ChIPs Network

ChIPs Mock Program is our signature annual series of mock events developing skills and building confidence for your team.

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In 2014, ChIPs developed the Mock Pitch program to create an opportunity for associates and junior partners to gain real-life experience pitching to clients, a necessary skill to elevate their careers and increase pay equity. Mock Pitch is now one of the signature events led by the ChIPs community. 

Designed to improve participants’ skills and receive feedback from leading experts in IP and law, the program featured 14 law firm teams and 60 client volunteers, including leading in-house counsel who played the role of mock clients in the scenario.

Senior-level in-house counsel with experience evaluating business pitches from outside counsel, including leaders from Sony Interactive Entertainment, Novartis, Apple, Medtronic, NetApp, VMWare, Microsoft, NetApp, Oracle, Salesforce, Dolby, T-Mobile, IBM, Meta and MasterClass, have helped elevate the next generation of women leaders and cultivate an ecosystem that advances women in tech, law and policy.

ChIPs is always seeking volunteer judges for the program. If you are leading in-house counsel experienced with the pitch process and selecting outside counsel and are interested in volunteering, please register using the link below.

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Julie Akhter

Senior Attorney, Microsoft

Rachel Fertig

Partner, DLA Piper

Heather Heeden

Patent Counsel, Microsoft

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Karen Keller

IP Litigator and Co-Founder, Shaw Keller LLP

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Sarah MacDonald

Senior Corporate Counsel, Litigation Oracle America, Inc.

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Anna Mayergoyz Weinberg

Senior Counsel, Apple

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Mindy Morton

Partner and Chair of Trade Secrets Group and DE&I Committee, Procopio

“As an attorney in a law firm, developing business and relationships with clients is necessary to expand your practice. If you don’t have pitch experience, no one will take you on a pitch to get the experience. How do you get it? Participating in Mock Pitch gives you that experience and puts you in front of potential clients.”

Karen Keller
IP Litigator and Co-Founder, Shaw Keller LLP, ChIPs Mock Program Committee Member