Re: Future Patent Law Studnet in need of experienced advice

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David,

I am a 2L law student at George Washington and although I am
not pursuing an IP career, I have many friends who are. This
is what I have learned from them relating to IP:

1. Go to the best law school possible: Someone else has
already said in this message board that the market is
flooded with lawyers. This is true. You need to distinguish
yourself as much as possible. You need the best law school
you can get into and the best grades. By the same token, I
have friends at 2nd tier law schools that have done very
well academically and their job opportunities are very good.
Having said that, if you can get into a first tier law
school, your life will be easier for it.

2. Distinguish yourself: Although the market IS in fact
flooded with lawyers, you have something great going for you
already: you will have an engineering degree. Having an
engineering background (or chemistry, or computer science)
is absolutely necessary to be recruited in the big D.C.
patent/IP law firms. Do you know how many of the GW Law
class has engineering degrees? A very small number. The same
probably can be said about other law schools. You are in a
completely different market from the vast majority of law
students as a result of this fact.

3. Take the patent bar exam BEFORE going to law school: A
good friend of mine goes to American law school. Her grades
are average. She has an EE degree and took the patent bar
before law school. During her first summer in law school she
worked as a patent examiner in a law firm. When recruiting
season came around for real jobs she was ceaselessly
recruited. Now she is working at the top patent law firm in
DC. Why? She showed her dedication to IP/patent early on.
Having passed the patent bar and actually having worked in
the field made her stand out above the crowd. I personally
believe that although grades are crucially important, taking
this type of initiative can be of tremendous help in fueling
you career.

4. Learn about the field and take action in it: Let me give
you an example. That friend from the paragraph above also
took time from her busy 1L schedule to apply for membership
in the ABA’s IP Law Journal. This journal is the national IP
journal and is published by GW and the ABA. Membership is
via a writing competition open to everyone (you do NOT need
to be GW law student to apply). She did the writing
competition and got in. Again, completely based on writing
(no grades, no law school ranking) and yet it looked
fantastic on her resume. That is the type of success
attitude you need.

5. Location: Here I am biased. I think there a few other
places for a law student better than DC. Why? Because the
opportunities here for lawyers are enormous. As a patent/IP
law student, you have many internship opportunities. You
intern at the federal Patent Office, you have many courts in
which to clerk, and there is no shortage of IP law firms.
Unless you are interested in corporate/finance law (New York
is best for that) I think there is just no place like DC for
law school.

6. Part time law school: Here, too, I have some pretty
strong opinions. I think you should NOT go to law school
part-time. Law school is a big commitment; it needs full
effort. Having a day job while tackling your first year
courses will hurt you. If you want to be competitive, go at
it with all. Second, going part time will put you in a
completely different crowd. In a way, you will miss the “law
school” experience. Part-timers and night students are
usually older professionals or people with families. I don’t
know you or you age or point in life. But if you are 21-23 I
think you will regret going part time. Sometimes you can
help other people better by helping yourself first.

7. The Patent/IP market: My first hand experience from very
closely watching the recruiting process is that if your
grades are good and you have an engineering background, you
are hot property for patent law firms. I see people get
actively recruited like crazy if they fit that description.
Whether you need more than a B.S. to fall in that crowd I
doubt it. No one I know going to Finnegan, Pennie Edmonds,
or other large IP firms has a masters. My recommendation?
Graduate, get a job where you can apply you skills, work for
a year there, then go to law school. Make sure you pass the
patent bar before coming to law school. Once in law school
get the best grades you can. I really think people that have
a technical degrees and an interest in IP/Patent have an
edge over the rest of us law students.

Finally, go to the websites of the large IP firms. There are
not that many and you can find them fairly easily. Research
their recruiting section. Research the bios of their
attorneys. See if you can distinguish a common career path.
Even call them. I am sure some of them will be willing to
spend a few minutes with you on the phone (pick recent
graduates that can sympathize with you). And finally, take
initiative. The fact that you asked for advice so early on
shows you have initiative already.

Good luck.

A.

Re: Future Patent Law Studnet in need of experienced advice, 12/06/03, by lmnpdq.

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