Michael Hopkins
Associate
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
My name is Mike Hopkins and I would like to be considered for the office of Treasurer of the San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association. I have been practicing patent law for seven years, starting my practice in prosecution and now practicing litigation almost exclusively. I began my career in Chicago and now live in San Diego.
Over the past year I have been able to get more active with the SDIPLA, attending meetings and connecting with other members. I think one area in particular where SDIPLA can expand its reach in the San Diego legal community is in intellectual property litigation. The events and topics on prosecution, counseling, and related issues are interesting and well attended by practitioners in those fields. However, there are not many litigation-focused topics and I seldom run into litigators at meetings.
If elected, on top of my financial duties as treasurer, I plan to use my time on the SDIPLA Board to build a relationship between SDIPLA and the judges in the Southern District of California. Ultimately, the goal would be to have SDIPLA events where Southern District judges are the keynote speakers. These types of events are always well attended by the litigation community.
I currently serve on the special events committee of the San Diego chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA). The FBA has an amazing working relationship with Southern District Judges. I plan to use my contacts with the FBA to assist in building a similar relationship between SDIPLA and the judges of the Southern District.
I appreciate your consideration.
Jim McFarland
Partner
Jaquez Land Greenhaus & McFarland
I went to the luncheon to explore options for developing my interest in technology, while at the same time advancing my legal career. Although I was not an IP attorney at the time, the SDIPLA members all welcomed me, and I soon discovered that, yes, these were my kind of people. So I
decided follow the IP path and become an IP attorney.
“Following the path” in this case meant attending engineering school (my first undergraduate degree was economics), so with determination, I enrolled at UCSD. After a year or so I joined Knobbe Martens Olson and Bear, who had just opened an office in San Diego. In my first years as an IP attorney, I attended a number of SDIPLA meetings, and watched the organization grow from a few members to many. I left for a few years to go up to the Bay Area, and when I came back it had grown even more. Since then, the IP community has grown tremendously, and the SDIPLA with it.
Several years ago, I began attending SDIPLA meetings again, and found that I greatly enjoy the company of colleagues, exchanging ideas, learning what I can from the presenters (and others there), and of course socializing.
Therefore I am presenting my candidacy for the SDIPLA Board of Directors. I understand that the Board rotates positions over a period of 5 years, and I am fully committed to serving the SDIPLA for that time period. I am looking forward to this opportunity, and thank you for your vote.
Adam Powell
Partner
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
My name is Adam Powell and I would like to be considered for the office of Treasurer of the SDIPLA. For the past thirteen years, I have been an intellectual property attorney in San Diego. I enjoy attending SDIPLA events and meeting other members. I would love to have the opportunity to work with the SDIPLA to grow our membership and continue providing excellent content and events to IP attorneys throughout San Diego.
Based on my experience serving on the Board of Governors for the Association of Business and Trial Lawyers (ABTL), I understand how important events and members are to the finances of any organization. Like many of our members, patent law has always been a large part of my practice. However, I also devote a significant portion of my practice to trade secret and antitrust litigation. I will draw on those experiences and my prior work with ABTL to help the organization develop new content that is both interesting to our existing members and will appeal to new members.
I understand the responsibilities of Treasurer set forth in Section 46 of the bylaws of the SDIPLA. I would like to take on these responsibilities, including financial planning, budgeting, and reporting. I am excited to work with the SDIPLA to ensure the sound finances of our organization so that we can continue being the premier resource for IP attorneys in San Diego. Thank you for your consideration.