Washington Lawyer interviewed Finnegan partner Mareesa Frederick to discuss her experience navigating the world of intellectual property (IP) law as a Black woman. Mareesa attended George Washington University Law School in which she focused on IP law, recalling that the program “had a fair number of Black students.“ As she moved through her career as an IP attorney, she increasingly noticed the racial and gender inequality that exists in the field:
“When I recognized it, I thought, ’OK, I can be someone to help increase the diversity efforts at these firms...I didn’t let [the disparities] discourage me. A lot of that stems from attending a historically Black college, which gave me a sense of confidence to let me know that I matter.”
She concluded that as one of the few Black attorneys at her law firm, “I will just have to do a great job to show that we can have more.”
At Finnegan, Mareesa has served as partner-in-charge of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She noted Finnegan’s successes in a range of diversity initiatives and stated that between July 2019 and July 2020, 92% of the client pitch teams at Finnegan included at least one attorney from a diverse background. She explained:
“More in-house counsel [are] requiring law firms to have more diverse attorneys to work on their clients’ matters...I think in-house counsel are becoming more diverse internally, and they are demanding more of it from their outside counsel. The legal works if becoming more aligned with the world around it. [Companies] want their [legal] teams to represent the demographics of the marketplace.”
Media Mention
Finnegan Shortlisted for the 2024 Asian Legal Business Japan Law Awards
April 26, 2024
Commentary
April 11, 2024
Media Mention
Women in Business Law Americas Awards 2024: Three Finnegan Attorneys Shortlisted
April 7, 2024
Press Release
Finnegan and BMW Group Successfully Demolish Non-Practicing Entity NorthStar’s Efforts
April 3, 2024
Due to international data regulations, we’ve updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our privacy policy in full.
We use cookies on this website to provide you with the best user experience. By accepting cookies, you agree to our use of cookies. Please note that if you opt not to accept or if you disable cookies, the “Your Finnegan” feature on this website will be disabled as well. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
Finnegan is thrilled to announce the launch of our new blog, Ad Law Buzz, devoted solely to breaking news, developments, trends, and analysis in advertising law.