PENN STATE DICKINSON LAW HOLDS SUCCESSFUL INNOVATION FORUM AND ALUMNI RECEPTION ON CAPITOL HILL
June 2025—Michael R. Dzwonczyk ’90 has attended many Penn State Dickinson Law alumni gatherings, but he had never been to an event quite like the one held in Washington, D.C., in April.
It combined the second annual Penn State Dickinson Law Innovation Forum on Capitol Hill, led by Associate Dean for Research and Innovation Daryl Lim, with an alumni reception. Dzwonczyk appreciated the novelty of joining the two events and looks forward to more in the future.
“This was the second year that this forum has been held and the first with the addition of the alumni reception. I hope both happen again,” said Dzwonczyk, a partner at the intellectual property (IP) law firm Sughrue in Washington, D.C. “I am very excited to see Penn State Dickinson Law getting involved with IP by putting its name behind this forum.”
The invitation-only forum, held April 29-30, included members of Congress and their staff members, employees from government agencies, thought leaders, and Penn State Dickinson Law alumni. It was designed to benefit policymakers as well as others involved in innovation, such as lawyers filing for patent applications, business owners enforcing trademarks, or musicians navigating the new challenges of artificial intelligence.
“We wanted to offer something that reflects our identity as the Keystone State and bring different constituents together in much the same way that Pennsylvania does as a state connected in the centers of industry and commerce across the country,” said Lim.
The Alumni & Friends Networking Reception on Capitol Hill took place April 30. After attending the forum, Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway delivered the reception’s opening remarks and engaged with the roughly 50 alumni in attendance, who graduated between 1986 and 2024.
“Holding our reception in conjunction with the forum created a memorable event that our alumni found quite engaging. We had guests attend from as far away as Dubai,” said Josh Trego, Penn State Dickinson Law director of development and alumni affairs. “Everyone enjoyed a fun evening with spectacular views of the D.C. skyline.”
Forum centers timely issues related to innovation
Lim, who is also the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law, evolved the focus of the forum in its second year. He wants each iteration to feel current based on timely issues facing policymakers concerning IP and other areas. “Because we just had a presidential election, this edition of the forum focused on charting innovation policy for the presidential term. And with that, we talked about issues like national security and economic competitiveness,” said Lim.
The forum was presented as a roundtable, giving all invited guests a chance to share their perspectives. Roundtable topics included technology law and policy as well as rethinking the infrastructure of American creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
The bipartisan event contained moments of civil, respectful disagreement, which Lim found encouraging. “We are engaging on the issues and not just debating with each other but also having deeper conversations offline as a result of this forum,” said Lim. “What we are building here is a community of people who may or may not agree, but they all respect each other, and they all believe it is better to have each other in the room than to try to proceed without the other group.”
Lim was thrilled that alumni and other members of the Penn State Dickinson Law community from both locations participated either in the reception, the forum, or both, including Laura Williams, associate dean for administration, and Jonathan D’Silva, assistant professor of clinical law and director of the intellectual property law clinic located at the Happy Valley LaunchBox. “Many of the attendees took photos, exchanged contact information, and discussed ways they could engage together in the future,” said Lim.
Connecting with the Penn State Dickinson Law community
The Alumni & Friends Networking Reception took place at the Capitol View Rotunda Conference Center. The venue was offered through Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where Cierra Vaughn ’17 works as a senior associate. She helped coordinate the event and encouraged several of her classmates to attend.
The more than four dozen guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while catching up with old friends and making new ones. “What I like about going to these events now is meeting the younger generation of lawyers who have recently graduated from Penn State Dickinson Law,” said Dzwonczyk. “At this function, there were young alumni who are interested in the type of law I practice. I felt like there were things I could teach or show them.”
Alumni lingered with their conversations well after the event was due to end. “I enjoyed seeing graduates of all ages sharing time and speaking about their careers and their families and truly connecting with each other,” said Penn State Dickinson Law Director of Alumni Relations Jessica Seretti. “Some of our alumni came from as far as 90 minutes away to attend the reception, which really spoke to their desire to connect with the Penn State Dickinson Law community.”
Lim sees the merit of providing similar opportunities in the future. “Combining the forum and the alumni reception has great value,” said Lim. “It becomes a real business networking event where you can meet leaders in the field who you might not typically meet at a forum. The biggest compliment we heard was from people saying, ‘We want to come back to both events next year.’”