Past Keynote Engagements
Simon Tam has delivered over 1,200 keynote addresses across four continents for IP and First Amendment law conferences, bar associations and CLE programs, colleges and universities, and civic and democracy organizations. Selected appearances below. CLE credits available for legal and bar association audiences.
Jump to: IP and First Amendment Law · Colleges & Universities · Civic Engagement · Additional Appearances
Trademark & First Amendment Law
Keynote and featured speaker appearances for trademark attorneys, IP practitioners, First Amendment advocates, bar associations, and law school audiences. All programs available for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits.
International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI)
Naples, Italy
Keynote Speaker for the 2025 FICPI World Congress
International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting
Seattle, WA & Boston, MA
Featured Speaker for INTA 2018 (webinar here, review here) & featured at various events 2019
Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
Cancún, Mexico & Sydney, Australia
Keynote for lunch plenary 2019 (and featured speaker in 2017)
Detroit Mercy School of Law
Detroit, MI
Keynote Speaker on First Amendment & Trademark Law for Dewitt C. Holbrook Lecture on Social Justice Series
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Nation-wide
Keynote Speaker for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2023
Minnesota Inn of Court
Minneapolis, MN
Keynote Speaker for Joint Inn of Court Meeting (2024)
AT&T Legal Conference
Dallas, TX
Keynote CLE Presentation (2022)
Northeastern Law Center for Law, Information and Creativity
Boston, MA
Keynote and CLE Presentation (2022)
MTSU Free Speech Center
Nashville, TN
Keynote presentation (2019)
State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting
Houston, TX
Keynote Presenter for 2022 Annual Meeting
National Conference on the First Amendment
Pittsburgh, PA
Keynote Presenter for Artistic Expression & the First Amendment (2018)
Oregon State Bar
Eugene, OR
Keynote Speaker for the 2026 Defense Panel Conference
Asian American Bar Association of Houston
Houston, TX
Keynote Speaker for the 2026 AABA Gala
Colleges & Universities
Keynote and lecture appearances for law schools, student affairs programs, multicultural centers, first amendment initiatives, and civic engagement programs. Suitable for general student audiences and specialist academic contexts.
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences Annual Meeting
Washington, DC
Keynote Speaker (2022)
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA)
Portland, OR
Keynote Speaker for 2019 West Region Conference
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX
Keynote Speaker and all-day conference with Simon Tam (2025)
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Keynote Speaker for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2025
Keene State College
Keene, NH
Keynote Speaker for 2024 Sidore Lecture Series
Weber State University
Ogden, UT
Keynote for 2024 Browning Presents! series and the Walker Institute of Politics
Harvard University School of Law
Cambridge, MA
Keynote Speaker for Harvard APALSA and West Coast Club 2019
University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX
Keynote and concert (2024)
Salisbury University
Salisbury, MD
Keynote presentation and concert (2023)
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA
Keynote speaker/featured resident for the Inaugural CHASS Dean’s Speaker Series (2023)
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Listen to the Silence Asian American Students' Association (AASA) conference (featured presenter, 2016)
Civic Engagement, Independent Schools & Democracy Organizations
Keynote appearances for civic education programs, independent schools, democracy initiatives, nonprofit organizations, and advocacy groups.
Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) conference
Detroit, MI
Keynote Speaker (2024)
National Association of Independent Schools, People of Color Conference
St. Louis, MO
Keynote Speaker for the 2023 PoCC & Student Leadership Conference
South by Southwest (SXSW)
Austin, TX
Featured Speaker: Redefining What’s Offensive
Washington Post’s Free to State
Washington, DC
Featured Speaker with Killer Mike at 2019 Free to State
National Constitution Center
Philadelphia, PA
Keynote Speaker for Constitution Day/Grand Opening of 1A Exhibition Hall (2023 & 2019)
Mandela Social Justice Day
Southern Indiana
Keynote Speaker for 2022 Mandela Social Justice Day
National Council for the Social Studies
Philadelphia, PA
Keynote Speaker for American Bar Association Learning Series (2022 & 2020)
Crystal Springs Uplands School DEI Conference
San Francisco, CA
Keynote Speaker for the 2025 DEI Conference
FIRE Free Speech Leadership Summit
Philadelphia, PA
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leader (2024)
Asian American Footsteps Conference
Byfield, MA
Keynote Speaker for Creating Our Narrative (2024)
Flintridge Preparatory School
Pasadena, CA
Keynote Speaker and workshop presentations (2025)
Gill St. Bernard's School
Gladstone, NJ
Keynote for 2024 Middle School Equity & Inclusion Summit
University of Houston
Victoria, TX
Keynote for 2024 CTLE Symposium on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement
Miami Country Day School
Miami, FL
Keynote (2024)
Evergreen School
Seattle, WA
Keynote for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
U.S Department of Defense & NATO
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina & Kosovo City, Kosovo
Featured presentations at Eastern European Theatre for Operation Gratitude
Other Appearances
Simon occasionally accepts corporate, enterprise, and cross-sector keynote engagements where the subject matter connects to intellectual property, free expression, or cultural strategy.
DIY Musician Conference
Austin, TX
Featured Speaker: How to Dominate a Niche Audience (2019)
National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)
Kansas City, MO
Keynote Speaker at the 2019 Leadership Conference
TEDxDupontCircleEd (2018)
Washington, DC
“Once Upon an App: An Online Dating Fairytale” (featured on TED.com)
TEDxBend (2017)
Bend, OR
“Yes, Read the Comments Section”
TEDxMarylhurstU (2016)
Marylhurst, OR
TEDxErie (2015)
Erie, PA
“Losing the Line Between Art and Activism”
TEDxColoradoSprings (2015)
Colorado Springs, CO
“Pitching Your Way to the TEDx Stage”
TEDxFrontRange
Loveland, CO
“The Innovation of Immigrants”
TEDxUCR
Riverside, CO
“How to Talk With a White Supremacist”
TEDxSpokane
Spokane, WA
“Give Racism a Chance”
TEDxSalem
Salem, OR
“Your Life Has a Word Count Limit”
TEDxUofW
Seattle, WA
“A New Slant on Racism” (also on Forbes’ 8 TEDx Talks Well Worth Watching)