Jude Andre – Senior Director and Associate General Counsel, Hewlett Packard
Jude Andre is Senior Director and Associate General Counsel in Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) Legal Department and primarily serves as lead legal and strategic counsel to the Storage, Compute, and Intelligent Edge business units. Jude sits on HPE’s Quality Leadership Council and serves as judge for the HPE President’s Quality Award.
As part of his ongoing contributions in the inclusion and diversity (I&D) space, Jude serves as Chair of the Legal Department’s Inclusion & Diversity Committee, Vice Chair of the Operations, Legal and Administrative Affairs’ (OLAA) Black Employee Network Board, and a member of OLAA’s Inclusion and Diversity Working Group, helping to define a governance and strategic framework to create, coordinate and execute initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion. Jude’s efforts have resulted in the adoption of new I&D initiatives (e.g., pipeline, education, and acceptance) and he recently organized the Legal Department’s first I&D Forum themed “Activate your Allyship.” Jude also actively participates in pro bono activities with non-profit organizations serving under-privileged and under-represented groups.
Before joining Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Jude worked as a litigation associate in the New York office of Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper, and Scinto (2008-2012), and in the Houston office of Winston & Strawn (2012-2016). Jude holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Houston Law Center, a Master of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Houston, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Jude is based in Houston, Texas, and admitted to practice law in New York and Texas. Jude is fluent in French, enjoys international travel, arts, and sports.
Micheal Binns – Associate General Counsel, Patent, Licensing, and Open Source – Facebook
Micheal Binns is an Associate General Counsel on the Patent, Licensing, and Open Source team at Facebook. At Facebook, Micheal is a subcommittee co-chair within the Black@Legal group, focused on ensuring an equitable experience for Black employees in the Legal department. He also promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal field by providing opportunities for lawyers within tech, mentoring future and current law students, and working to increase the diversity pipeline for college and law school students looking to enter the intellectual property field.
Micheal is also actively involved in his community and sits on the board of four non-profits. He is the board chair of Page Turners Make Great Learners in Atlanta, which is focused on providing books to low income students in order to foster a love of reading; board chair of the Spruill Center for the Arts in Dunwoody, Georgia, which fosters creativity and social connections through the arts; a board member on the National Council on Patent Practicum, which is working on establishing certification standards for patent professionals; and an active board member with the Georgia Wildlife Federation, focusing on the intelligent management of the life sustaining resources of the earth.
Before joining Facebook, Michael was the Atlanta Office Development Partner at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, where his experience included the litigation, counseling, and prosecution of all forms of intellectual property related to a variety of industries and technologies. He was also the chair of the Pro Bono Committee and a leader of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Danielle Coleman – Director & Assistant General Counsel – VMware
Danielle Coleman is Director & Assistant General Counsel at VMware, where she oversees global litigation and leads a diverse team of attorneys, paralegals, and project managers. Danielle is a Global Co-lead of VMware’s Black@VMware Power of Difference (POD) Group, an internal employee resource group focused on strategic initiatives to advance recruiting, developing, and retaining diverse talent and championing racial justice and equity. Also, as the Legal Pro Bono Lead for VMware’s Palo Alto headquarters, Danielle has partnered with law firms and pro bono organizations to coordinate numerous pro bono engagements such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) legal immigration clinics to assist “Dreamers” who came to the United States as children. In addition, through VMware’s partnership with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s Alternatives to Incarceration Program (ATIP) and reentry court program, Danielle has provided mentorship and job readiness training (e.g., resume building and interview coaching) to a Black male participant, who successfully completed ATIP, resulting in him avoiding incarceration and obtaining employment.
Prior to Joining VMWare, Danielle was a litigator at Morrison & Foerster LLP (“MoFo”), focusing her practice on intellectual property litigation. While at MoFo, Danielle worked on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement appointed by the San Francisco District Attorney, and she co-led the working group assembled to investigate stops, searches, and arrests by the San Francisco Police Department in response to reports that multiple officers sent racist and homophobic text messages. The Panel’s work resulted in 81 recommendations to the City of San Francisco for police department policy changes.
Andrew Pride – IP and Environmental Litigation Counsel, Ford Motor Company (Ford)
Andrew Pride is IP and Environmental Litigation Counsel at Ford Motor Company (Ford), where he is responsible for managing domestic and international IP litigation matters. He also manages Ford’s patent monetization efforts related to the company’s patent portfolio. Previously, he was director of Legal Affairs – Canada, Mexico, and South America with responsibility for managing all aspects of Ford’s legal matters related to regional manufacturing, sales and service, and distribution activities. He has also served as litigation counsel managing product liability cases.
Andrew serves as chair of the legal department’s section of Ford’s African Ancestry Network employee resource group that believes in, and advocates for, an environment within Ford that recognizes the value of diversity by attracting, developing, retaining, and promoting African-Ancestry employees and other minorities. He also served as chair of Ford’s Pro Bono Committee and received numerous awards for advancing pro bono work internationally. In addition to serving on the boards of many community-based and social services organizations, he also served as a high school mock trial coach for Henry Ford Academy, a charter school enrolling primarily African American students.
Prior to joining Ford, Andrew worked at Bowman & Brooke LLP, where his practice focused on product liability litigation, with a primary focus on defending automotive manufacturers in complex litigation. Throughout his career, Andrew has advocated for the inclusion of diverse team members, including retaining and mentoring those members, and supports Ford’s efforts to increase the pipeline of diverse future members of the bar.
Diversity in Tech & IP Law 