Susan E. Farley, Esquire

2018 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA—Susan E. Farley, Esquire, has been recognized with the prestigious 2018 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit. She will be presented with the award by Judge Denny Chin at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in New York, New York, in September.

Farley is an intellectual property attorney and partner in the firm of Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, PC, in Albany, New York, where she has worked since 1989. She specializes in litigation and prosecution in all areas of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing agreements, and unfair competition. A significant portion of her practice is dedicated to the enforcement, procurement, commercialization, and exploitation of products with a design aesthetic. Significant cases in which Farley served as lead counsel include the representation of plaintiffs protecting trademarks in such diverse products as baseball bats, light fixtures, furniture, and clothing.

As chairman and secretary of the Intellectual Property and Innovation American Inn of Court since 2012, Farley is responsible for the Inn’s operations, programming, and personnel. The Inn is dedicated to fostering professional education and advancing knowledge of IP law in the federal courts.

Farley served as vice chair of the Intellectual Property Owners’ Design Rights Committee, which spearheads initiatives to advance industry and judicial standards relating to design law across patent, trademark, and copyright law. In that role, she led the effort to draft and adopt the first set of model jury instructions in a design patent case. She has also served as counsel to the Foundation for Design Integrity, which fosters the recognition of the importance of original design and creativity.

An undergraduate chemistry major, Farley earned her JD cum laude from the Albany Law School of Union University, where she later served as a trustee. She has been an adjunct professor of law at Union College and at SUNY Albany. In 2011, she was the only IP lawyer named to the list of top 25 Women Super Lawyers® in upstate New York.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. The organization’s membership includes more than 31,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in nearly 380 chapters nationwide and more than 100,000 alumni members. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.

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American Inns of Court Professionalism Awards 

The American Inns of Court Professionalism Awards are awarded each year, in participating federal circuits, to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.