Womble Bond Dickinson Joins ADAPT to Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the IP Profession

Womble Bond Dickinson is proud to join ADAPT, an industry-wide effort to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within the intellectual property profession. WBD Patent Agent Azie Aziz, Ph.D. is leading the firm’s participation in ADAPT. 

According to a 2020 American Bar Association report, only 22 percent of USPTO registered attorneys are women, and less than six percent are racially diverse. ADAPT offers a number of programs designed to improve representation, including: 

• The Microsoft #MakeWhatsNext Patent Program, which offers female inventors patent support and mentorship so they can protect their ideas and further their innovation.
• The Street Law Inc. Legal Diversity Pipeline program, which partners law firms and corporate legal departments with nearby, diverse high school classes.
• The Patent Pipeline Program, which offers women and minority candidates training, development, mentoring and career opportunities over a six-month period. Upon successful completion of the program, the candidates will be offered a full-time position with ADAPT partner firms and/or companies as a technical specialist or patent agent.

ADAPT members also work to answer such questions as, “How can we scale DEI efforts across the industry in order to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive profession?” and “How can we measure the impact of industry DEI efforts over time?” More information on ADAPT is available here.

“Representation matters and ADAPT offers real-world solutions to improve representation and diversity in the IP sector,” Aziz said. “Womble Bond Dickinson is committed to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and we are excited to be working with ADAPT on these shared goals.”

“We are honored to join ADAPT and its member companies and firms. We share ADAPT’s commitment to increasing diversity and improving access in the IP and patent space, and we look forward to working with ADAPT to bring about positive change,” said Kevin Lyn, Womble Bond Dickinson IP/Patent Partner and the former Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Womble Bond Dickinson Patent Prosecution & Litigation Practice Group Leader Preston Heard said, “Diversity, equity and inclusion are essential principles to our firm and to our clients. ADAPT offers proven strategies and innovative programs to improve DEI efforts throughout the IP profession and we are thrilled to be involved.”