Erin Wright Lothson (Chicago), who serves as Vice-Chair of the Women in IP Committee for the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, was in charge of the Committee’s Eighth Annual Federal Judicial Panel, which was held at the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law on February 7, 2013.  Nicole Chaudhari and Tracy Zawaski (both Chicago) also participated in the event. 

The Federal Judicial Panel facilitates communication between IP litigators and the bench, and this year’s panel discussed hot topics in intellectual property law, including the America Invents Act, local rules and patent trends for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Northern District’s Patent Pilot Program, among others.   The event drew nearly 90 guests and a networking reception was held after the panel discussion.  

Pictured below from left to right: Committee Chair Selena Spritz; Director of Intellectual Property Law at Chicago-Kent, Professor Ed Lee; Moderator Amy Ziegler; Northern District of Illinois Chief Judge James F. Holderman; Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow; Judge Matthew F. Kennelly; Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer; Judge John W. Darrah, and Erin Wright Lothson.