ABA Names Gina Shishima as a Recipient of the 2024 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award

For Immediate Release: 
Date: April 16, 2024

ABA Names Gina Shishima as a Recipient of the 2024 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award

WASHINGTON - NAPABA is proud to announce that this week, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession has named Gina Shishima as a recipient of the 2024 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Each year, the Commission honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession.

Gina is not only an accomplished intellectual property (IP) lawyer but a trailblazing organizational leader and zealous champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Gina currently serves as the Chief Strategy and Operations Partner (US) for Norton Rose Fulbright. In this capacity, she is part of the core US and global management team guiding one of the world’s largest law firms. She was the first woman of color to serve on the firm’s U.S. Management Committee, the first woman to be appointed to lead one of its three principal practice groups (IP), and its first woman IP partner. Gina also headed the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee for years. Her achievements, both at her firm and in her chosen field, are even more notable given the lack of female representation in the IP leadership ranks. Gina’s legal talent is underpinned by her extensive scientific training, as she holds both a law degree and a PhD in molecular biology.

“Gina Shishima’s vision, dedication, and commitment in paving the way not only for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) attorneys in the profession but for so many women in the field is inspiring,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. 

In addition to receiving NAPABA's prestigious Trailblazer Award, Gina has made significant contributions to NAPABA — having served on NAPABA’s Board of Governors and as a co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) where she worked tirelessly to grow the WLN into one of the largest and most influential groups within the organization.  

“The IP field is staggeringly non-diverse,” noted NAPABA Executive Director Priya Purandare. “When statistically, women account for barely more than 20% of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s registered attorneys or agents, Gina’s success and her devotion to paying it forward for future generations of women in a practice area that remains so historically inaccessible is even more remarkable and deserving of recognition.”

Also receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award this year are:

• Dolores Atencio; Visiting Scholar, University of Denver Latinx Center, Sturm College of Law, Denver, CO
• Pamila J. Brown; Associate Judge, Howard County District Court, Ellicott City, MD
• Estelle H. Rogers; Retired Public Interest Lawyer, Forestville, CA
• Barbara Wall; Current Board Member and former Chief Legal and Operating Officer of Gannett Co., Inc., Washington, DC

NAPABA congratulates all the recipients who will be honored during the ABA's Annual Meeting in Chicago on August 4.