the legal industry, they discuss the state of gender and ethnic diversity within the top 200 law firms in the US and the biggest takeaways from that work. They also talk about the newly launched Law Firm Transparency Directory and about transparency generally and why it's so important to improve the legal industry. Laura also notes what data can raise a red flag for prospective employees — either from a law firm health perspective or something about a firm's culture.

Episode Resources

• Laura Leopard [email protected]
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraleopard/ Episode Highlights
• Leopard Solutions and its place in the legal industry - 1:22
• The driving force behind creating this company - 2:36
• Law firms online for the first time - 3:34
• The availability of data for more people - 4:00
• What represents the data in the legal industry - 5:15
• What's going on in the industry - 7:22
• How data is collected and what's important - 9:25
• Firms that are losing money - 11:53
• It all begins and ends with data - 12:48
• The lack of innovation and transparency - 14:22
• Building diversity numbers - 16:21
• Using data in a good way - 18:09
• Having a good diversity score - 19:31
• Women in law firms - 20:42
• Transparency leads to better decisions - 23:31
• Make recruiting more successful - 25:08
• What would be a big red flag - 26:21
• A more transparent data - 27:24

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Kathryn talks with Leigh Vickery about her work as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at LevelLegal. They discuss the ways the legal industry is changing as a result of COVID-19 and why this is a moment for innovation in the industry. They also delve into creating a culture of care as it applies to the legal industry and how things will be different under this model.

Episode Resources

• Leigh Vickery [email protected]
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighvickery/

Episode Highlights

• Making legal human - 4:55
• About her work - 5:39
• Improving efficiency - 7:20
• Covid19 and the legal industry - 11:03
• The importance of freedom - 24:27

Kathryn talks with the plaintiffs' attorney, Anabel Rosa, about her work fighting for Hispanic/Latinx causes in state and local governments. They talk about how her policy work dovetails with her legal career and why she recommends law school to those that care about social justice issues.

Episode Resources

• Anabel Rosa [email protected]
• https://www.farrin.com/attorney/anabel-rosa/

Episode Highlights

• What motivated Anabel to get started - 2:07
• Being in Puerto Rico - 2:57
• A poverty reduction program - 3:54
• A success story - 5:23
• She's still learning - 11:11
• Her working private practice - 14:21
• How she loves her job - 24:11
• She loves being an attorney - 27:33

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Kathryn speaks with Molly J. Bowen and Julie Goldsmith Reiser of Cohen Milstein about their representation of Alphabet shareholders in a case over the company's handing of sexual harassment claims that led to a $310 million settlement that's been hailed as precedent-setting.

Episode Resources

• https://www.cohenmilstein.com/professional/molly-j-bowen
• https://www.cohenmilstein.com/professional/julie-g-reiser

Episode Highlights

• Violations of law - 2:01
• The sexual harassment laws - 3:20
• An evolving form of litigation - 5:49
• Policies and procedures - 7:20
• Making compensation decisions - 9:21
• What addresses the settlement - 12:55
• Hopes of the settlement - 13:46
• The flip of mindset - 16:35
• An industry typically male-dominated - 25:53
• It is inspiring to fight for our clients - 27:32

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Kathryn interviews Arent Fox partner Eva J. Pulliam about the firm's newly launched Center For Racial Equality. They chat about the creation of the Center and what motivated the firm to do so, the firm's role in racial equality, the goals of the Center, and which projects she is initially focused on.

Episode Resources

• Eva Pulliam
• [email protected]
• https://www.arentfox.com/attorneys/eva-pulliam

Episode Highlights

• The firm's motivation about launching a Center for Racial Equality - 0:39
• The firm's work - 4:14
• Top priorities of rights - 5:30
• Partnering with organizations - 6:00
• Hours for strategic planning - 9:08
• It feels good to be able to do something - 10:30
• The goal is to start something - 14:27
• Developing a culture - 15:34
• Programs that firms had initiated - 17:55
• Biglaw's role today - 21:14

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Kathryn interviews Kalpana Kotagal, partner at Cohen Milstein and co-author of the Hollywood "Inclusion Rider" (made famous by Frances McDormand during her 2018 Oscars acceptance speech). They talk about strategies for diversity in the workplace and race and gender discrimination.

Episode Resources

• [email protected]
• https://www.cohenmilstein.com/professional/kalpana-kotagal#:~:text=Kalpana%20Kotagal%20is%20a%20Partner,Ms.

Episode Highlights

• The night of the Oscars - 1:07
• Working behind the scenes for a while - 2:01
• Diversifying the profession - 8:07
• Access and inclusion issues - 9:42
• How to use inclusion writers - 11:08
• Increasing litigation in the law space - 27:03
• What Big Law is doing about inclusion - 28:51
• Pressure points - 29:25

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