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ANN ARBOR - Lawrence G. Almeda, a shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., participated in Michigan's first statewide leadership summit on Asian Pacific American issues. The summit was held in Lansing on Saturday, September 13, 2008 and was hosted by the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA), which unites Asian Pacific Americans and the community at large through culture, education and community service.

Mr. Almeda served as a panelist for the Justice Issues and Electoral Process track. The panel session was entitled Organizing and Handling a Civil Rights Case. Issues addressed include identifying a civil rights case, particularly a hate crime case; the importance of reporting hate crime cases; contacting law enforcement; the importance of community support and response; and preventing hate crimes in the state.

Mr. Almeda is a federally appointed member of the State Advisory Committee for the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights; a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs; Chair of the Business Law Section of the Washtenaw County Bar Association and a member of its Board of Directors; Assistant Regional Governor of the Central Region for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the immediate past President of the Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, where he serves on the Global Strategic Committee. Mr. Almeda was recently named President-elect of the ACJ, American Citizens for Justice (also known as the Asian American Center for Justice). ACJ is an Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights group that was initially formed out of reaction to the racially-motivated fatal beating of Vincent Chin, a Detroit Chinese American. Today, ACJ focuses on broader aims of educating the public about Asian discrimination and helping other victims of racial harassment and injustice. The ACJ advocates for APAs in several areas including law enforcement, legislation, networking, education, and health.

At Brinks, Mr. Almeda chairs the firm's nanotechnology practice group and his legal practice focuses on patent opinions and prosecution in the medical, chemical, nanotechnology and mechanical arts. He earned his J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. Additionally, he holds a L.L.M in Intellectual Property Law from The John Marshall Law School.

Mr. Almeda is a resident of Canton.

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago with five additional offices across the country, including Ann Arbor, serving the intellectual property needs of clients from around the world. The firm is one of the largest IP law firms in the country, with more than 170 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents specializing in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, intellectual asset management, and technology and licensing agreements. Brinks routinely handles assignments in fields as diverse as electrical, chemical, mechanical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, Internet and computer technology, as well as in trademarks and brand names for a wide variety of products and services.