LAIPLA Diversity Fellowship Program strengthens the IP community.
Year Fellowship Created
Stipend For Law Student
About the LAIPLA Diversity Fellowship
LAIPLA created the Diversity Fellowship in 2014 to increase diversity in the Intellectual Property (“IP”) bar. Although the lack of diversity generally in the legal field has been well documented, the problem of underrepresentation in the IP bar has been discussed less frequently despite evidence suggesting that it is even more pronounced. One survey showed that minorities only comprised 9.1% of the IP bar, while women were 16.2% of the IP bar.
LAIPLA also formed the Diversity Fellowship to give law students practical skills and experience working as in-house counsel. As the legal profession has changed, more employers have sought law school graduates with hands-on, real-world skills. In turn, law students are seeking experiences that help them better understand the needs of corporate clients.
One way the Diversity Fellowship promotes inclusion and diversity in the IP bar is by equipping law students with the practical skills needed to better succeed as an attorney. The LAIPLA Diversity Fellowship provides a $7,500 stipend for a law student to work up to 10 weeks in an in-house legal department. The Fellowship is open to first and second year law students at an ABA or California accredited law school, who have an interest in practicing IP law in Los Angeles, and identify with an underrepresented group.
2021 Fellowship Recipient: Joyce Jeong
2021 Fellowship Recipient: Danielle Ocampo
2019 Fellowship Recipients: Skylar Williams & Jean Hyun
2018 Fellowship Recipients: Chloe Stepney & Joe Barrientos
2017 Fellowship Recipient: Tim Tran
2016 Fellowship Recipients: Cathy Pham & Jennifer Tsai
2015 Fellowship Recipient: Daniel Latimer
2022 Diversity Fellow: Ashley Kim
LAIPLA congratulates this year’s 2023 LAIPLA Diversity Fellow, Ashley Kim! LAIPLA wants to especially thank Tubi for hosting Ashley. LAIPLA also wishes to specifically recognize and thank this year’s sponsors who graciously made this Fellowship possible by providing the generous stipend: KBBP LLP, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, Alston & Bird LLP, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
This year’s Diversity Outreach Committee included Jennifer So, Chris Jackson, Nick Fung, James Abe, Tony Peluso, Paul Lee, Chloe Stepney, Robert Taylor, Ajit Narang, and Daniel Latimer.
Ashley Kim, a native to Los Angeles, is currently a law student at Southwestern Law School and a LAIPLA student member. Prior to law school, Ashley was a JusticeCorps Graduate Fellow at the Self-Help Resource Center in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. She provided one-on-one legal information to self-represented litigants who were seeking child custody, divorces, and restraining orders.
Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UC San Diego in 2020. She entered law school as a recipient of the Wildman/Schumacher Scholarship, and since then, has received the Dean’s Merit scholarship.
During law school, Ashley has participated and served in multiple organizations, such as the Latino Law Student Association and Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. However, after her first year, Ashley and a group of her friends co-founded the First Generation Law Student Association on campus to create community. Ashley also was a student teacher for the Street Law Clinic and helped a senior class learn about their legal rights. Ashley is currently a student editor for the Southwestern Journal of International Media and Entertainment law. Ashley is passionate about diversity in the legal field and seeing representation in entertainment.