Rai has close ties to the administration. She was a classmate of President Obama's at Harvard Law School and served on his transition team as a member of the agency review team on science, technology, space, arts and humanities. Computing Technology Industry Association Director for Global IP Chris Katopis, who previously served as PTO deputy administrator for external affairs, said Rai is a "provocative choice" for the administrator job since she hails from academia, which is seen as "notoriously anti-patent."