By Kate Duttera for ADAPT.legal

The importance of community in the IP industry often reveals itself in the quieter moments outside of the day-to-day work. Renee Meisel, CEO of UnitedLex, described such a moment during a recent interview with ADAPT.

She had been speaking with an IP attorney friend about career pathways and access. Her friend was trying to help a younger family member navigate opportunities in STEM, someone with potential but limited exposure to the kinds of careers available. Meisel found herself enthusiastically describing ADAPT and the role it could play, not just as a professional network, but as a gateway into a field many people don’t even realize exists.

That moment, she explained, captured something essential: the idea that the IP industry grows not just through expertise, but through connection, and people bringing others into the fold.

For UnitedLex, that belief underpins how the organization approaches its work, its partnerships, and its place within the broader IP ecosystem.

Moving Beyond the Transaction

In many ways, the legal industry still operates on a transactional model that’s defined by discrete pieces of work, completed and delivered. UnitedLex has been intentionally moving away from that structure.

“It’s not just about the very transactional day-to-day work… it’s that bigger, deeper commitment to each other that we build,” Meisel said.

This shift reframes relationships entirely. Clients are no longer endpoints in a workflow but part of an ongoing partnership. That kind of partnership creates a different dynamic, one where trust, shared responsibility, and long-term thinking shape outcomes as much as technical expertise.

The impact of that approach becomes most visible under pressure. Strong partnerships, as Meisel described, give teams the confidence to engage with more complex or uncertain challenges. When the relationship is there, “you’re going to get through it together.”

Community as a Working Model

That same logic extends outward into how UnitedLex views the broader IP community. Community is not just a network. It is a practical way of working.

The organization’s alignment with ADAPT reflects that view. ADAPT brings together professionals across disciplines and geographies, creating space for conversations that are difficult to replicate within any single organization.

What stands out in those environments, Meisel noted, is the range of perspectives. Lawyers, technologists, in-house leaders, and service providers each bring their own lens, and the exchange between them is where real insight emerges.

“It’s really nice to get all those perspectives together to just learn from each other,” she said.

As IP work becomes more interconnected with technology and business strategy, that kind of cross-functional dialogue is more and more essential.

Creating Space for Real Dialogue

One of the challenges in building community in the IP industry is that many existing forums are highly structured. Conferences and events often come with set agendas, predefined conversations, and an emphasis on presentation over interaction.

UnitedLex has taken a different approach. In the forums it hosts, the goal is to create space for open-ended discussion. Rather than focusing on formal programming, these gatherings emphasize peer-to-peer exchange. Participants are encouraged to raise current issues, compare approaches, and test ideas in real time. The result is a more grounded type of engagement – one that prioritizes shared problem-solving over passive listening.

Expanding Access to the Field

As Meisel described, many people who could thrive in IP simply never encounter it as a career option.

Addressing that gap requires intentional outreach: mentorship, education, and community-driven efforts that introduce the industry earlier and more broadly. UnitedLex has made this part of its longer-term focus, both through its own initiatives and through its engagement with organizations like ADAPT.

Internally, that commitment shows up in the way the company approaches talent development. There is an emphasis on building careers over time, with individuals growing into leadership roles through sustained investment and mentorship.

Diversity of Thought as a Strength

Within that broader focus on access is a more expansive view of diversity. For UnitedLex, diversity is about representation and the perspectives that it brings.

“I believe in surrounding myself with people who… have something that I don’t have,” Meisel said.

Differences in skill set, background, and way of thinking are necessary for the industry to thrive. In a field as complex as IP, no single perspective is sufficient. The wider the circle of voices, the more likely it is that blind spots are identified and addressed.

Alignment in Practice

Taken together, these elements help explain why UnitedLex sees such a strong alignment with ADAPT. Both emphasize the same underlying principle: that the future of IP depends on connections between people, disciplines, and ideas.

For UnitedLex, participating in the IP community is an integral part of how the work gets done.

The takeaway is straightforward. In an industry often defined by complexity, the most effective path forward may be the simplest one: investing in relationships, sharing knowledge, and building a community that moves forward together.