Each year at the IP Institute, the Section honors outstanding legal professionals in the judiciary, private practice, in-house practice, academia, and public policy advocacy for their contributions to the advancement of intellectual property law.
IP Vanguard Awards nomination period for 2024 is now open. We are accepting nominations until September 15, 2024.
2023 IP Vanguard Awards Honoree
Private Practice
Stephen Doniger, Partner at Doniger / Burroughs
Academic
Orly Lobel at the University of San Diego School of Law
Award Criteria
Achievements are honored in the following categories:
- In-House Counsel
- Private Practice
- Academic / Public Policy
- Judicial
In-House Counsel
Presented to an outstanding lawyer working in-house for a company or organization and who works substantially in the field of intellectual property law. Criteria to be considered include whether the in-house lawyer has:
- made significant contributions to, or produced significant impact on, IP law
- achieved noteworthy success for the lawyer’s company on IP matters
- demonstrated leadership in the IP bar, the legal profession, and/or the California community
While achievements over a lawyer’s career will be considered, special consideration shall be given to accomplishments in the 2-3 years preceding the award.To be eligible, the recipient must be a member in good standing of the State Bar or be a Registered In-House Counsel in good standing with the State Bar.
Private Practice
Presented to an outstanding lawyer working in private practice, and who works substantially in the field of intellectual property law. Criteria to be considered include whether the private practice lawyer has:
- made significant contributions to, or produced significant impact on, IP law
- achieved noteworthy success for the lawyer’s clients on IP matters
- demonstrated outstanding client service
- demonstrated leadership in the IP bar, the legal profession, and/or the California community
While achievements over a lawyer’s career will be considered, special consideration shall be given to accomplishments in the 2-3 years preceding the award. To be eligible, the recipient must be a member in good standing of the State Bar.
Academic or Public Policy
Presented to an outstanding law professor, instructor, or academic professional who teaches, lectures and/or writes substantially in the fieldof intellectual property law or to a professional working at a legal or public policy organization who is substantially involved in providing education on topics involving or affecting intellectual property law. Criteria to be consideredinclude whether the individual has:
- made significant contributions to, or produced significant impact on, IP law through teaching,
- published writings and/or research.
- in the case of teaching professionals, demonstrated outstanding teaching ability.
- demonstrated leadership in the IP bar, the legal profession, and/or the California community
While achievements over a lawyer’s career will be considered, special consideration shall be given to accomplishments in the 2-3 years preceding the award.To be eligible, the recipient need not be a member in good standing of the State Bar but should work substantially in California.
Judiciary
Presented to an outstanding judge or judicial officer who has rendered decisions that affect IP law as practiced in California, even if the individual is not a member of the California bar, and do not work in a court in the State of California. Criteria to be considered include whether the judicial officer has:
- made significant contributions to, or produced significant impact on, intellectual property law through cases over which the individual has presided
- made significant contributions to the body of IP law through written case decisions
- demonstrated leadership in the IP bar, the legal profession, and/or the California community
While achievements over an individual’s career will be considered, special consideration shall be given to case decisions and other accomplishments in the 2-3 years preceding the award.
2022 IP Vanguard Awards Honoree
Private Practice Award
Joseph Gratz (he/him), Partner, Durie Tangri LLP
Academic or Public Policy
Jennifer M. Urban (she/her), Clinical Professor of Law, Director of Policy Initiatives, Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic, Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, UC Berkeley, School of Law
2021 IP Vanguard Awards Honoree
Lifetime Achievement Award
Professor J. Thomas McCarthy
2019 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees
In-House Counsel
Catherine Lacavera, Vice President of Google LLC
Private Practice
Francoise Gilbert, CEO of Data Minding Legal
Judiciary
Hon. Michael Fitzgerald, United States District Court, Central District of California
Academic
Anthony Reese, Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine
2018 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees
In-House Counsel
Mallun Yen
Co-founder & COO, SaaStr
Private Practice
Kelly Klaus
Litigation Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Judiciary
Pauline Newman
United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Academic
Peter Menell
Koret Professor of Law, Berkeley Law, University of California
2017 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees
Private Practice
Carole Handler
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
Judiciary
Honorable Gerard F. Rogers
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Academic
Colleen V. Chien
Santa Clara University School of Law
2016 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees
In-House Counsel
Fred von Lohmann
Legal Director, Copyright
Google, Inc.
Private Practice
Heather J. Meeker
Technology Transactions Partner
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Judiciary
Honorable Ronald M. Whyte
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Academic
Kevin J. Greene
Professor of Law
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
2015 IP Vanguard Award Honorees
In-House Counsel
Mei-lan Stark
Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property
Fox Entertainment Group, USA
Private Practice
Jonathan Pink
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith
Judiciary
Honorable M. Margaret McKeown
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Academic or Public Policy
Dan L. Burk
Chancellor’s Professor of Law
University of California , Irvine School of Law
2014 IP Vanguard Award Honorees
In-House Counsel
Dean S. Marks
Senior Vice President
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Private Practice
Andrew P. Bridges
Partner
Fenwick & West LLP
Judiciary
Honorable Paul S. Grewal
United States Magistrate Judge
for the Northern District of California
Academic or Public Policy
Diane Peters
General Counsel
Creative Commons
2013 IP Vanguard Award Honoree
In-House
Lee Cheng
Chief Legal Officer
Newegg
Private Practice/Outside Counsel
I. Neel Chatterjee
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Judicial
Honorable Lucy Koh
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Academic
Neil W. Netanel
Professor
UCLA School of Law
2012 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees
In-House Counsel
Alexander Macgillivray
General Counsel, Twitter
Private Practice
Kate H. Murashige
Morrison Foerster
Judiciary
Honorable William Alsup
United States District Court
Northern District of California
Academic or Public Policy
Pamela Samuelson
Faculty Director
Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
2011 IP Vanguard Award Honorees
In-House Counsel
Jay Monahan
Deputy General Counsel,
Zynga Inc.
Private Practice
Adrian Pruetz
Pruetz Law Group
Judiciary
Hon. Alex Kozinzki
Chief Judge, U.S. Court of
Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Academic or Public Policy
Eric Goldman
Associate Professor of Law,
Director of the High Tech
Law Institute,
Santa Clara University School of Law
2010 IP Vanguard Award Honorees
In-House Counsel
Brett Alten
Director of Patent Development
Apple, Inc.
Private Practice
Ian C. Ballon
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Judiciary
Hon. Jeremy D. Fogel
U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of
California
Academic or Public Policy
Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier
Foundation
2009 IP Vanguard Awards Honorees – Inaugural Year
In-House Counsel
Gregory P. Goeckner
Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
Private Practice
Jane Shay Wald
Partner and Chair of Trademark Practice Group
Irell & Manella LLP
Judiciary
Hon. A. Howard Matz
Judge of the United States District Court
Central District of California
Academic or Public Policy
Mark A. Lemley
William H. Neukom Professor of Law
Stanford Law School;
Director, Stanford Program in Law,
Science and Technology