Banner Witcoff selected four law students as the 2021 recipients of the Donald W. Banner Diversity Fellowship. Created by the firm to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the field of intellectual property law, the fellowship provides recipients with $5,000 for law school tuition or other school-related expenses.
The 2021 recipients are:
- Keval Amin, a first-year law student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in mechanical engineering and from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in physics
- Shen Peng, a first-year law student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and Northwestern University, respectively.
- Sydney Huppert, a first-year law student at The George Washington University Law School. She graduated from The University of Virginia with undergraduate degrees in history and computer science.
- Elizabeth Rielley, a second-year law student at Washburn University School of Law. She earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in physics from The Catholic University of America.
As part of the fellowship, the first-and-second-year law students will participate in the firm’s summer associate program.
The Donald W. Banner Diversity Fellowship is open to law students who identify as members of a historically underrepresented group in intellectual property law and meet certain criteria, including academic merit, a commitment to the pursuit of a career in the field, and demonstrated leadership qualities.
Donald W. Banner (1924-2006) — the namesake of the fellowship and firm — was a leader in the field of patent law. A former U.S. Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, he was chairman of the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law, president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, a founding member of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel, president of the International Patent and Trademark Association, co-founder and president of the Intellectual Property Owners Association and director of The John Marshall Law School Center for Intellectual Property Law.
Posted: June 3, 2021
