The AIPLA recently announced that Q. Todd Dickinson will become the new Executive Director of the organization. Dickinson is widely considered the most popular PTO director in recent history. Dickinson is also an Obama supporter and would be a likely return-appointee as PTO director if the democratic contender is elected. After leaving the PTO, Dickinson took the job of chief IP counsel for GE after working as a partner at Howry LLP. Dickinson is also known for his ability to bring parties together for compromise solutions – that may bode well for patent reform issues that have begun to divide both the AIPLA and the IPO. Michael Kirk, who has successfully led the AIPLA for more than a decade, is retiring.



