On July 21, the Internet Law & Policy Foundry continued over ten years of tradition with its 11th Annual Trivia Night. For the past decade, the Foundry has united the brightest minds in tech law and policy for an evening of challenging questions, intriguing if not incredibly niche facts, and heated competition. Since 2015, the Foundry Trivia Night has brought over 2,000 participants from government, industry, law firms, advocacy groups, academia, and think tanks. This year, the tradition continued for the second year in a row at the McDermott Will & Schulte offices, where a night filled with the perfect mix of rivalry, camaraderie, and sportsmanship reminded us why we gather each year.
After a mixer featuring a fajitas-style catering spread from Moe’s and delicious desserts from Georgetown Cupcakes, our guests were seated for the moment many waited a year for. The opportunity to win the bragging rights of being the most knowledgeable in internet law and tech policy – a coveted prize for a room of experts in the field. In a room the Foundry is extremely grateful to McDermott Will & Schulte for hosting us in.
Foundry Vice President Uhunoma Edamwen welcomed attendees and started the evening off with tidbits about the Foundry’s history, activities, impact on professional development and thought leadership of emerging professionals, and opportunities to get involved. He also shared some bytes about Quizmaster Kurt Opsahl, who followed to take center stage in his legendary smoking jacket. Mr. Opsahl quizzed us through six high-spirited rounds of trivia, challenging contestants to correctly answer on topics such as intellectual property, free speech, privacy & security, AI, regulation, lawsuits, and more!
Eleven teams emerged to fight for the right to call themselves the best of the best. Little Bobby Fable started off the first two rounds with a lead, leaving the remaining teams to vie to overtake them for first place. Packed with heavy hitters in the tech law and policy space including Claudia Valencia, Rowa Taha, Carolyn Homer, Mike Godwin, Cavielle McKenzie, Mike Farrell, and Susan Allen, this team quickly became the team to defeat. Yet none seemed to manage to pull it off this time.
Our judges, Foundry Fellows Randy Cantz, Blessing Udo, Uhunoma Edamwen, and Helen Glover (named in order in the picture above), maintained fairness and a thriving atmosphere of sportsmanship. Some half-points were shuffled around with respected arguments from contestants, though the outcome was unchanged in the end. By round four, the judges awarded the best team name to Average Intelligence (AI). This team managed to score nearly half the points consistently, living up to their name.
Two teams traded places throughout the night for second place. Shout out to the team Accept These Cookies Baby fielded by McDermott Will & Schulte’s Katelyn Ringrose, Tyler Henry, and colleagues for taking Second Place! If you give a mouse a token earned a respectable Third Place. And in first place, congratulations to Little Bobby Fable!
All of our teams displayed an incredible breadth of knowledge, passion for technology and internet law, and knack for good sportsmanship. In addition to our top three scoring teams, thank you to all of our contesting teams who put their brains and passion in the quiz bowl: Federal Trivia Commission (Independent Agency), Ready Willing and Fable, Glue on Pizza Delivery Service, 7 Oh Who’s?, It’s not jawboning when we do it, ILPF Peace Prize Winners, Moody’s Marauders (CCIA), and Average Intelligence (AI). You were the life of the party and we at the Foundry are grateful you spent the night with us. We hope to see you again and wish you good luck next year!
Thank you to Katelyn Ringrose, IEF staff Tim Lordan and Ryan Kirzner, IEN intern Nathan Bass, as well as Class 7 and 8 Foundry Fellows Helen Glover, Blessing Udo, Randy Cantz, and particularly the ILPF Vice President Uhunoma Edamwen and ILPF President Isabelle Anzabi, for volunteering their time to help make this event possible. Finally, thank you to McDermott Will & Schulte and their staff for their sponsorship and support!
About the Internet Law & Policy Foundry (The Foundry)
Created 11 years ago to address the growing demand by early and mid-career technology law and policy professionals for opportunities to engage with others across the field and apply their knowledge, the Foundry has since developed countless events, podcast episodes, articles, and networking opportunities to expand the Internet Law and Technology Policy professional world and amplify emerging talents and voices.
Led by dedicated Senior and Junior Fellows from around the world who are passionate about technology and disruptive innovation, the Foundry offers members a platform for professional development, meaningful dialogue, and network-building within a cohort of skilled early career professionals and the greater tech policy and law community.
