Join us for the first part of CAMBA’s 2022 Professional Development Series for seasoned and newer lawyers alike. In this program, our membership’s accomplished corporate counsel will offer their unique insights on the challenges and opportunities in career advancement at law firms. Our esteemed panelists include Hussein Akhavannik, Amna Arshad, Lukman Azeez. Leading the discussion is CAMBA’s Board of Directors Co-Vice President, Michelle Weinbaum.

More about our panelists:

Hussein Akhavannik is Partner and co-leader of BakerHostetler’s Life Sciences team in Washington, DC, where he merges his engineering background with his patent prosecution and portfolio management practice. The patent applications he prosecutes in technologies related to the software, electrical, computer, medical and mechanical arts are wide-ranging, from surgical robots and video surveillance to anti-coagulants and vascular placement devices. His services include managing international patent portfolios, institutionalizing patent programs, optimizing patent portfolios for sale, conducting intellectual property due diligence, performing freedom-to-operate studies,.

Prior to BakerHostetler, Hussein served as counsel at Fish & Richardson P.C. and International IP Group, LLC. Hussein has worked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as a patent examiner and served as a legal intern for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Office of the Solicitor. Hussein received his JD from The George Washington University School of Law and a MS and BS in Engineering from The John Hopkins University.

Amna Arshad is Special Counsel at Freshfields in Washington, DC, focusing on regulatory counseling, commercial aviation transactions and litigation. She is also a Member of the Advisory Board at The Hague Court of Arbitration for Aviation.

With more than 10 years of diverse experience in the public and private sectors, Amna has represented major US and foreign passenger and cargo air carriers and leading aviation-related entities and corporations in a variety of federal regulatory, commercial, and litigation matters.

Prior to Freshfields, Amna served as counsel at Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP, Crowell & Moring, LLP, and Jenner & Block. She has also worked for many years at the Office of Aviation Enforcement & Proceedings at the US Department of Transportation and as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Dennis J. Smith, in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia.  Amna received her JD from The American University Washington College of Law and a BA from The George Washington University.

Lukman Azeez is an Associate in Wiley Rein’s Litigation and Issues and Appeals group in Washington, DC. Lukman has been the principal drafter of multiple appellate briefs in several federal courts of appeal and at both the cert and merits stages at the United States Supreme Court.  He has an active international arbitration practice, having represented West African and North American corporations in disputes before the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration. 

Prior to Wiley Rein, LLP, Lukman served as counsel at Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber LLP. Lukman has also served as a Judicial Law Clerk for Honorable Judge Evan J. Wallach at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and a Judicial Intern for the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Lukman received his JD from Yale Law School, MBA from Yale School of Management, and a BA from University of Michigan.

Michelle Weinbaum is an International Trade and National Security Associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, DC.  Michelle has significant experience navigating national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), including negotiating several complex mitigation agreements before both agencies. She also regularly counsels clients in matters involving export controls, government contracts, and related regulatory areas.

Michelle began her legal career as an associate in Skadden D.C.’s M&A group working on mergers and acquisitions, securities law, and general corporate matters.  In addition to her legal career, Michelle has notable career experience in public service working with the City of Jacksonville, FL, AmeriCorps, and U.S. Army. Michelle received her JD from William and Mary Law School, MS from Kansas State University, and BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point.