Goodwin partner Joel Lehrer has received the 2024 Boston Intellectual Property Law Association (BIPLA) Pro Bono Award. The award recognizes one BIPLA member annually for their dedication to providing critical pro bono legal services to under-resourced individuals, non-profits, and underserved communities.
Lehrer has devoted thousands of hours to Goodwin’s Pro Bono program and has contributed intellectual property expertise to more than 30 nonprofit matters. He has played a critical role in growing and sustaining the firm’s Neighborhood Business Initiative (NBI), which focuses on bringing business-related legal services to the front doors of entrepreneurs and small business owners who are members of, or whose businesses positively impact, communities that face discrimination based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, and/or LGBTQ+ status. In addition to leading and expanding the scale of the initiative, Lehrer directly represents small business owners, and recently helped a local, minority-owned wellness business avoid litigation in a trademark dispute and settle the matter without significant expense.
In 2016, Lehrer was contacted by the then recently elected counsellor at large and now mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, to assist with a pro bono trademark conflict on behalf of the City of Boston and was able to negotiate a settlement and coexistence agreement that remains in effect today. In addition, Lehrer has participated in the Holocaust Reparations Project, the Election Protection Hotline, and Citizenship Clinics offered by Project Citizenship. In recognition of his efforts, Lehrer also received the firm’s 2023 Fraser Award, which recognizes one Goodwin partner and one associate annually for exceptional pro bono service.
Lehrer is a partner in the firm’s Technology Companies group and a member of its Fintech practice, specializing in intellectual property transactions and strategies for technology clients.
Since 1924, the BIPLA has worked to address issues important to the Intellectual Property community, bringing together more than 1000 lawyers, law students, technology specialists, and other professionals dedicated to advancing the intellectual property profession.