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: 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: Joyce Jeong
LAIPLA congratulates this year’s 2022 LAIPLA Diversity Fellow, Joyce Jeong! LAIPLA wants to especially thank Edwards Lifesciences for hosting Joyce. LAIPLA also wishes to specifically recognize and thank this year’s sponsor who graciously made this Fellowship possible by providing the generous stipend: Morrison Foerster LLP.
This year’s Diversity Outreach Committee included Jennifer So, Chris Jackson, Nick Fung, James Abe, Tony Peluso, Paul Lee, Chloe Stepney, Robert Taylor and Daniel Latimer.
Joyce Jeong is currently a law student at Southwestern Law School and LAIPLA student member. Prior to law school, Joyce worked as an ophthalmic technician at the UC Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute preceded by almost a decade of patient care in various healthcare settings. She also conducted research analyzing neuropeptides in mice models and also presented her work on de novo lipogenesis isolation techniques at several medical conferences. After obtaining her law degree, she hopes to utilize her science background in a legal capacity in the intellectual property field.
Joyce earned her Master of Medical Health Sciences degree from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2016. She graduated from UCLA in 2011 with a B.S. in Biology. She entered law school as a recipient of the Wildman/Schumacher Scholarship and received a CALI Award in Legal Writing.
Joyce previously volunteered with free healthcare clinics targeting underserved communities and taught and mentored the youth in her community through various organizations. She currently serves as the Co-Vice President of the Asian American Pacific Law Student Association and Secretary of the Intellectual Property Law Society.