Second year biglaw associate in IP Lit taking questions Forum

[yosemitejoshua]

Hello -

I'm a second year associate at a biglaw firm (class of 2014). I do litigation, most specifically copyright, trademark, and patent suits. I used to go on TLS during law school, especially during OCI, but sort of stopped after starting to practice. I've since realized there is a decent amount of misinformation floating around regarding what it's like to be a junior associate, what the differences between firms are like, and what it's like to be a litigator in biglaw. I'm having a lull in work this afternoon (which happens), and so I thought I'd take questions. Would anyone like to ask anything? I'll do my best to provide good answers.

[Anonymous User]

What was your background before law school? STEM?

Also, how "easy" was it for you to get an IP job, relative to your peers?

[Anonymous User]

Double post.

[Desert Fox]

Where are those Apple invalidity charts you promised me today>?

[yosemitejoshua]

What was your background before law school? STEM?

Also, how "easy" was it for you to get an IP job, relative to your peers?

I did undergrad at an ivy and majored in chemistry. I did not want to do strictly patent, but I wanted to land Biglaw. After 1L year, I took the USPTO exam to show an interest, and that seemed to help. During OCI time, I had around 17 interviews, and non-IP people had 8-10 on average. Several firms were interested in me, but clearly for patent prosecution. I didn't want to do prosecution, and did not want to be pigeon holed. So, I had more job opportunity, but had to filter through that to find a position I actually wanted.

If I didn't do IP lit, I would have probably joined Kaye Scholer, who was emphasizing that I wouldn't have to do IP, but could do anything in their life sciences practice.

[Anonymous User]

What was your background before law school? STEM?

Also, how "easy" was it for you to get an IP job, relative to your peers?

I did undergrad at an ivy and majored in chemistry. I did not want to do strictly patent, but I wanted to land Biglaw. After 1L year, I took the USPTO exam to show an interest, and that seemed to help. During OCI time, I had around 17 interviews, and non-IP people had 8-10 on average. Several firms were interested in me, but clearly for patent prosecution. I didn't want to do prosecution, and did not want to be pigeon holed. So, I had more job opportunity, but had to filter through that to find a position I actually wanted.

If I didn't do IP lit, I would have probably joined Kaye Scholer, who was emphasizing that I wouldn't have to do IP, but could do anything in their life sciences practice.

That's me exactly, Ivy + organic chemistry. Glad to hear it went well for you. I don't think prosecution is my thing, either, but we'll see.

You recommend the patent bar after 1L? I haven't heard of many doing so.

[yosemitejoshua]

Where are those Apple invalidity charts you promised me today>?

RPX settled the case for us by surprise. Wasn't that nice? We all get to go home early.

[yosemitejoshua]

What was your background before law school? STEM?

Also, how "easy" was it for you to get an IP job, relative to your peers?

I did undergrad at an ivy and majored in chemistry. I did not want to do strictly patent, but I wanted to land Biglaw. After 1L year, I took the USPTO exam to show an interest, and that seemed to help. During OCI time, I had around 17 interviews, and non-IP people had 8-10 on average. Several firms were interested in me, but clearly for patent prosecution. I didn't want to do prosecution, and did not want to be pigeon holed. So, I had more job opportunity, but had to filter through that to find a position I actually wanted.

If I didn't do IP lit, I would have probably joined Kaye Scholer, who was emphasizing that I wouldn't have to do IP, but could do anything in their life sciences practice.

That's me exactly, Ivy + organic chemistry. Glad to hear it went well for you. I don't think prosecution is my thing, either, but we'll see.

You recommend the patent bar after 1L? I haven't heard of many doing so.

I do. I purchased some self study materials and just dedicated an hour or two each day 1L summer to studying. It was very helpful not only for OCI. I got the highest grade in my patent class the next semester. It was also helpful to know substantive patent law for patent infringement cases. Even midlevel associates who are on patent cases might not know some important concepts that are basic to the USPTO exam. Getting a good position is just the beginning - you really want to develop expertise in your field, and I think this would help.

[juzam_djinn]

Thoughts on the future of IP lit?

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts on the reputation of Fish & Richardson and Finnegan? Thoughts on these two firms in comparison to some of the IP-heavy General Practice firms?

You talk about misinformation going around. What are some of the most blatant misconceptions out there as it relates to being an IP litigator?

[Anonymous User]

Is it enough to have taken some bio, chem, physics, and math classes in undergrad to be competitive for IP, or is a major in the hard sciences a prereq? What materials did you use to study for the patent bar?

[rpupkin]

I've since realized there is a decent amount of misinformation floating around regarding what it's like to be a junior associate, what the differences between firms are like, and what it's like to be a litigator in biglaw.

What are a couple of examples of the misinformation you've seen floating around TLS?

[LeDique]

Have you ever had a TLSer as opposing counsel

[kcdc1]

What are typical day-to-day tasks? What % of your time do you spend doing work that is interesting to you?

How often do you go home before 6:30?

Do you do PTAB work? Thoughts on advantages / disadvantages to PTAB trials (for junior / mid-level associates) as compared to district court work?

Thoughts on exit options? You planning a career in law firms?