Top Law Schools

Since hiring is starting to wind down (at least hiring from the interview programs, resume mailings are still going strong-ish), I figured it might be a good time to see what people's final opinions are on PLIP. Did you get your job through PLIP? Which went better for you, PLIP or OCI? Was the interview practice helpful? Would you suggest that current 1Ls looking to work in IP attend the program? Anything you can think of that might improve the program?

I didn't go, but there is no possible negative about getting some interviews under your belt before OCI. I went to other job fairs, and had callbacks and offers before I even set foot on campus for my second year.

To get one thing out of the way: anyone with an IP background *needs* to do PLIP. It's absolutely foolish not to.

My strategy was basically to use PLIP and OCI together to cover as many bases as possible. At PLIP, I bid heavily in Chicago with a few NYC and got 16 pre-selects. My yield was terrible: 4/16. At OCI I adjusted my strategy a bit, bid heavily NYC with a few DC and ended up with better results: 10/23.

PLIP was absolutely crucial for me, because I made a lot of mistakes. At PLIP most of my target/safety firms asked for my (shitty) undergraduate transcripts and I went 2/11 with those firms. At OCI I tried to bid on a lot of safe-ish (GPA-wise) NYC firms with big classes. Most of them had small IP groups, and I went 1/8 with them. Those mistakes could've really cost me if I didn't have PLIP to boost my interview count.

Anonymous User wrote:To get one thing out of the way: anyone with an IP background *needs* to do PLIP. It's absolutely foolish not to.

100% agree. It's like you get two chances at OCI this way. There is also literally no downside, because if you don't like the firms you get interviews with, you aren't obligated to attend.

For what it's worth, I got a summer offer from PLIP at a firm I really like. That firm doesn't recruit at my school's OCI, so going to PLIP was my only chance to get there besides mass mail.

I received 3 callbacks from PLIP (1 offer, 1 reject, 1 I canceled before going on the callback). This is similar to how I fared at OCI (1 offer, 2 other callbacks from which I haven't heard anything). I am going to accept the position from the firm at PLIP. I think that the interview experience was invaluable. My interview skills were like a well-oiled machine by the time OCI came around. I would highly recommend PLIP, even if it is only to tune up your interview skills.

Invaluable experience - there is no reason why a person should not go to this (esp. if you're not like top 5% at a t10). I got a lousy 5 screeners, and contemplated not even going due to the cost of flying/hotel. WRONG. Out of those 5 screeners, two turned into callbacks, and one of those callbacks turned into an offer.

Lesson learned: ITE, where the dreams of many are dashed upon the shores of despair, its better to be safe than sorry.

Like everyone else on the thread, I found the experience invaluable. 11 interviews, 3 callbacks, 2 offers. (OCI was 7/1/0).

There is simply no reason not to go, provided you are in the target audience (ie engineering/science majors). For many NY firms anyway, PLIP is the only way to get an SA in the IP group, as those associates get hired separately, and don't enter the usual rotation through the practice groups.

Really, just kick ass first semester, because PLIP interviews are handed out on the basis of only those grades.

I agree that PLIP was invaluable. The interviewing experience, cutting down on the number of interviews you have to do during OCI, and getting some of your callbacks done pre-OCI are all perks to doing the program. However, firm expectations are a bigger reason why anyone pursuing a career in patent law should go. Multiple firms told me they generally fill their IP class from PLIP and that even though they allow people to interview at OCI for IP positions, they generally get their strongest candidates at PLIP.

At PLIP I got 5 pre-selects and 1 alt came through at the last minute. I ended up getting 2 CBs and eventually an offer from the 1 alt.

OCI netted me 12 pre-selects / 3 CBs, which turned into 3 offers.

Not sure what to make of that, but PLIP was definitely good warm up for OCI. In general strange results for me though. For example, JD didn't even give me an alt at PLIP but was like super enthusiastic at OCI, ended up being one of my CB/offers.

The only negative I can think of is that some firms will take forever because they want to go to some OCIs before making offers. For example, a friend of mine interviewed with a firm at PLIP, got an offer 4 weeks after his CB, I interviewed with the same firm through OCI, got my offer within 48 hours of my CB.