Law Campus Visits

by PTOS Education Committee, October, 2009

Visit to American University (Washington College of Law) on October 2, 2009 (Friday)

    Leaders: Chris Nofal, Edward Kim

    Tour and information session   

On October 2, 2009, the group of about 15 met in Randolph lobby at 12:30pm and left promptly at 12:45pm to visit American University Washington College of Law (WCL).  The trip to WCL took more than an hour with the Red Line transfer and the WCL shuttle bus, however, it was a good time for the group to mingle.  Having arrived 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled, the group had a chance to stop by Starbucks for refreshments before attending the event set up by WCL Admissions Council.  Associate Dean Christine Farley, who is well-versed in the IP field, an Admissions Representative, and a third year student joined us for the information session.  The WCL representatives gave us overviews on the IP-related studies at WCL, emphasizing on the unique diversity of Clinical Programs offered through WCL.  International opportunities within the J.D. curriculum were also discussed, which was followed by Q&A sessions, where the group had a chance to ask about the admissions process.  Once the information session was over, two WCL volunteered to take us around for a campus tour.  The group returned to the Office around 6pm.

    Overall, the event was a success, learning more about the studies at WCL and the admissions process. 

Visit to Catholic University Columbus School of Law on October 8 (Thursday)

Leaders: Yara Green and Adam Duda

            Class and tour

 A group of 15 people from all backgrounds and experiences at the Office gathered to go on the tour of Catholic University Columbus School of Law, located off the Red Line at Brookland-CUA.  When we arrived at the Law School, we ran into a Professor Lerman whose class a portion of us were going to sit on. She enthusiastically invited everyone to attend her class on Professionalism. It was an interesting class and we even quietly discussed the lecture when the class broke into discussion groups. Afterwards, Professor Lerman invited some of her students to stay and talk with us. After the impromptu roundtable with Professor Lerman and couple of students, including the President of the Student Bar Association, we went on a tour of the school including the classrooms, the courtrooms, the library readings rooms, the clinics, and the law journal offices. We also stopped by the financial aid office in which a counselor fielded questions. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging. We ended the tour in the admissions office for any last questions and to collect brochures, applications, etc. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience that gave a nice peek into law schools in general while also focusing on a few aspects unique to Catholic.

Visit to George Mason School of Law on October 15 (Thursday)

Leaders: Adam Duda and Victor Wang

    Tour and information session

About 22 people took a tour of George Mason Law School, located off the Virginia Square Metro Station on the Orange Line.  Examiners visited George Mason University School of Law and learned about available facilities.  The admissions counselors provided the examiners with an information session regarding the School of Law where numerous questions were asked about the IP curriculum and admissions requirements.  After the information session the admissions counselors provided a tour of the facility available to students such as the library, the classrooms, and explanations of the honor system and how exams are distributed to students.

Visit to Howard University School of Law on October 16 (Friday)

Leaders: Adam Duda and Victor Wang

    Tour and information session

About 8 people took a tour of Howard’s Law School located off the Red Line at the Van Ness Metro Station.  Examiners were provided with an information session led by 6 student admissions workers.  During the information session examiners were informed about what the current IP curriculum offers.  Howard University School of Law is about 10 minutes by shuttle from the main Howard University campus.  There are no on-campus facilities available at the School of Law for students to live in.  The buildings are all connected through underground tunnels and a new library has been constructed within the last 5 years.  Howard definitely has a small feel look with a lot of facilities available to grow in the future based on the empty available rooms.  At the present time, Howard does not have a part-time law program.

Visit to George Washington School of Law on October 22 (Thursday)

Leaders: Adam Duda and Victor Wang

    Tour and information session

About 14 people took a tour of GW’s School of Law, located off the Blue and Orange lines at Foggy Bottom.  The examiners learned about the School of Law from their tour guides.  In particular, tours were provided of the facilities and information on what facilities are available for students of the School of Law – for example, the library where each librarian has a J.D.!  Furthermore, there was an information session for examiners with current students Stef, Alissa, Brett, and Geoff who did a great job answering questions about the IP curriculum, the School of Law, and their experiences.  Furthermore, Associate Dean John M. Whealan spoke with a group during the tour and further took time out of his busy schedule to meet up with the full USPTO group towards the end of the information session to talk about his past experiences with the USPTO, his current experiences at the School of Law, and who the distinguishing faculty members of the IP curriculum are.

