Squire Patton’s own Steve Auvil has been elected president of the newly-created Kathleen M. O’Malley Inn of Court. The Inn was chartered in Northeast Ohio to promote civility, ethics, professionalism and mentorship within the local IP bar. It is named after the Honorable Kathleen M. O’Malley, who started her judicial career as a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and now serves as a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Honorable James S. Gwin of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio will serve as Counselor for the Inn, alongside esteemed attorneys Malisheia Douglas (Treasurer) and Deborah Wilcox (Secretary) in the inaugural slate of officers. In the coming months, the founding members of the Inn will finalize the roster and committee assignments, and assign pupilage groups. The first Inn meeting will be held in September.

The American Inns of Court is an association of lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals from all levels and backgrounds who share a passion for professional excellence. Its purpose is to build and strengthen professional relationships, discuss fundamental concerns about professionalism and pressing legal issues of the day, share experiences and advice, and advance the highest levels of integrity, ethics, and civility.

The American Inns of Court concept was the product of a discussion in the late 1970s among the United States’ members of the Anglo-American Exchange of Lawyers and Judges, including Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger and Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The first American Inn of Court was founded February 2, 1980. Today there are nearly 400 chartered American Inns of Court in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Tokyo.

The Kathleen M. O’Malley Inn of Court is part of the Linn Inn Alliance. This alliance was founded by the Honorable Richard Linn, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2008 to unite the then six existing intellectual property law focused American Inns of Court. Today it serves as a vehicle for the sharing of meeting and program information among all of the members of the now 28 intellectual property law American Inns of Court around the country and in Japan.

Steve Auvil leads Squire’s Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Group’s litigation practice in the United States.