Directors Josephine Kim and Chandrika Vira Honored With 2023 Profiles in Diversity Journal® Awards

Washington, D.C. (July 3, 2023) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is pleased to announce that Directors Josephine Kim and Chandrika N. Vira have been recognized by Profiles in Diversity Journal® with 2023 awards. Kim is among the Asian Leadership Award winners, and Vira earned a Women Worth Watching® in STEM Award.

A director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group, Kim’s leadership service at the firm includes longstanding membership on the Diversity & Inclusion committee and championing the firm’s Midsize Mansfield Rule certification process, which the firm successfully completed this spring. Her Asian Leadership Award profile features a personal essay on the importance of mentorship, in which she shares how essential one of her Sterne Kessler mentors, Director Uma N. Everett, has been to her career growth. Kim gives the following advice to associates, “I strongly encourage associates seeking mentorship to consider how they can be an asset to their mentors, rather than just seeing themselves as passive recipients of goodwill. In addition to establishing a balance relationship with mentors, it is important to be proactive and to act in ways that will make supervisors’ lives easier, especially as a junior attorney.” Read Kim’s complete profile in the Profiles in Diversity Journal® Q2 2023 digital issue here.

Vira serves on Sterne Kessler’s Professional Development committee and is active in the firm’s pro bono efforts while maintaining a diverse practice, which extends across the Trial & Appellate and Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Groups. Her Women Worth Watching® in STEM Award profile highlights her thoughts on increasing diversity and the future of women in STEM; barriers to closing the gender gap; and her experience as a woman with a STEM career. She emphasizes the importance of the “recruitment of diverse candidates at the college level with financial and structural support that makes it possible for diverse candidates to attend and graduate with STEM degrees.” Further, she encourages workplaces to intentionally recruit and provide support for diverse candidates. Regarding her career journey, she shares that her science background is an “invaluable asset” in her job as a patent litigator and advises women who are interested in STEM to seek out mentorship from women leaders. Read Vira’s complete profile in the Profiles in Diversity Journal® Q2 2023 digital issue here.

Profiles in Diversity Journal® is a quarterly magazine dedicated to issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace. The publication recognizes leading individuals through several annual award editions, including Asian Leadership Awards and Women Worth Watching® in STEM Awards. Learn more about Profiles in Diversity Journal® on their website here.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, transfer, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, students, and technical specialists include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners hold over 50 masters and over 60 doctorate degrees in science or engineering and represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com