A Brief History of The Foundation

After being incorporated in 2000 as a Virginia non-stock corporation, the initial organizational work of the organization now known as The IP Law Foundation began in early 2001. The Founding Trustees of the newly formed “AIPLA Foundation”—later to become the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation, then the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law, and, in 2025, The IP Law Foundation—met in February 2001 to establish three “working committees” to shepherd the development of programming for the new organization. Much like the focus of the Foundation today, these early committees were charged with addressing “Scholarships,” “Recruitment,” and “Fundraising and Promotion.”

The Founding Trustees in 2001 included prominent leaders in the IP bar, most notably Baila Celedonia, Ron Myrick, Rick D. Nydegger, Roger W. Parkhurst, Bill Rooklidge, and Tom Smith—each of whom had served as either President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association or Chair of the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section. Leading the Foundation as its first president was another prominent professional in the IP community, Anthony Greene.

The impetus for the creation of this new “diversity foundation” arose from committee work within AIPLA. AIPLA’s Standing Committee on Diversity in IP Law had been successful in raising awareness of the need to address underrepresentation of certain socio-economic groups within the IP bar. Within AIPLA, Clyde Bailey, Mel Garner, Phil Hampton, and Sid Williams had each played an active role as diversity advocates on the Committee and within AIPLA more broadly. These leaders, using their considerable influence to challenge the Association to elevate the priority of its diversity and inclusion efforts, made a simple pitch to other AIPLA leaders: the Association needed to do more than any one committee of AIPLA could ever accomplish if meaningful progress toward a more diverse IP bar were to be realized. Their vision was a separate organization, separately governed, and more broadly financed, with a single-minded focus on expanding diversity and inclusion programs and activities to a scope that reflected the magnitude of the challenge presented.

Their proposal to the AIPLA Board of Directors was no less simple and direct: create a new foundation solely devoted to advancing diversity in the IP law profession. Andrea Ryan, then the President of AIPLA, became a lead champion for this proposal. Her support helped to ensure that AIPLA would move forward to make the needed investments for the Foundation to exist as a separate legal reality. Her efforts in support of the new Foundation also helped to ensure that prominent members of the IP bar would serve as its Founding Trustees. In 2002, Andrea would become the second Foundation president, succeeding Anthony Greene.

One of the first orders of business for the new Foundation was eliciting support for this new organization from the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section. From the beginning, the leadership of the Foundation envisioned the Foundation as a pan-IP-bar effort at marshaling talents and financial resources to take action to address under-representation. Almost immediately, the approach to the ABA bore fruit, with the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section agreeing to become a second Founding Bar Association of the Foundation, along with AIPLA.

The ABA Intellectual Property Law Section’s interest was triggered in large part by the early decision of the Foundation Trustees to proceed with a new tuition grant program, the “Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program.” Sid Williams had served as a highly respected leader within the IP Section for many years, and the Section’s early involvement was an opportunity to recognize his pioneering leadership within the Section.

The Trustees of the new Foundation, at the urging of President Greene, sought out an immediate partnership with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. Together with AIPLA and the ABA IPL Section, MCCA would become a third founding organization of the Foundation.

To further the cooperative relationship with these groups, each of these three founding organizations agreed to permanent involvement in the leadership of the Foundation through participation on the Board of Trustees. This is a role that each of these founding organizations continues to play in the governance of the Foundation today.

The Foundation’s initial efforts to recruit Scholars for its new Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program were a resounding success. The Foundation received 95 applications during the first year of this new Scholar Program and eventually named nine individuals as Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholars for the 2002-2003 academic year. Notably, in this very first class of Scholars were two awardees who would go on to become members of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation.

As President Greene noted at the time, “We did not expect the large number of applications we received, nor the number who were so highly qualified. We had planned to award only three scholarships in our first year, but found at least 20 applicants who showed promise of making significant contributions to the IP law field.” Without question, the new Foundation was off to an impressive start.

Phil Johnson, J&J’s chief IP counsel, and Roger Fine, J&J’s General Counsel, became early corporate champions of the Foundation’s efforts. In a remarkable display of generosity, Johnson & Johnson agreed to provide an initial $100,000 seed donation to the Foundation, which would be followed in future years by equally generous leadership support. This early—and continuing—confidence that J&J would show in the Foundation all but assured the financial viability of the nascent organization.

The following year was a similar success for the Scholar Program, with another ten $10,000 tuition grants awarded. The Foundation was able to achieve these early successes in large measure because, even in its very earliest days, it was blessed with the generosity of law firms and companies that shared passion for the Foundation’s inclusion-focused mission. Foremost among these early donors was Johnson & Johnson.

The support over the years by Johnson & Johnson has extended beyond financial contributions. Phil Johnson, Robert DeBerardine, and Kiera Mathey, each sequentially has served as Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees over the past two decades with William Simmons now serving as Chair. For all of its efforts, Johnson & Johnson has long been recognized as the “Founding Corporation,” making it the fourth of the founding organizations of the Foundation.

The Foundation’s Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program has remained the flagship program of the Foundation since the announcement in 2002 that nine students were being recognized as Scholars. To ensure that the Scholar Program could be efficiently administered, the Foundation maintained a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund for several years under which TMCF had responsibility for the administrative aspects of the Scholar Program, including the application process and grant administration. Since the start of 2021, the Foundation has handled these administrative aspects of its Scholar Program internally.

Over the past two decades, one clear measure of the impact of the Foundation can be found in the more than $2.7 million of tuition grant assistance provided under the Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program to more than 190 law students. To build on the continuing success of the Scholar Program, the Foundation took several actions in 2019 that changed the focus of the program and expanded the benefits available to Scholars.

Beginning with the 1L class entering law school in 2020, the Foundation focused the Sidney B. Williams, Jr. Scholar Program on career preparation and career readiness—getting Scholars poised for success in their careers in patent law. Today, the program serves STEM-educated individuals seeking to explore a career in patent law. The first class of 10 new Scholars under this refocused and enhanced program began their law school careers in 2020. Scholars participating in the revitalized program now receive formal mentoring assistance, financial support for the law school application process, support for identifying 1L and 2L patent internships and clerkships, assistance in preparing for and taking the patent bar, support for participation as student members in meetings of AIPLA and the ABA Intellectual Property Law Section, and other opportunities to connect with leaders in the patent law community.

In addition, during 2020, the Foundation engaged the services of a Program Manager to take charge of the administrative aspects of the Scholar Program and assist with the expansion of fundraising efforts needed to advance the Foundation’s objective of supporting as many as 25 new Scholars each year entering law school to explore a career in patent law.

In 2020, reflecting the growth and impact of its mission, the Foundation adopted the name Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law. In 2025, to further clarify its identity and mission, the Foundation streamlined its name to The IP Law Foundation. The current name reflects both continuity and renewed focus: the Foundation remains committed to expanding access, opportunity, and career readiness for students pursuing careers in intellectual property law, particularly patent law.

With the continuing help and support of partners across the IP law community. The IP Law Foundation’s history is only the beginning. Its continued investment in Scholars, mentoring, and professional opportunity positions the Foundation to help support and shape the future of the IP law profession.

Hall of Presidents

The Foundation is particularly indebted to the individuals who have served as Foundation Presidents during the past two decades. They have ably led the Foundation since its inception: