Elizabeth “Beth” Alquist is a partner at Day Pitney LLP and chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. She is past chair of both its Women Working Together employee group and its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Alquist, who leads a group of sixteen attorneys across five locations, has been very successful as a trial attorney, representing a broad range of business clients in patent, trade secret, noncompetition, trademark, copyright and Internet-related disputes in federal and state courts, and before the International Trade Commission.
Alquist is known to her colleagues as an exceptional intellectual property (IP) attorney. She has co-authored several IP articles and been named one of Connecticut’s “Super Lawyers” by Thomson Reuters for the past ten years. However, she says her greatest professional accomplishment is becoming a trusted advisor for her clients.
Outside the office and courtroom, Alquist volunteers at Lawyers for Children America and coaches girls’ youth basketball. She also teaches patent litigation as an adjunct professor at University of Connecticut School of Law.
Alquist explains that her path to leadership began while playing youth sports, especially basketball. She played many roles on many teams from a young age through college and beyond—from last off the bench to captain and leading scorer. According to Alquist, learning to be part of a team helped shape her current leadership style.
Alquist understands that not everyone has been part of a sports team, so she strives to share her path with other women by demonstrating how teamwork applies to everything they do – whether it’s litigating cases, developing business or balancing work and family. She says that notion inspired her and a colleague to launch an affinity group called WomenWorkingTogether (WWT®), which helps women in the firm find their own leadership path.
When asked what message she wants to pass on to younger women, Alquist says, “When things get tough, keep going, even when it feels like you’ve taken two steps back. Remember that every step forward makes it easier for a young woman to succeed.”