5Q is your way to get more acquainted with the local legal community. Submissions come from lawyers, paralegals, judges and law professors alike. In 5Q, you’ll discover insights on the profession while learning more about the people behind the practice. Responses are edited for clarity and length.
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This week, we heard from Elizabeth Manno, a partner at Venable LLP. Manno’s “practice focuses on technology disputes, including patent infringement, licensing, and other IP litigation” and she “represents leading companies in a variety of technology fields, including media streaming, semiconductors, GPS, wireless devices, internet-of-things, artificial intelligence, and medical devices.” Read more about her practice and experience in her online biography.
Question 1
Q: What is your favorite clause of the Constitution and why?
A: The Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920. I was fascinated to learn through my involvement with the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), which was founded 125 years ago in 1899, that before women even had the right to vote, they were lawyers. They used their legal training in the fight for women’s suffrage.
Question 2
Q: What is your favorite restaurant and what’s your favorite thing to order there?
A: Safta in RiNo. Their freshly made pita and hummus is fantastic.
Question 3
Q: If you could travel back in time and talk to any historical figure about the law, who would you talk to and what would you say to them?
A: I would like to speak with Arabella Babb Mansfield, the first American women lawyer admitted to the bar in 1869. NAWL’s most prestigious award is named after her. So is the “Mansfield certification” offered by Diversity Lab — which I’m proud to say my firm has achieved. I’d want to hear about what she experienced and what her hopes were for the profession, as well as get her views on the state of the legal profession today.
Question 4
Q: What’s your favorite weekend activity?
A: Hiking in colorful Colorado!
Question 5
Q: What’s your favorite movie or TV show?
A: Survivor — human nature is fascinating.