Nominating Committee Announces Nominees for 2025-2026 ABA year
Kim Jessum, Chair of the Section’s Nominating Committee, reports that the committee has selected the nominees for elective leadership positions for the 2025-2026 Association year.
Officers:
Chair-Elect: Joshua Simmons, New York, NY. Mr. Simmons is the current Vice Chair. He served as Section Secretary for three years. He has also served as the Chair of the Policy Advisory and Development Committee for two years. He served as chair of the House of Delegates Resolutions Committee and as a member for three years. He chaired the Copyright Law Reform Task Force for five years. He served as a member of Council for four years. He was both Chair and Vice Chair of the Copyrights Division. He was Chair and Vice Chair of the Copyright and Social Media Committee and he served as a member of the AI Task Force.
Vice Chair: Paul Morico, Houston, TX. Mr. Morico is the current Section Secretary. He served as the Financial Officer for two years, and served as the Financial Officer-Elect for a year prior to becoming Financial Officer. Prior to becoming the Financial Officer-Elect, he served as Chair of the Patents Division for two years, as Vice-Chair for two years prior to that, and as Special Advisor to the Patents Division for two years before that. He has been a member of the Continuing Legal Education Board since 2010. He served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee, the Investments Committee, and the Revenue Committee, and was also member of the Section 101 Task Force.
Secretary: Adrienne Fields, New York, NY. Ms. Fields is the current Publications Officer for the Section. She previously served as Vice Chair of the Content Advisory Board for two years. She has been a member of the Content Advisory Board for 11 years. She has served as a member of the Magazine Editorial Board for 15 years, and was Editor-in-Chief, Vice Chair and Intake Editor of that Board. She also served as a member of the former Annual Review Editorial Board for two years. She served as Chair of the Standing International IP Task Force for one year.
Financial Officer-Elect: Matthew Blackburn, San Francisco, CA. Mr. Blackburn has served on the Section Council for four years. He is a former Vice Chair of the Patents Division. He served as a Chair of the Patents in the High Tech and Software Industries Committee. Prior to that he served as Chair and as Vice Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee. He also served on the Section Nominating Committee.
Revenue Officer: Tammy Pennington Rhodes, Houston, TX. Ms. Rhodes is the current Revenue Officer. She served as a member of the Section Revenue Committee for 6 years. She has also served as a member of the CLE Board for nine years. She served as Chair of the International Patent Laws Committee, and served as Chair of the USPTO Ex Parte Patent Practice and Policy Committee for two years. She served as Vice Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee for two years and Chair of the High Tech and Software Patent Committee.
Membership Officer: Rivka Monheit, Atlanta, GA. Ms. Monheit is the current Membership Officer. She served as the Vice Chair of the Membership Board, and served as a member of the Membership Board for three years prior to that. She served a four-year term as a member of the Section Council. She was Chair of the International Patent Treaties and Laws Committee for two years, Chair of the Patent Legislation Committee for two years, and Vice Chair of that committee for two years. She served as a member of the Patent Section 101 Task Force for five years. She has served as a member of the In-House Counsel Task Force and the Standing International IP Task Force.
Publications Officer: David Postolski, Summit, NJ. Mr. Postolski is a current member of the Council. He served as Continuing Legal Education Officer for three years and on the CLE Board for 12 years. He was a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education. He previously served a term on the Section Council. He has also served on the Section Revenue Committee, the Membership Board, and the Nominating Committee. He was a Chair and Vice Chair of the Professional Issues Division. He was Chair of the Young Lawyers Action Group and Special Advisor to the International Associated Action Group. He was a Liaison from the ABA Young Lawyers Division and served as Liaison to the National LGBT Bar Association, the WIPO Standing Committee on Patents, and the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA).
CLE Officer: Christopher Ponder, Menlo Park, CA. Mr. Ponder is the current CLE Officer. He served as the Vice Chair of the CLE Board for two years. He served as a member of the CLE Board for 6 years prior to that. He has been a member of the Revenue Committee for 6 years. He served as a member of the Membership Board for five years. He also served as a member of the AIA Task Force for one year.
Diversity Officer: Nicole Galli, Philadelphia, PA. Ms. Galli is the current Diversity Office. She was elected last year as the first Diversity Officer of the Section. She served as Liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession for two years. She served as a member of the Section’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force and as a member of the In-House Counsel Task Force. She was the CLE Officer for the Section for two years and served on the CLE Board for five additional years. She has served as the Liaison to the LES Supply Chain Committee. She was chair of the former CLE Teleconference Committee for one year. She has also served on the Section Membership Board.
Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates (for a three-year term, expiring in 2028):
Richard Biagi, Bannockburn, IL. Mr. Biagi is currently the Trademarks Division Special Advisor. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Membership Board for two years. He served a four-year term on the Council. Prior to his term on Council he was the Division Chair for the Trademarks and Unfair Competition Division. He was Vice Chair of that division for two years. He served as a member of the Magazine Editorial Board for five years and as a member of the Continuing Legal Education Board for three years. He served as Chair of the Trademark Litigation Committee for three years and also served as Vice Chair of that committee.
