From her days as a Division I Academic All-American Basketball player to becoming a prominent trial attorney, Elizabeth “Beth” Alquist has long been a standout on and in the court. She built her practice from scratch in what was a newly formed Intellectual Property group and is now the first female Litigation Department Chair and an IP Partner in the Hartford office of Day Pitney LLP. She represents diverse clients in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, noncompetition and technology-related disputes in federal and state courts, as well as the International Trade Commission, Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Beth has held a number of leadership positions at Day Pitney, including serving as a member of the firm’s 8-person Executive Board and as the first female chair of its Intellectual Property and Technology group. She also co-founded the firm’s women’s initiative, Women Working Together (WWT®), and is past chair of both the firm’s WWT® and Diversity Committee. In these roles, Beth has been an ardent advocate on behalf of women, helping to shape the firm’s maternity leave policy and ensuring equal pay.
In additional to her distinguished legal career, Beth has been a longtime proponent of the achievements of women in STEM fields and making those achievements more visible in order to inspire and guide women of all ages and experience. In this effort, for many years, Beth held a leadership position with the Connecticut Technology Council’s Women of Innovation Awards. Beth also has been a volunteer for Lawyers for Children America, a girls basketball coach for a West Hartford youth basketball league, an adjunct professor of Patent Litigation at UConn Law, and a member of Quest - Leadership Greater Hartford. A champion of others, Beth has even been known to deliver meals to sick colleagues, to help clients and colleagues balance work and family obligations, and to teach female associates how to play golf to increase the roster of women participating in traditionally male networking events.
As Beth’s colleague Andraya Pulaski Brunau put it, "Beth does more than leave the ladder down. She climbs back down, gives you a boost, and then climbs back up with you rung by rung. During the climb, she selflessly gives her time, energy, and political capital. If you get tired, she cheers you on and, if needed, carries you on her back. If a rung breaks, she helps devise a plan to fix it and acts on it. She does not take 'no' for an answer. She will not let you give up. She will not let you fail."
Beth has been recognized for her contributions to the legal and local community with numerous awards, including being selected to the list of Connecticut Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Intellectual Property Litigation since 2006, being named to its list of Top Attorneys in Intellectual Property Litigation in 2019, and selected to the list of Super Lawyers in the Corporate Counsel edition in 2010. In 2017, she was honored as a "Woman Worth Watching" by the Profiles in Diversity Journal and recognized with Client Choice Award for excellence in client service in the Intellectual Property: Patents category for Connecticut by Lexology. Beth has also been honored with a Breakfast Badge Award from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, named Volunteer of the Year by Connecticut Technology Council's, selected to Forty Under 40 by Hartford Business Journal, and chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.) in 2006.
Beth earned her J.D. with High Honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law and her B.A.,
magna cum laude, from Mount Saint Mary's College. After law school, she served as law clerk to The Honorable Robert J. Callahan, Connecticut Supreme Court, 1994-1995. Beth is admitted to practice in Connecticut and is a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA); American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section; Connecticut Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section; Connecticut Bar Foundation, James W. Coopers Fellowship; Judge Janet Bond Arterton American Inn of Court; and the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO).
2020 Ladder Award Recipient
Elaine S. Amendola
Amendola & Amendola LLC, Fairfield
Elaine S. Amendola is widely recognized as a pioneer for professional women. In 1962, she became one of the few women to graduate from Yale University Law School at that time. She practiced for more than 50 years, well into her 80s, before retiring in 2017.
Throughout her career, Attorney Amendola was a strong advocate for gender equality, respect, and professionalism, and mentored countless female attorneys. She was an active member of numerous bars associations, including the American Bar Association and Connecticut Bar Association and their respective Family Law Sections. She served as a member of the Connecticut Task Force on Gender, Justice and the Courts; as a fellow member of the American Bar Foundation Lawyer to Lawyer Dispute Resolution Committee; and has been a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, having once served as a past president of the Connecticut Chapter.
Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz
State of Connecticut
Lt. Governor Bysiewicz formerly served as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State from 1999 to 2011.
As a state representative in the Connecticut General Assembly, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz represented the towns of Middletown, Middlefield, and Durham from 1993 to 1999.
Lt. Governor Bysiewicz graduated from Middletown High School, Yale University and Duke Law School. She is the author of "Ella: A Biography of Ella Grasso," Connecticut’s 83rd Governor.
Lt. Governor Bysiewicz and her husband David Donaldson reside in Middletown.
Cost
$65 CBA Member
$75 Non-Member
$385 Table Purchase (table of 6 people)
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