Danielle Benecke, Founder and global head of Baker McKenzie's AI and Machine Learning (ML) Practice (BakerML), has been recognized by World Intellectual Property Review in their 2024 Diversity Top 100. The listing recognizes outstanding individuals for their exceptional contributions across different categories, who are driving positive change in the IP community. Named in the "Trailblazer" category, Danielle is recognized for her impressive work in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the sector.
The award recognizes Danielle's leadership in forging Baker McKenzie's AI/ML partnership with ADAPT (Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams), a consortium of leading technology clients collaborating to improve DEI in patent practice. Within this partnership, the BakerML team has worked closely with Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Disney and other ADAPT founding members to scale efforts to make the patent process more inclusive and accessible. Steve Gong, Head of Data Science, Technology & Operations for Google Patent, who led the partnership on the ADAPT side, has also been recognized for these joint efforts.
Commenting on her and the team's recognition for this work, Danielle said: "An important part of Baker McKenzie's vision in bringing more advanced AI into our firm is to scale our social impact efforts. Following the success of BakerML's earlier pro bono projects, we were thrilled to join forces with ADAPT and again combine our legal expertise with both generative AI and predictive ML to analyze and find solutions to complex social challenges. I'd like to thank Zonghui Wei, Senior Data Scientist with BakerML, who played a leading role on our side, working closely and collaboratively with ADAPT and the Google Patent Data Science team."
Read more about this recognition here.
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As the regulatory environment for AI grows at a rapid rate across the globe, Baker McKenzie offers comprehensive legal advice and a full range of services for exploring this new terrain. Our cross-disciplinary team is uniquely positioned to help clients holistically future-proof their organization for this transformative technology. With our global acumen in regulatory, legal and innovative AI, our clients stay on top of shifting regulations across the globe, allowing them to foster new opportunities rather than fight to adapt.