Re: Advice Needed for future IP/law school applicant

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All true, I'm afraid. I'm a patent agent. I was laid off by a
major IP law firm and have been looking for a job for 18 months.
All the time I worked there I had so many compliments on my work
that it was almost embarassing, and yet they got rid of me anyway,
I think because I lack the right credentials. I know which two
partners stood up for me and asked that I be allowed to stay. One
of them was the training partner - what does that tell you?

He suggested (after they let me go, not before) that I should go
to law school, but I have bad undergraduate grades, so I couldn't
get into a 'good' school if I did, and I am getting a bit old to
pay back all those tuition fees.

There are so many jobs advertised that say things like 'excellent
academics only' or 'top tier law schools only', and so few that
advertise for agents. It is beginning to improve, but I see ads
for patent agents that say 'must have PhD', and I don't.

I also echo the sentiment that having worked for a top firm
appears to count for nothing.

On 12/18/03, Lawman777 wrote:
> I couldn't agree more with his statements about the right
> school and grades. I had the grades but not the school
> reputation. If only I had known that 12 years ago. I went to a
> good local law school (however it was rated in the 3rd/4th
> tier)in the Chicago area. I graduated 3rd in my class with
> numerous accolades and awards. Yet, I got a job at the largest
> and best known IP firm in Chicago (on basis of grades and
> personal attributes) where I worked for 4 years.
>
> After a run in with a pompous ass partner who graduated from
> Michigan, that's when I learned that credentials not skills
> open doors for a legal job. I was downsized because of the
> economy and the partner's ego at having a "non top 10 law
> school graduate" stand firm, and (actually) save his ass from
> making a couple of big legal errors in a case. After that, he
> wanted me out because I knew. I was on track for partnership,
> and had good reviews except the one partner, yet, I was out
> the door because the economy meant cuts would be make. I was
> told some partners battled for me; but, I had no say to
> dispute the partner's false statements about me. In the end,
> the economy did me in as 10&37;-15&37; of the firm associates were
> laid off.
>
> It took me almost a year to get a job at a smaller IP firm on
> the west coast, while lesser skilled attorneys (with better
> reputation schools and lower grades) got much better jobs.
> Now, after 7 years in that smaller firm, I find myself looking
> again after downsizing, and its the same thing all over. When
> I get in the door, I am only rejected because someone went to
> a better school.
>
> The morale - go to a top ranked school even if you cannot
> afford it. The benefits are worth it. I had the grades and the
> LSATs. I was married, lacked money, worked about 10 years
> before going back to school, and foolishly thought that good
> law school grades, and exceptional skills would win out. I was
> wrong.
>
> I am member of the patent bar, Illinois Bar, California Bar,
> and numerous federal district courts, Fed. Cir. and Ninth
> Circuit. I have prosecution, litigation, and transactional
> skills - even did a due diligence investigation for the
> largest biotechnology merger, and I can't get in the door for
> my dream job - corporate counsel for a life science based
> corporation.
>
>
>
>
> On 12/13/03, lawdawg wrote:
>> Look at the patent firms as follows:
>> www.patentratings.com
>> www.martindale,com (type in "patent" under area of practice).
>> Look at the websites of some firms in your area that hire
>> technical advisors/agents. Applying as a registered agent is
>> a plus, so take the patent bar NOW!!!
>>
>> Most law schools look at 2 things: undegraduate GPA and
>> LSAT. Most use an admission formula that take these two
>> numbers into account. Graduate GPA is usually not factored
>> into the admissions formula. However, a few schools consider
>> other things besides GPA & LSAT, which may include grad
>> school performance.
>>
>> Just remember that your law school's reputation (see link
>> below) and your law school grades will determine the your
>> future as a lawyer. Law is a very credential driven
>> profession, unlike medicine and engineering. In medicine and
>> engineering, you can just barely graduate and get a
>> relatively good paying job. However, in the extremely
>> competitive legal profession, just getting a JD degree doe
>> not cut it. You need to graduate from a top tier school and
>> be in the top 10&37; of your class. Why? Because the law is
>> flooded with an oversupply of lawyers allowing law firms to
>> be overly picky about who they hire.
>>
>> Note:
>> See "http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/lawin
>> dex_brief.php" for ranking information.
>>

Re: Advice Needed for future IP/law school applicant, 2/19/04, by patentguy.

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