Anna Chauvet ‘07
Anna Chauvet is a WCL alum, currently serving as Partner and Copyright Practice Lead at Finnegan. Before this, she served as Vice President of Public Policy at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). While at the NAB, she worked to develop their policy positions and shaped legislation to benefit broadcasters. Before law school, she worked at a startup company in Silicon Valley, where she became interested in branding and trademark. Prior to joining NAB, she served in the private sector representing entertainment, banking, and technology clients on copyright, trademark, and patent matters. She then served as Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office. Here, she worked on the Music Modernization Act and advised the Department of Justice regarding copyright cases. During her time at WCL, she was part of the moot court team.
What advice would you give to those currently in law school?
The best advice I got was to be open. I went to law school thinking I was going to be a federal prosecutor and was open to other paths. Also, doing internships, especially here in D.C., gives a huge advantage. When I’m looking to hire people, someone who has done multiple internships in an area of copyright or trademark demonstrates an interest and experience in that area. It’s just trying to be exposed to as many different things as you can be exposed to.
What do you think is the most pressing issue in the IP field? What issues do you deal with the most at your job?
Artificial intelligence for copyright and many other types of law is a huge issue right now. That’s probably the biggest issue directly that I’m confronting. I do all the advocacy issues for NAB so I’m working on antitrust issues relating to big tech, data consumer, and privacy laws. I would say what I’m working on that most implicates IP is artificial intelligence and some music licensing issues.
What are some differences between working in-house and working at a firm?
I've learned from every experience I've had. I think I benefited tremendously by working at a law firm when I first graduated because I just learned so much. I was taught by amazing attorneys. I would urge any law student to think about what they want to do. Regardless of subject area, do you like talking to people? Do you like working on teams? Do you like being more solitary? Because that is very different if you're at a law or at a corporate office. It’s really looking at the tasks that you are being asked to do. Those are the things you're being asked to do again and again. It should be something that you like to do.