In 2008, Bates co-founded the DFW Women in IP Group, where she regularly mentors rising female intellectual property attorneys. Since its inception, the group has grown to over 100 members.

In the fall of 2018, Bates became an adjunct professor and the director of the Patent Clinic at the SMU Dedman School of Law and immediately set about restructuring the program to emphasize client interaction and hands-on skills, including drafting and filing patent applications. While the program allows her to formally train and mentor SMU law students interested in entering the intellectual property law field, law students she has not taught, from both SMU and the Texas A&M College of Law, regularly seek her out for career advice as well.