Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
Reston law firm Harness, Dickey & Pierce has launched a national initiative designed to help grow the firm through its next 100 years.
The oldest intellectual property firm in the Midwest — its founder was Henry Ford’s original patent attorney for the 1921 Model T — is now accepting applications from law students across the country for its Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship for summer 2022.
The comprehensive program includes an IP boot camp orientation, a paid summer clerkship, and a $5,000 scholarship upon completion of the clerkship.
Beth Coakley, current co-chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, said the driver behind the fellowship is that diversity is a benefit to everyone, from clients to practitioners.
“We’re excited to offer this for the very first time to demonstrate our strong and continuing commitment to D&I efforts and to enhance opportunities for some potentially underrepresented groups to get into IP law,” Coakley explained. “Giving back to the community like this benefits everyone. Our clients and businesses in general benefit from diverse opinions.”
And it’s more than just the right thing to do, she added.
“There’s nothing more that we would like to do than to have an amalgam of ideas generated by a diverse group of burgeoning IP attorneys, including veterans, women, persons with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community.”
Launching a program like this didn’t happen overnight. The program was in its planning stages when COVID hit, but the pandemic didn’t slow its progress. Coakley credited a group effort by firm members doing heavy lifting behind the scenes to make the fellowship a reality.
Leanne Rakers, a principal and current chair of the committee, said that, “as a firm, we look forward to supporting these new voices and perspectives in our firm and in the field of IP law.”
Bootcamp and beyond
What makes this fellowship stand apart is its broad-spectrum approach, with an orientation program, summer clerkship and scholarship.
Fellowship participants will work in a Harness Dickey office location of their choice —including Reston or the Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis metro areas — and will be assigned an attorney mentor.
“Many of our attorneys are interested in mentoring, and several mid- and senior-level partners have stepped up,” Coakley said. “We’re doing special training for mentorship and we have this terrific boot camp where we go through all the different disciplines of intellectual property.”
The students aren’t cut loose when they go back to school, Coakley said. The firm will provide mentorship during the school year with the assumption that the participants will return the following year.
“This is a commitment; it’s not just ‘throw money against the wall and hope something sticks,’” Coakley said. “It’s a commitment to the community and to our applicants. This mentorship program shows the devotion of our interest in training new, excellent attorneys for the next 100 years.”
Ripple effect
Coakley said law schools have helped to spread the word about the fellowship, and several students from around the country have already completed the simple online application.
“It isn’t every day that $5,000 is offered to students who may be struggling to get through law school,” she added. “This is an opportunity for training and mentoring along with it. It’s surprising how many people have reached out from all over once the word started getting out.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of the program is its ripple effect on the community at large.
“We take students under our wing and direct them in business as well as law. It’s a win-win for everyone,” Coakley said.
For more information on the Summer 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship, visit: https://www.hdp.com/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion-fellowship/
If you would like to comment on this story, contact Kelly Caplan at [email protected].