At-Large Council Members (for a 4-year term, expiring in 2029):
Nicholas Kim, Redmond, WA. Mr. Kim has served as Vice Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee for 5 years. He is a current Trustee on the Board of the Foundation for Advancement of IP Law (FADIPL). He served as Chair of the Diversity Action Group for 3 years and as a member of the Membership Board for two years. He was a Young Lawyer Fellow of the Section for 3 years.
Felicity Kohn, New York, NY. Mr. Kohn has served as the Chair of the Copyrights Division for two years. She was Vice Chair of the Copyrights Division for three years prior to that. She has served as a member of the Copyright Law Reform Task Force for two years. She was Vice Chair of the Visual Arts and Dramatic Works Committee, and Chair and Vice Chair of the Copyright Litigation Committee. She also served on the CLE Board.
Joseph Falcon, Malvern, PA. Mr. Falcon is currently Vice Chair of the USPTO Ex Parte Patent Practice and Policy Committee. He served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Patent Legislation Committee, and Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee. He was Vice Chair of the International Patent Laws Committee. He served for 4 years on the Patent Section 101 Task Force. He served as a member of the Membership Board, the Amicus Briefs Committee and the Section AIA Task Force. He has been the Section Liaison to the ABA Section of Litigation for two years.
TBD, The Section Nominating Committee is working to replace the candidate for this council position following the resignation of Dina Kallay, who was unable to fulfill the term. Further announcements will be made as to the selected candidate.
Lulu Wang, Watertown, MA. Ms. Wang is currently the chair of the Patent Legislation Committee. She was previously Vice Chair of the Committee. She has also served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Chemical and Life Sciences Patent Committee. Note that she was selected by the Nominating Committee after the resignation of Dina Kallay, who had originally been nominated for this Council position. However the selection was made within the required four months minimum prior to the Business Session with Elections as set forth in the bylaws. So as provided in the bylaws, she will be elected by the Section Council at it first meeting of the new bar year, which will take place in September, to serve the balance of the 2025-2026 bar year, at which time the new Nominating Committee will select a candidate to stand for election by the Section members for the remaining three years of the four-year term ending in 2029 at the next ABA Annual Meeting in August 2026.
Young Lawyer Council Member (for a one-year term, expiring in 2026):
Davide Schiavetti, Washington, DC. Mr. Schiavetti is current Co-Chair of the Fashion Law Committee. He has served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Fashion Law Committee. He was also a Vice Chair of the Trademark Transactions Committee where he was chair of the then-subcommittee on Fashion Law.
Section Chair: According to Section bylaws, Rob Lytle, Redmond, WA. Mr. Lytle is the current Chair-Elect of the Section and was Vice Chair of the Section prior to that. Prior to becoming Vice Chair, he served as Revenue Officer for one year, as Financial Officer for two years, and as Financial Officer-Elect for one year. He served as a vice-chair of the Patents Division. He has served on the Books Editorial Board for 9 years, the Revenue Committee for 5 years, and the Investments Committee for 5 years. He was co-chair of the Trade Secrets and Interferences with Contracts Committee for two years. He served on the Policy Development Advisory Committee for two years, and has served on the In-House Counsel Task Force and the AIA Task Force.
Financial Officer: According to Section bylaws, Richard Stockton, Chicago, IL, the current Financial Officer in his first year, will serve a second year of a two-year term. He was Financial Officer-Elect prior to becoming the Financial Officer. Mr. Stockton served as Vice Chair of the Patents Division for two years. He was Chair of the Standing International IP Task Force for two years, and served as Vice Chair for two years. He was Vice Chair of the Patent System Policy Planning Committee for two years, Chair of the Patent Litigation Committee for two years, and Vice chair of the Patent Litigation Committee for four years.
The Section’s Nominating Committee, appointed by Section Chair Susan McGahan, is composed of:
- Kim Jessum, Philadelphia, PA, Chair
- Thad Chaloemtiarana, Chicago, IL, Vice Chair
- Malissa Magiera, Indianapolis, IN
- Michael McCabe, Potomac, MD
- Pippa Loengard, New York, NY
Additional nominations for this new position or for any position may be made by petition signed by not less than 100 members of the Section, listed by their ABA ID number. The 100 names must be representative of at least three states and must indicate that the individual has agreed to the nomination. The petition must be sent to the Chair and the Secretary of the Section and must be received by these individuals not less than four months before the elections held at the ABA Annual Meeting. The Business Session with Elections will be held in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto on Friday, August 8, 2025 from 3:15-4:00 pm ET. Location: DLA Piper law firm, DLA Piper, Bay Adelaide - Centre West Tower, Suite 5100 - 333 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario.
