UW News

May 25, 2011

Intellectual property, social innovation is topic of lecture at law school

Steve Davis will present a lecture, Intellectual Property and Social Innovation in the 21st Century, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, in Room 138, William H. Gates Hall. Davis is the former CEO of Corbis, the digital image company backed by Bill Gates and now serves as a senior adviser for McKinsey & Companys global Social Sector Office.

Steve Davis

Steve Davis

The lecture is part of the Shidler Lecture Series, a new program sponsored by the UW Law Schools  Law, Technology & Arts Group to bring leading academics and practitioners to the law school to discuss cutting edge issues in intellectual property and technology law.

The series is named after Bellingham native Roger Shidler, a founding member of the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates. Shidler was a pioneer in the area of technology law and innovation. Over the decades, Shidler, George McBroom (a former member of the UW School of Law faculty), William H. Gates, Sr., Peter Lucas, and their partners built one of Seattle’s most vibrant and influential law practices. The firm was known for its work in technology law and for prevailing in a lawsuit against the Washington Public Power Supply system, a case that became the largest federal securities litigation in the nations history.  

In 1990 the Shidler firm merged with Preston, Thorgrimson, Ellis & Holman, which became Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, and then K&L Gates LLP. Today K&L Gates LLP has approximately 1,800 lawyers across three continents.

The lecture will be preceded by a 4:30 p.m. ceremony in the Gates Hall Atrium, which is being dedicated to Shidler. Those interested in attending this event should register online. A reception follows the lecture in Room 115. For more information, contact Hana Hughson at 206-685-7230 or hhughson@uw.edu.