Loyola PLIP 2013: Brace yourselves... Forum

[togepi]

Thought GW was solid for IP. Id like to do patent or soft ip litigation. So because of my ugpa im pretty much screwed for that route also? Makes me want to go get an EE degree at my old undergrad (two years) and retake and reapply. This blows.

[Agent]

FWIW, I know 2L and 3L aspiring patent attorneys at GW who seem to have a very rough road ahead (lots of debt + bleak employment prospects). I do not know as many who have something lined up. So I cannot agree that "GW [is] solid for IP." (I admit that I know only a few GW Law students.)

Also, if you want biglaw, non-patent IP, I recommend that you either attend a much better law school or achieve a very high class rank early in law school (don't bet on it). But your UG grades probably won't matter. Mid- and small-law jobs in non-patent IP might permit less impressive credentials, but I wouldn't bet on landing one of those jobs without strong networking abilities and some sort of relevant background or WE.

tl;dr: Height??

Thought GW was solid for IP. Id like to do patent or soft ip litigation. So because of my ugpa im pretty much screwed for that route also? Makes me want to go get an EE degree at my old undergrad (two years) and retake and reapply. This blows.

[target]

Would T14 with my credentials make a difference or is it my undergraduate grades that will preclude me from IP?

Would waiting and retaking for GWU put me in a better position also?

I had a 2.8 from UG and I was t14. It sunk me at every firm who asked about UG grades. It was mostly the patent prosecution firms. But I also had EE.

With a T14 and decent grades you could probably do patent litigation. I dunno about GW.

If you really wanna do this, try finding a patent agent job, then go to law school part time.

Agree to this. Firms really prefer candidates with work experience in major industries.

[togepi]

I have a Civil Engineering internship and I was a project manager for a construction project in California for a restaurant for six months. After that, I taught English abroad for two years (wrapping up my contract in a month).

I think I'll just bury my aspirations for IP. Thanks for all the input fellas.

[Agent]

Sorry bro. But I think you're wise to do that.

I think I'll just bury my aspirations for IP. Thanks for all the input fellas.

[target]

I think I'll just bury my aspirations for IP. Thanks for all the input fellas.

I mean if you really want to do IP litigation, you should try to go to a top school (ie. T14, not GW), do well, and bid on big firms with IP lit department.

[yeast master]

I'll just contribute my data point.

Attended 2011 PLIP. T50 law school, top 10% at the time of bidding, top 2% at time of attending PLIP and doing callbacks, bio PhD from prestigious university (which seemed to matter), got 15-17 interviews, 8-10 callbacks (some of which I canceled), 3 offers (before withdrawing from consideration from a couple).

I only bid on offices that had bio PhD attorneys. I think that was part of the reason I did pretty well getting preselects.

[togepi]

I'll just contribute my data point.

Attended 2011 PLIP. T50 law school, top 10% at the time of bidding, top 2% at time of attending PLIP and doing callbacks, bio PhD from prestigious university (which seemed to matter), got 15-17 interviews, 8-10 callbacks (some of which I canceled), 3 offers (before withdrawing from consideration from a couple).

I only bid on offices that had bio PhD attorneys. I think that was part of the reason I did pretty well getting preselects.

Nice to hear, might I ask why you didn't transfer?

[yeast master]

I'll just contribute my data point.

Attended 2011 PLIP. T50 law school, top 10% at the time of bidding, top 2% at time of attending PLIP and doing callbacks, bio PhD from prestigious university (which seemed to matter), got 15-17 interviews, 8-10 callbacks (some of which I canceled), 3 offers (before withdrawing from consideration from a couple).

I only bid on offices that had bio PhD attorneys. I think that was part of the reason I did pretty well getting preselects.

Nice to hear, might I ask why you didn't transfer?

Mostly because I like free tuition and cheap housing (my family and I live in my mom's basement). Also, I was getting the job opportunities I was hoping for, so I didn't really see the need.

[Jsa725]

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[yeast master]

I only bid on offices that had bio PhD attorneys. I think that was part of the reason I did pretty well getting preselects.

Grats on your PlIP success! Did you just go to each firm's website and look at their associates and Partners education? Or did you find out about the abundance of Bio PhD's another way...
I am beginning to research now so my bid strategy will yield the best possible results.

Yeah, I looked at attorney bios. Normally the firm website will let you search specifically for life sciences IP attorneys or something similar, so you usually don't have to search through all the attorneys looking for PhD's. But it was a bit of a pain to figure out where to apply.

There are definitely more than 32 offices with bio PhD's, so there's still plenty of strategy. I prioritized my target market (Texas). I also put in several bids for places I actually wouldn't mind living (places other than CA, NY, and DC). And then I put in several bids for places with a ton of biotech work, kind of as a fallback. There weren't a lot of Texas options for bio, but I did get a callback and an offer from a Houston office. I did pretty well in DC (I think 4 callbacks and 2 offers), but part of that might have been that I did grad school in the region--the ties thing.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone out there that attended PLIP as a transfer student? How did that work out?

