By Roman Hernandez
The recent Hispanic National Bar Association ("HNBA") Mid-Year Conference in Seattle inspired thought-provoking legal dialogue on cyberlaw, patents, trademarks and privacy issues, as well as electronic commerce and entertainment copyright law.
The conference featured an opportunity for a high-level exchange of ideas in a real-world context and brought together nearly 100 legal and business professionals from across the country for development and networking. Attendees at the conference examined the obvious and obscure challenges that businesses face in the world of protecting their intellectual property through notable presentations from highly regarded practitioners, in-house corporate legal departments and outside counsel to corporations who routinely deal with intellectual property issues for their clients.
Geared toward legal and business professionals in the field of intellectual property, including members of the HNBA, the mid-year conference traditionally features seminars and panels focused around a specific topic. This year's IP focus was especially pertinent to the Pacific Northwest where intellectual property, technology, biotech and nanoscience industries are growing and thriving. In fact, part of the conference was held on Microsoft's Redmond campus and some of its attorneys helped with conference planning and made presentations on various areas of intellectual property.
Chief Justice Paul J. DeMuniz of the Oregon Supreme Court, the first Latino to ever serve on Oregon's highest court, also addressed the group about the importance of judicial independence, accountability and diversity on the bench. Brad Smith, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Microsoft, presented the keynote speech during the conference's closing banquet to the nearly 350 people in attendance.
The HNBA's 11th Annual National Moot Court Competition was held simultaneously. The competition brought together 29 teams from law schools across the nation. Members of the bench, law professors and attorneys from all over the country judged competitors.
The University of New Mexico School of Law team won the national championship with second place going to the University of Wisconsin School of Law. The University of Houston School of Law team took third place, while the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law came in fourth.
In addition to oral arguments, the presenting teams submitted merit briefs representing petitioner and respondents. Wisconsin and the University of La Verne College of Law were recognized in this portion of the competition.
The HNBA's next conference is its annual convention in San Francisco, Aug. 30-Sept. 2. Details can be found at www.hnba.org.
Roman Hernandez is an attorney with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt.
