Journal

IP Inclusive update

Anniversary activities

We’re determined to make the most of our tenth anniversary year and we’ve been continuing the celebrations this last month or so.

Our new series of podcasts will launch very soon, with ten episodes looking at different aspects of IP Inclusive’s work over the years. Keep an eye on our website News and Features page for the published links. My thanks to Jane Wainwright of Starry-Eyed Pragmatics for leading this project, and to Max Walters from Managing IP and Jodie Bates from Boult Wade Tennant for hosting the conversations.

While we’re on the subject of podcasts, the episode of CIPA’s Two IPs In A Pod where I spoke with Lee and Gwilym about IP Inclusive’s first decade is now available: see cipa.buzzsprout.com/1045420/episodes/17814125-championing-diversity-ip-inclusive-s-10-year-journey.

CIPA have been huge supporters of our anniversary celebrations. As I write this, I’m looking forward to taking part in this year’s Congress, which this year just happens to be in my nearest city, Bristol. I’ll be joining their EDI Committee Chair Greg Iceton to chat to people at the pre-Congress drinks reception, an event that’s open to all IP Inclusive supporters whether or not they’re attending the main conference.

We’ve also been given a stand in the exhibition hall during the Thursday events, which we’ll be sharing with our long-standing partners Jonathan’s Voice. I hope plenty of you will pop by to say hello.

The icing on the cake, though, is the opportunity to speak at the institute’s annual dinner later that evening. I’ll be sharing my own thoughts on IP Inclusive’s growth, as well as on the impact of AI (it is after all a conference devoted to AI) on diversity, inclusion, biases and stereotypes.

Another recent anniversary event was ‘Coffee Connect’, an online coffee morning that allowed supporters from across the UK to chat informally in small networking groups. The feedback we received there reminded us of how important it is for this community to exist, and the impact it can have on individual professionals’ lives at different stages of their careers. Our focus on ‘community’ over the next two years seems highly fitting. I’m so grateful to our Scotland Network committee for devising this event and making it happen.

Women in IP’s flagship annual event on 1 October also took up the ‘ten years’ theme, with a panel reflecting on the experiences of women in IP over the last decade and looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the next. Hosted by Kilburn & Strode in London and online, it was accompanied by regional get-togethers in several locations to watch the online broadcast and network in person. The discussions were, as ever, incredibly interesting and inspiring.

September and October events

In addition to Coffee Connect and the Women in IP gathering, we kicked off the autumn with a whole string of successful events. They included a webinar with Jonathan’s Voice, ‘Changing the narrative: responding to distress in high-pressure professions’; a Women in IP coffee date discussing ‘The Umbrella Theory’ from the book Why Men Win at Work by Gill Whitty-Collins; IP Out’s hybrid Fireside chat with Tate Smith, and IP Futures’ ‘Networking – The Theory and the Practice’. The former was hosted by Wiggin and featured a fascinating conversation between IP Out Committee member Georgina Hart and the award-winning diversity activist and speaker Tate Smith. It was hearteningly well attended despite the tube strikes that week. The IP Futures event, meanwhile, was a re-run of their popular November 2024 event, this time hosted by Pinsent Masons in Edinburgh. It combined expert tips on networking with the opportunity to put them into practice at an informal gathering, the delegates including some who hoped to join the profession in future.

Three further events were kindly opened to our supporters for free: a CITMA webinar on ‘Parenthood in practice: reflections from IP professionals’; a joint CIPA and CITMA discussion to mark Black History Month, ‘Celebrating Black excellence in IP: An evening of dialogue and inspiration’; and ‘Cultures of Care: Lasting mental wellbeing at work’, a webinar on World Mental Health Day with keynote speaker Lisa Whittleton from Illuminate VR, ran in collaboration with Jonathan’s Voice, CIPA and CITMA.

Events coming up

Here’s what’s still to come. Keep an eye on our website events page for more details.

• Tuesday 4 November, 5:30 pm for 6:00 pm: ‘The case for EDI: why we need to continue’, a flagship event examining why EDI still matters to the IP professions and how we can continue to champion it in the face of current challenges. With keynote speaker Daniel Winterfeldt (InterLaw Diversity Forum) and a panel of experts from the UK and abroad. Hosted by Kilburn & Strode in London and online.
• Thursday 20 November, 12:00 pm: IP Ability online Coffee Date For Carers’ Rights Day, to signpost useful resources for carers and provide a social space to discuss and share tips on how carers can look after themselves.
• Tuesday 25 November, 5:30 pm for 6:00 pm: ‘Voices from the Top’, a collaboration between IP Futures and Women in IP, bringing together a panel of senior women to inspire new and varied routes to influential roles in IP. Details to follow soon; please save the date.
• Wednesday 26 November, 12:30 pm: ‘Leading on All Fronts: Carer, Founder, Force for Change’, an IP Ability webinar featuring guest speaker Helen Burness, herself a carer, whose businesses help legal providers think differently about business development. Rescheduled from 9 September.
• Thursday 4 December, 5:30 pm: Tenth birthday celebration with the IP Inclusive Scotland Network, an in-person gathering hosted by CMS in Glasgow. Details to follow soon; save the date!