The Best Investment We Make Is in the People Who Aren't in the Room Yet
We spend a lot of time talking about the women already leading in this industry: the general counsels, the partners, the board members. These women are our among greatest advocates and ensuring their work is recognized matters, and it will keep mattering. But our organization is also measured by who it’s willing to invest in before that person has a senior title or is recognized by Best Lawyers.
Law school looks different than it did even five years ago, and the market law students are walking into today isn’t the one most of our members remember. Summer internship commitments now come before first-semester grades. The margin for figuring things out on your own has shrunk. And the students navigating all of it are doing so earlier, and under more pressure, than ever before.
ChIPs has always believed that supporting the next generation means more than writing a check. It means staying in the room with them. This year, we’re doing both.
The 2026 ChIPs Scholarship
ChIPs has awarded its annual scholarship to three IP scholars: Jennifer Boles, Sophia Kim and Sofia MakePeace. Each will receive $15,000 toward tuition, a $5,000 increase per student from last year, and each will receive complimentary registration and travel to the ChIPs Global Summit, Oct. 21-23 in Los Angeles. For the second year running, we chose to fund three students instead of two, expanding our reach in supporting the Next Generation.
A New Council, Built for the Long-Haul
Our scholarship is a start to the relationship we build with our future IP leaders, but it isn’t where the relationship ends. That’s why we’re launching the ChIPs Scholarship Council, a new initiative built to keep our recipients connected to ChIPs, and to each other, long after the award is announced. Some of our most accomplished members came through the Scholarship program, and they bring insights invaluable to students and early-career attorneys looking for support as they navigate new waters.
The council will host its first event September 25. “First Semester Law School 101”is free and open to all. Topics include how to show productivity and ability to prospective firms before grades exist to back it up, what life looks like on the corporate side versus litigation, how to choose a firm (big law versus boutique) and the habits that make for a stronger student overall. The panel spans nearly a decade of ChIPs scholarship recipients:
- Leslie Diaz (2019), Intellectual Property Litigation Associate, Kirkland & Ellis
- Debbie Mosely (2021), Director, Legal & Business Affairs, Warner Records
- Niki Camateros-Mann (2022), Associate, Lerner David
- Caroline Voekler (2023), Associate, Weil
- Bertha Romero Madrigal (2024), Intellectual Property Litigation Associate, Kirkland & Ellis
- Brhea D’Mello (2025), Bar Candidate
- Sydney Martens (2025), Bar Candidate
- Molly Yancher (2025), Bar Candidate
Bring your questions and bring a friend. If you’re an experienced professional or NextGen member with an intern this fall, send this their way. This is precisely the kind of session they won’t get anywhere else.
This is what it looks like to bet on the next generation: not just funding their first step, but showing up for the ones who follow.
Best regards,
Joan Toth
