Name of Attorney: Madeline Baer and Legal Team

Name of Firm: Vinson & Elkins LLP

Client Served: Women's Center for Education and Career Advancement (WCECA)

Accomplishment: Assisted WCECA in determining and documenting intellectual property rights to a product critical to its Self-Sufficiency Program.

Established in 1970, WCECA’s mission is to assist low-income women of color and other women by providing education, skills training, and job-readiness services designed to help their clients obtain a secure foothold in the paid workforce and to achieve economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their families.

WCECA came to Lawyers Alliance for assistance in determining and establishing agreements reflecting its intellectual property rights to a product that it was involved in developing related to its Self-Sufficiency Program. The product, the Self-Sufficiency Calculator for New York City, screens income eligibility for a variety of work supports and tax credits, estimates benefit amount for work supports and gives individuals information on how to access these supports, and calculates how well a given wage meets a working individual's real expenses.

Madeline Baer and her team at Vinson & Elkins, consisting of Michael Davi, Craig Uhrich, Rebecca Cantor, Joseph Tomaschik, Elliot Cotton, and Constance Huttner ironed out what could have turned into a lengthy and complicated legal process. They reviewed and evaluated existing documentation, investigated the history and activity around the development process, and negotiated and drafted agreements reflecting the resolution of potentially competing claims to the product and its use. The volunteers then went beyond the scope of the original project from Lawyers Alliance to represent WCECA in a copyright litigation brought in federal district court, Southern District of New York and secured a favorable outcome for their client.