On March 20, Francine Nesti attended the inaugural National Council on Patent Practicum (NCPP) board meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.  Valencia Martin Wallace, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality, spoke to the board members about patent quality and how the patent office is working to improve quality of patents that are issued and discussed the USPTO’s interest in the NCPP to improve the quality of patent applications submitted to the USPTO. Ms. Wallace indicated that the USPTO is considering requiring CLE for patent practitioners. During the meeting, the NCPP awarded two women and minority scholarships.