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In her role at Uber Technologies, Samantha Hsu is responsible for leading intellectual property strategy on legal transactions and M&A deals for the organization’s delivery and mobility businesses. The IP director advises clients on their product launches and business partnerships, handles patent conflict matters, and partners with Uber’s outside counsel in managing patent litigation.
Hsu also plays an active role in Uber’s legal team’s diversity and inclusion efforts by helping with recruitment for its Law in Technology Diversity Collaborative Summer Associate Program and serving as Uber’s representative for the US Intellectual Property Alliance Diversity Pledge. She considers fostering relationships with her clients and legal team at Uber to be among her career highlights.
As a young woman working in IP, Hsu admits that she’s had to face bias and overly prove herself early in her career. She hopes to use this experience in the future to manage a diverse legal or business team while remaining committed to championing equal rights opportunities for underrepresented communities.
As a child of immigrants, Hsu says she learned the importance of being resourceful and creative throughout in her educational and professional journeys. “I took an untraditional route of starting college at the age of fifteen and graduated with a college degree in electrical engineering,” she reflects. “During my third year in college, I realized that my personality was more suited to a career in law, but had no family members or close friends who had gone to law school. Although it was daunting, I navigated my way through the process of applying to law school and eventually embarking on a career in IP law.”
The lawyer also serves as a crisis support counselor for an LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline. “I believe that mental health is often overlooked in youth and may lead to devastating consequences in adulthood when left unaddressed,” Hsu explains. “In speaking to callers, I am often reminded that one gesture of kindness in caring for and listening to another is all it takes to help positively impact a life.”
