Lateraling to Texas without ties (Patent) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Currently working in DC as a first year. I have 3 years total experience in pros + some ptab work. EE background.

After living in DC for a few years, I (and my family) don't think I want to stay here long term. It's too expensive, especially if you want to live in a good public school district. If not, private school cost is outrageous. The weather is okay but not great. If you want to be able to afford a house, it's going to be in a really boring area.

I've been to Dallas a few times and am interested in moving there. Cost of living is cheap, no state income taxes, salaries are high, it's affordable to live in good school districts. All in all it seems like a decent place to raise a family without stressing myself financially.

The problem is that I have no ties to Dallas (or Houston and Austin for that matter). No family living there. No connections. Nothing. My firm doesn't have an office there so transferring offices is out of the question.

So are no ties still a show stopper in Texas when lateraling? I understand that Austin is definitely out, but what about Dallas or Houston? It seems like there is a good amount of patent pros jobs in Texas, so is having that kind of specialty + experience enough to overcome the lack of ties?

[Anonymous User]

My friend went in house to Houston with no ties...perfectly doable.

I would just apply and see what happens.

[Anonymous User]

Austin isn't out for you. It's a small legal market sure, but there's patent work there too. It's more expensive than Dallas and Houston though. I would say there's probably more work in Houston than anywhere else so that would be the easiest to lateral to, but you shouldn't have too hard of a time with Dallas either coming from patent work. Ties are important in Texas (Dallas moreso) but they are becoming less important and the market is definitely opening up more I think.

I'm a first year in Dallas, went to school out of state, and had no family or friend ties. It came up a lot, and people wanted to know why I wanted to move to Texas, why specifically Dallas, pretty much to make sure I wasn't a flight risk. I made sure I visited each city a lot (at least twice) and could honestly say why I liked Dallas over others (less crowded, large # of corps there, quality of people, not completely oil/gas work, not as spread out as Houston, not as humid/hot, etc.)

My tips for you if gunning for Dallas : find out why specifically you like it over other Texas cities, bash Houston and to a smaller degree Austin (rivalry between Dallas/Houston), say why you don't like East Coast or other parts of country (more so than just not DC, but why not NYC/Boston/Chicago/LA/SF beyond just cost of living).

No Ties is not a showstopper in Texas, at least not anymore I think.

[Anonymous User]

OP, have you been to Houston? If not, I'd recommend at least visiting before setting your sights on Dallas. I don't do patent work, so I'm not sure what the differences are in the two cities in terms of availability of patent work, but, imo, Houston is a billion times better of a city. Dallas doesn't feel like a real city (it's pretty rural if you ask me), whereas Houston definitely feels more like a major city (tons more to do, more diverse, better Mexican food, nicer winters (and I actually like the hot summers), proper downtown area with lots of sky rise buildings, substantially more fun, and the list goes on). Houston's definitely humid in the summer, but it's bearable (it's not like Corpus Christi or the other cities along the gulf of mexico). I'm not really even sure how Dallas rivals Houston in anything except slightly cheaper cost of living. They're pretty different cities, and, having spent times in both of them, Dallas feels kind of like a shithole while Houston is actually a livable city. But I'm the type of person who, if I'm going to live in a major city, want to be properly living in a major city, which Dallas is not. Out of the 3 cities you listed, however, Austin is the best. It's not as major of a city as Houston, but it's a lot of fun (and it's very liberal, unlike most of Texas), has a lot of great outdoorsy stuff nearby, and San Antonio's only 1.5 hours away, which actually has quite a bit of neat stuff to see and do. Obviously all of this is just my personal opinion, and will vary based on personality types, but I just wanted to note that Houston's definitely worth checking out, and seeing if it's for you, if you've never been there (i.e. before you move to Dallas).

[Anonymous User]

OP here - thanks everyone for this input so far.

I have not been to Houston yet. The main reason for my preference of Dallas over Houston is the fact that is smaller and a little lower key than Houston. From what I've heard, many of the attorneys in Dallas moved there to have families and I think that is a good sign that I would fit in there. Austin seems like a great and interesting place with lots of great school districts. But as the second anon put it, there's a large number of corporations in Dallas (much more so than Austin), which possibly reduces the likelihood that I will have to move my kids around again if I wanted to go in-house. It's also quite a bit more expensive to fly the grandparents out to Austin to visit the grandkids compared to Dallas but that isn't that big of a deal.

With that said, I'd probably be happy in any of the three cities. But right now, my preference is Dallas > Austin > Houston.

As far as applying to firms, I think I might wait to start applying and take the TX bar in July. I think that firms might take me more seriously having a TX bar registration because it will look less like I'm just shopping around. What do you guys think? Would a recruiter help? I have a feeling that my resume will just end up in a black hole if I just start applying to firms' job postings.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

OP here - thanks everyone for this input so far.

I have not been to Houston yet. The main reason for my preference of Dallas over Houston is the fact that is smaller and a little lower key than Houston. From what I've heard, many of the attorneys in Dallas moved there to have families and I think that is a good sign that I would fit in there. Austin seems like a great and interesting place with lots of great school districts. But as the second anon put it, there's a large number of corporations in Dallas (much more so than Austin), which possibly reduces the likelihood that I will have to move my kids around again if I wanted to go in-house. It's also quite a bit more expensive to fly the grandparents out to Austin to visit the grandkids compared to Dallas but that isn't that big of a deal.

With that said, I'd probably be happy in any of the three cities. But right now, my preference is Dallas > Austin > Houston.

As far as applying to firms, I think I might wait to start applying and take the TX bar in July. I think that firms might take me more seriously having a TX bar registration because it will look less like I'm just shopping around. What do you guys think? Would a recruiter help? I have a feeling that my resume will just end up in a black hole if I just start applying to firms' job postings.

Anon @ 3:18 pm here. You're pretty spot on re: Dallas being lower key. It's pretty suburb-ish, so if that's what you're looking for (like a lot of people raising children), then it'll be a great fit. And you're right re: DFW airport. It pretty much allows you to fly anywhere in the world for dirt cheap (relative to flying from elsewhere) since the main hub for American Airlines is there.

Can't hurt to talk to a recruiter. Do you even need to take the Texas bar? I don't know much about patent litigation, but isn't it entirely in federal court? You can get admitted to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas without being a member of the Texas State Bar, so you might not even need to get admitted into the Texas State Bar (assuming your entire practice will be in federal court). FWIW, I practice in Texas, and I am not a member of the Texas State Bar (my entire practice is in federal court).

[tx123]

Associate with top Dallas firm with large prominent IP group. PM me. I'd be happy to assist.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an associate at a big firm in Austin that has an active patent practice.

I have seen several laterals from other markets that don't have Austin ties. Not sure about Dallas or Houston, but the market for patent litigators and prosecutors in Austin is pretty hot (our group was just recently on a pretty big hiring kick), which seems to correlate with a lower "bar" for ties (i.e., you don't need them).

Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

OP here - thanks again to everyone for the input.

Regarding the Texas bar, it would be to use it as a marketing tool to maximize my "hit" rate (i.e., converting as many applications to interviews as possible) and less for the jurisdictional benefits it confers. I want recruiting coordinators to see me as someone who is serious about Texas (which is true) and not just someone who is poking around at different job markets to see what sticks.

On the other hand, if Texas markets are as hot for people with patent pros experience as people seem to think, then maybe I shouldn't wait around for the bar because the market may cool off by then.