President's Letter

Dear IPLAC Members and Friends,
I want to thank the IPLAC members for the great honor and responsibility of electing me to serve you as your 132nd President of IPLAC.  Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous initiatives that were undertaken by Alisa Simmons, Immediate Past President, the Officers, and Board throughout this past year.  Indeed, you have paved the way for us to continue doing these great works that you began.  I would also like to acknowledge our members that have stepped up to fill a vast array of committee positions - IPLAC has over 35 active committees.  Without all of our active members we would not be able to accomplish our mission - thank you all for your continued service to our organization.

Because I am grateful for all that I have received from IPLAC, my goals this year are motivated by my desire to do all I can for the continued effective operation and viability of IPLAC.  First, we need to identify and expand the benefits of being a member of this organization. Financial stability and growth in membership will follow if it is obvious to our members what the value of this organization is. We also need to recognize and build on our diversity: Male and female. Newcomers and seasoned professionals. Lawyers, Members of the Judiciary, Faculty, Patent Agents, Paralegals, and Students - IP professionals of all sorts.  This diversity is a strength, but these many different members must believe that membership in this organization benefits them.  Second, we need to continue further improvements to our website. Thanks to the leadership of Marc Trachtenberg, Alisa Simmons and Garret Leach, IPLAC has grown increasingly responsive to members, and we want to build on that. We need to effectively promote and support our committee work, educational opportunities, and networking and social functions throughout the year.  The website needs to be a resource for all of our members and the IP community.

The bottom line is that if our peers know that this organization is of benefit to them, then you the members will buy in to IPLAC and participate in IPLAC, and hopefully gather some new or maybe non-active members along the way.  I welcome your thoughts, your suggestions and your opinions as I lead this year.  I truly want to know (and I promise to get back to each and every one of you who contact me) what it is that IPLAC can do for you. 

Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Serena Pruitt
President