[Jsa725]

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[Anciano]

Tagging

[chem]

So looking at those bidding dates, we are going to be interviewed/selected/hired on 1 semester of grades?

[farmernate]

Anyone out there that attended PLIP as a transfer student? How did that work out?

Transferred from TTT to T30 but at the time I was bidding, I didn't know I was going to get into T30 as a transfer. Got interviews with TTT on resume, but B.S. EE and WE in Silicon Valley. Would have definitely gotten more if I went to a better school, but had 5 screening interviews and 3 callbacks from PLIP (by the time I interviewed, I had updated my resume to reflect my new school and probably helped me get some/all of the callbacks)

So looking at those bidding dates, we are going to be interviewed/selected/hired on 1 semester of grades?

My TTT had year long classes so I had 0 grades when I submitted bids for PLIP. Of course I brought along my transcript to the interviews - but I was selected for screening interviews based upon 0 law school grades

[Agent]

Yes, for 2L SA candidates, firms offer screening interviews with only first semester grades. (There may be exceptions, like farmernate's.)

Still, you will take an updated resume to all interviews. And most firms will request an up-to-date transcript at or following the screener. Whether your second semester of grades plays a significant role in selection for callbacks and SA offers, however, depends on a number of factors (law school, firm, technical background, connections, fit, etc.).

So looking at those bidding dates, we are going to be interviewed/selected/hired on 1 semester of grades?

[r6_philly]

Yes, for 2L SA candidates, firms offer screening interviews with only first semester grades. (There may be exceptions, like farmernate's.)

Still, you will take an updated resume to all interviews. And most firms will request an up-to-date transcript at or following the screener. Whether your second semester of grades plays a significant role in selection for callbacks and SA offers, however, depends on a number of factors (law school, firm, technical background, connections, fit, etc.).

So looking at those bidding dates, we are going to be interviewed/selected/hired on 1 semester of grades?

Many firms ask for UG transcripts which they will use to assess. I think if you go to a decent school, it isn't much of a problem unless you are bottom of the class. But since you only have one semester at pre-select stage, your outcome at the actual fair may be much different than expected depending on your second semester grades.

I really don't know what the callback rate and offer rate is at PLIP, so it may be likely that they are very forgiving at this stage. I mean, if a firm is hiring 1 SA, calling back 4-5, and screening 30, then your second semester grades probably isn't going to make too much difference.

[Jsa725]

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[r6_philly]

Many firms ask for UG transcripts which they will use to assess. I think if you go to a decent school, it isn't much of a problem unless you are bottom of the class. But since you only have one semester at pre-select stage, your outcome at the actual fair may be much different than expected depending on your second semester grades.

are GP IP lit firms (groups) doing this... or are you referring solely to GP/ boutique IP pros groups?

If you are referring to UG transcripts, many (if not most) firms asked me (lit only) probably because you only had one semester worth of grades.

[Jsa725]

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[r6_philly]

yes, thank you... so how does the whole bidding process work? can you explain anything that I should be aware of? (dumb question?)

Last year you had I think 32 bids. So you select the firms you want to bid on. When the bidding closes, firms you have bid on will be able to review your submitted materials. There is no "order" or "preference" like in a lottery system. All 32 firms will have equal access to everyone who bid on them. They will then review the materials, and choose to either 1) pre-select you for interview at the fair; or 2) put on the alternate list (can be ranked or unranked, you won't know); and of course 3) not invite you. So when schedules are released, you will have interview scheduled with the pre-select firms, and possible interviews with the alternate firms (if people cancel or they add slots).

So the strategy is to highlight positives and present your best candidacy depending on the firm -- if you are bidding on both pros and lit then you need to probably have different versions of materials. I think resume is the most important -- WE/Activities/UG probably means a lot at this point for rising 2Ls. They also may actually read your writing sample for lit.

[Anonymous User]

As a 2L with an SA at an IP-exclusive firm, should I even use my bids, or should I just mass-mail the firms which are participating in the PLIP towards the end of my SA? I'm only interested in litigation (not prosecution). This is what my CSO suggested for me to do.

My concern is that the firm I'm SAing with will find out that I'm looking other places. I just want to cover my ass in the event of a no-offer.

[Anonymous User]

As a 2L with an SA at an IP-exclusive firm, should I even use my bids, or should I just mass-mail the firms which are participating in the PLIP towards the end of my SA? I'm only interested in litigation (not prosecution). This is what my CSO suggested for me to do.

My concern is that the firm I'm SAing with will find out that I'm looking other places. I just want to cover my ass in the event of a no-offer.

Been there. I recommend registering and bidding on all firms that interview 3Ls (except the one where you'll work as an SA).

Re: handling your firm: I wouldn't lie about going to PLIP, but I certainly wouldn't volunteer that info to anyone. If you run into someone from your firm at PLIP, just be cool.

[Anonymous User]

^^^
Thanks for the advice. I think that's what I'll do. If you don't mind answering, how did PLIP turn out for you? Were employers more interested in you because of your 2L SA firm?