Visit to Georgetown School of Law on October 29 (Thursday)

    Leaders: Christyann Pulliam and Chris Nofal

    Tour and Class

A group of about 17 people met to visit Georgetown Law School, which is located near the Capitol, Union Station and Judiciary Square.  The group divided in two for student led tours of the campus.  Georgetown has multiple buildings on the law school campus since the site is just for the law school.  All the facilities were very impressive.  Facilities at Georgetown University School of Law are extremely well maintained with a gym, pool, on-campus living, a one-stop student center, and lecture halls all located within 200 feet of one another.  The Georgetown Library, as per the tour guide, is one of the 14th largest School of Law libraries in the United States.  The tour guides provided a good overview of the student life on campus. After the approximately one hour tour, five students stayed to sit in on a property class.  The school limited the number who could sit in so the rest of the group returned to the office.

Overall comments:

It was a great opportunity to meet like-minded patent examiners and make some contacts.  Also I was able to find a study partner through the tours so that were many benefits that didn't necessarily include going to the school.  The school tours were also helpful and making decisions on top schools.  --- Chikaodili Anyikire

by Mark Fearer, November 23, 2009

On October 22, 2009, the PTOS sponsored a Financial Planning brown bag seminar, which was a huge success. Approximately 75 people attended the seminar in the Remsen Conference Center, with additional people logged in to the remote webcast.

Jason Silverberg, a Financial Advisor at Financial Advantage Associates, Inc., presented a lively discussion on how to navigate through today’s financial markets. There was much interaction with the audience and many questions.

The Financial Planning brown bag seminar was recorded and will be available through October, 2010 at: https://uspto.connectsolutions.com/p48913698/

For MORE INFORMATION regarding this presentation, please contact:

Jason Silverberg
jason@finadvinc.com
301-610-0071 (MD/DC/VA)
1-800-804-4736 x3022

             

by Brent Herring, September 9, 2009

 On September 4, 30 PTOS members took flight in a small cargo plane over the skies of West Point, VA, but they chose to land by launching themselves out of the back of the plane at 14,000 ft. For many, it was their first experience skydiving. The jumps were in tandem, so an experienced instructor was attached to each member's back. Nonetheless, the experience was breath-taking and exhilarating for the 45+ seconds of free fall. At 5000 feet, parachutes deployed and the members made a safe, steady descent back to earth with their hearts still pounding from the adrenaline rush.

 "I thought I might have to cash in my insurance policy," said examiner Bret Adams (TC 2800) referring to the $1700 camera he had harnessed to his chest for filming the entirety of his descent from the plane. A number of other members had their jumps professionally filmed. Matt Fry (TC 2600), who is both an examiner and a certified skydiver that does part-time videography for West Point skydiving, provided his services to a handful of the first-time jumpers. One of those jumpers, Jorge Casanova (TC 2100) exclaimed, "THAT WAS AWESOME!!" while flexing and high-fiving everyone after his landing. Most everyone shared his sentiments. All the participants had a thrilling experience and the PTOS is looking forward to more skydiving adventures in the future.

 Pictures provided by Yin Tsai (TC 2600)

by Mark Fearer, September 2, 2009

 The July 21, 2009 Long Term Care brown bag seminar was a success. Approximately 30 people attended in the Randolph Conference Center, and another 18 people logged in to the remote webcast.

 There were two representatives from Financial Advantage Associates, Inc. who, together, presented a lively discussion of Long Term Care and how to plan for it. There was much interaction with the audience and many questions, both live in the room, and emailed in from people who were logged in remotely.

 The event was recorded and will be available through July, 2010 at:

https://uspto.connectsolutions.com/p56374517/

By Mark Fearer, March 15, 2009

The Honorable Richard Linn was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Annual Meeting. Judge Linn’s speech may be read on the following link: http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/pdf/USPTOSociety21809.pdf When Judge Linn completed his talk, President Dollinger and Vice President Bradley presented Judge Linn with the framed copy of the first issued US Patent.