Download the Board book as a PDF here. (6MB) - State Bar of Georgia

Intellectual Property Section,State Bar of GeorgiaAnnual ReportPage 13 of 67benefit its members, but to give back to the community as well. Especially in the practiceof law, where so many are fortunate enough to have so much, I thought it unquestionablethat the Section should have a Philanthropy Committee. Alas, we did not.We therefore created a new committee tasked specifically with finding ways forour members to give back to our community and the less fortunate. Chaired by ChrisCurfman, the Philanthropy Committee became a new committee. The mission of thiscommittee, as the name suggests, is to identify opportunities for Section members toshow concern for the welfare of their fellow humans. The opportunities the PhilanthropyCommittee was tasked with identifying were to be non-legal and non-monetary. Thus,the mission of the Philanthropy Committee became somewhat distinct from merelyidentifying pro bono service opportunities. Similarly, the Philanthropy Committee wasnot to simply find organizations to whom monetary donations were to be made. Thecharge of the Philanthropy Committee was to simply get the hands of Section members“dirty” helping those in need. Why have a Philanthropy Committee? The answer isbecause it is simply the right thing to do.Mentoring Committee:The Mentoring Committee is completely new to the Intellectual Property Section.As with the Philanthropy Committee, I thought it was a responsible act to provide ourmembers with a conduit whereby questions could be answered, experiences could beshared, and lessons could be learned. However, the goal was not to simply pair randompeople together. The goal was instead to provide a different organizational structurefocused on conveying knowledge, not just pleasantries. The Mentoring Committee wasformed with this in mind.The Mentoring Committee focuses on facilitating the mentoring of all Sectionparticipants. While the Mentoring Committee is certainly very interested in hearing anyideas from Section members, the goal for its initial year was to establish a mentoringlecture series that covers various topics directed at all skill levels within the IP Section.239