Karen F. Copenhaver, 1979 graduate of Dickinson Law, accepted the Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo Award from Hermionne Cadet, class of 2017 and president of The Women’s Law Caucus of The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law; and Judge Rambo during a ceremony on Feb. 25 at Lewis Katz Hall, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She received the award in recognition of her exemplary contributions to the legal profession and to society as a whole.
“It was a special honor to be greeted so warmly by Judge Rambo and to meet other recipients who paved the way for all of us to participate and lead,” said Copenhaver. “The skills I learned at Dickinson Law have carried me to places and issues that I could never have imagined. It was a great joy to share some of my journey with so many faculty and students.”
The Rambo Award was introduced in 1993 by the Women’s Law Caucus to honor its first recipient, the Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo, a 1962 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law and the first woman to serve as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where she continues to serve as a senior judge.
Each year, the Women's Law Caucus honors a female in the legal profession who has had a distinguished career and who, by example, has made the professional success of other women more likely. A list of past recipients is available online.
“I look forward to meeting the award recipient each year, and I am always impressed by her accomplishments. Ms. Copenhaver was no exception, as her résumé will attest,” Judge Rambo stated. “Not only did her nomination include countless professional achievements and accolades, it also highlighted her commitment to giving back to the community. I was delighted by her selection as the 2016 recipient of the award.”
Copenhaver—who began her legal career at IBM serving as site counsel for the IBM Microelectronics Divisions, Semiconductor Design and Manufacturing facility in Essex, VT—has received numerous awards and honors from a variety of national publications and organizations, and was most recently named the 2016 Boston “Lawyer of the Year” for Information Technology Law by Best Lawyers, a designation she also received in 2013 for Copyright Law and in 2014 and 2012 for Information Technology Law, and was named in The Legal 500 for technology transactions.
Copenhaver’s practice expertise focuses on technology transfer and licensing of intellectual property, particularly in the areas of patent licensing and software licensing, and open source business models. She has held many leadership positions throughout her career in law, including serving as an adjunct professor of law at Suffolk Law School in the field of computer law. In addition to her active practice, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Women and Enterprise, the Advisory Board of Design that Matters, and is a partner with Social Venture Partners Boston.