President

Name: Taylor Bloom

 Year: 2D

 Short Bio:

Taylor Bloom is a second year law student at the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She was born and raised in San Diego, California. Taylor received her B.A. in Political Science, with a minor in US History, and a Technology Entrepreneurship Certification from the College of Engineering, from University of California Santa Barbara in 2010. During her undergraduate studies, Taylor worked for the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office. During her first year of law school, Taylor interned for Legal Counsel for the Department of Transportation. Taylor is currently employed at a political firm. Additionally Taylor has held numerous leadership positions on campus including Jewish Law Student Association President, Intellectual Property Student Association, IP Week Chair, and Sports Law Society Vice President.  

Why you believe you are the best candidate for the position:

I have been on the executive board of IPSA for the past two years and have been an active participant in the success of the organization. As a first-year I served as Media Chair and expanded social media communications to improve relations with members. This year I served as IP Week, Chair. This was the inaugural year and we hope to continue the tradition in the future. IP week was a great success on campus and was awarded best new event of the year. This event helped promote IP  and awareness of IPSA on campus.

Ideas that you have on improving IPSA:

 I want to establish IP week and make it a lasting tradition and known event for IPSA at McGeorge. I would like to continue to promote awareness of IP issues and current developments in the legal community to better provide opportunities to members and interested students on campus.

Vice-President

Name: Giselle Berzenye

Year: 1L

Short Bio:

I have a BA and MA in Art History.  I spent this past year as the First Year Representative of IPSA.  I plan to pursue the Intellectual Property Concentration at McGeorge and eventually go into practice specializing in cultural protection and Intellectual Property rights.

Why you believe you are the best candidate for the position: 

I feel that I would be a great candidate for Vice President because after serving as the First Year representative of IPSA this past year I gained a lot of practical knowledge and experience for serving on the IPSA board.  I am a hard working individual who is committed to developing new IP events for students on campus and promoting existing events.   If elected, my main focus would be to expand the club membership and work with other students to make IPSA a great organization at McGeorge.

Ideas that you have on improving IPSA:

·         Increasing community involvement with volunteer opportunities with local organizations that deal with elements of Intellectual Property, such as the Crocker Art Museum.

·         Work to create an Art Law Panel for next year’s IP Week.

·         Advertise more IP events in the Sacramento and San Francisco areas for club members.

Treasurer

Name: Hsien Christine Tsai   

Year: 2D

Short Bio:

     Christine was born in Saudi Arabia, and lived in Taiwan.  She completed her physics degree at University of California, Berkeley.  She is no stranger in leadership at McGeorge, as she is the Chair of the SBA Diversity Committee this year, and headed the twelve diversity week events on campus!  Christine is also connected with various campus organizations: McGeorge Martial Art Study Club (Secretary), APALSA (Co-President Elect), McGeorge Justice Bus (Student Rep), Student Ambassador Program (Student Rep), and etc.

     Christine is especially committed to IP!  This summer, Christine will be working at the USPTO as a Patent Extern.  She has also represented McGeorge in the IP in the West Conference last semester.  In addition, she has completed most of the core course for the IP concentration, and she is happy to speak to any members about the IP concentration. 

     Christine has been involved in IPSA for the past two years, and she would love to serve you as the treasurer in the coming year!

Position that you are running for: Treasurer

Why you believe you are the best candidate for the position:

I am the best candidate because 1) I am excellent in math, 2) I am extremely organized, and 3) I have the needed experience of working with the McGeorge administration and business office for event financing and reimbursement.  

Ideas that you have on improving IPSA:

Further improve the amazing events of IP week; host more networking events with IP professionals; fundraise for field trips to the IP firms in Palo Alto, SF, etc.

Dir. Of Communications 

Name: Benjamin Merritt

Year: 2D

Short Bio:

In my past lives, I was an organic chemist, a teacher, and political campaign organizer. I have an unquenchable thirst for news, ranging from technology to politics to current events. I’m studying at McGeorge to go into IP law, and am constantly striving to learn how IP is shaping the future of business and society so that I can effectively counsel my future clients on the best strategies for their business.

Why you believe you are the best candidate for the position:

As communications director, I will work closely with the other IPSA board members to ensure a steady and accurate flow of information from IPSA meetings to all the members. The IPSA blog has enormous potential for keeping the McGeorge IPSA community informed and involved, and I will work to ensure it remains a current and useful resource. I will take on any additional duties required to make IPSA a valuable organization to members, and will work to expand membership.

Ideas that you have on improving IPSA:

I would like to continue to expand IPSA’s value to its members by securing additional academic and working professional guest speakers, hunting down and advertising more job and internship leads, distributing important industry news, expanding collaboration with other McGeorge organizations, and keeping IPSA members engaged in membership activities (IP-related or just social).

Interested in working with artists, musicians, entertainers, and inventors?  

IP Week is a collaborative effort between IPSA, Entertainment Law Society, Sport Law Society, and Wine Law Society, with support from the CDO, SBA, and Academic Affairs.

Schedule of Events | February 6-10, 2012 | See Poster

Monday, February 6th | Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

• 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm | The Pub | Food & Drinks
• Opening Remarks by Professor Mireles | Moot Court Trademark Presentation

Tuesday, February 7th | Professor Panel: An Academic Perspective on IP

• 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | The Pub | Food & Drinks
• Professor Brierton | Professor Golka | Professor Landers

Wednesday, February 8th | Getting a Job In IP: Advice and Insight from an IP HeadHunter

• 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Room B | Food & Drinks | Career Packet
• Kate Patterson

Thursday, February 9th | A Day in the Life of an IP Lawyer

• 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm | The Pub | Food & Drinks
• John Yung | Lock, Lord & Bissell
• Ian Rambarran | Klinedinst
• Christy LaPierre | Pressing, Gates & Ellis
• Brian Matlock | The Matlock Group

Friday, February 10th | “Meet the Professionals” IP Mixer

• 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Student Center | Appetizers & Drinks
• CDO Presentation | Meet and Greet Practitioners in IP Law
• Students – Send RSVP to mcgeorge.ipsa@gmail.com