Attorney
Vedia Jones-Richardson is a principal with Olive & Olive and heads our trademark, copyright and transactional group. She is nationally recognized as an authority in the field of technology, computer, and internet law. She is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Trademark Law Specialist.
Vedia has an undergraduate degree in design and a background that includes years in television, advertising and software development. This gives her an approach to IP law that is creative, insightful and keenly attuned to practical business solutions.
Prior to joining Olive & Olive, Vedia worked for leading law firms in New York and served as in-house counsel for a major consumer products company in Chicago. There, she handled corporate, marketing, promotions, and product liability law, as well as IP matters, both transactional and litigation. She has also been a writer, graphic designer, and a consultant for software development.
Her breadth of experience in various industries – combined with her immersion in real-world business challenges – adds up to a unique skillset that she puts to work in helping our clients achieve their goals.
Areas of Focus
- Trademarks
- Copyrights
- Technology Law
- Business Law
- Advertising, Marketing and Promotions Law
- Entertainment and Arts Law
- Contracts
Off hours
Vedia remains an artist at heart. She is an organizational leader and ardent supporter of arts and cultural groups locally and nationally.
Did you know?
Vedia was born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. She lived in Washington, DC, and Chicago before moving to Durham, her husband’s hometown, where they have raised their three sons.
Education
Vedia is a graduate of Georgetown University Law School (J.D., 1983) and Howard University (B.F.A., 1978).
• Howard University School of Fine Arts (B.F.A., 1978)
• Georgetown University Law School (J.D., 1982)
Affiliations and Honors
She is a founding board member of the international nonprofit, InternetBar.Org, and has served in major leadership roles in the American Bar Association and North Carolina Bar Association, including the ABA Law Practice Division (2007-08 Chair), the Computer Law Committee of the ABA YLD (1995 Chair and Computer Dictionary Editor-in-Chief), the ABA Coordinating Commission on Legal Technology, the ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems and the ABA Commission on Professional Responsibility in Client Development, and the North Carolina Bar Association Local Bar Services Committee (2009-2011 Chair, including Bar Leadership Institute) and has been a frequent speaker on law and technology issues at the ABA TECHSHOW and other events. She also is a member of other professional organizations, including the National Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, and the Durham and Orange Women Attorneys (2005-07 President) and she was inducted in 2010 as a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management.
States and Districts Admitted to Practice
• North Carolina (1992)
• Illinois (1985)
• District of Columbia (1983)
Memberships
• American Bar Association – Law Practice Division (past chair)
• American Bar Association – Law Practice Management Section (council)
• American Bar Association – Multicultural Task Force (chair)
• American Bar Association – YLD Computer Law Committee (chair)
• American Bar Association – Coordinating Commission on Legal Technology
• American Bar Association – Standing Committee on Technology and Information Systems
• American Bar Association – Commission on Professional Responsibility in Client Development
• American Bar Association – Sections on Law Practice Management, Intellectual Property, Science and Technology
• National Bar Association
• North Carolina Bar Association
• North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers
• North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
• North Carolina Bar Association Committee on Women in the Legal Profession (member)
• Durham and Orange Women Attorneys (president, two terms)
• InternetBar.org (founding board member)
• George White Bar Association
• College of Law Practice Management (Fellow)
• Durham County Bar (Grievance Committee member)
Community Leadership
• Durham Arts Council (past president)
• Durham Library Foundation (vice president)
• Durham Cultural Master Plan Steering Committee
• Kenan Institute for the Arts Advisory Board
• Triangle ArtWorks (Board of Directors)
• Southern Documentary Fund (Board of Directors)
• North Carolina Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• Chicago Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Recognition and Honors
• North Carolina State Bar certified Specialist in Trademark Law
• North Carolina Central University School of Law (Adjunct Professor and supervisor of the Trademark Legal Clinic)
• Inducted as a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management
• ABA Women Rainmakers Workshop (chair)
• North Carolina Bar Association – Bar Leadership Institute
• American Bar Association – Section Officers Conference (member)
• NC Bar Association Local Bar Services Committee (chair)
• A frequent writer and speaker on trademark, copyright, technology, and marketing issues
Community Involvement
As a former commercial artist, Vedia has been an enduring supporter of arts and cultural institutions, serving on the boards of the Durham Arts Council (2000-01 President), the Durham Library Foundation (2004-06 Vice President), Durham Cultural Master Plan Steering Committee (2005-07 Vice President), Kenan Institute for the Arts (2004-06 Vice President), Triangle ArtWorks (2017 Secretary) and Southern Documentary Fund, and as a member of the North Carolina Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and Chicago Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.