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Hi, I was wondering if it is possible to be in both the M&A and IP lit group. The reason I ask is twofold: first, I find litigation more appealing, but would like to have M&A in my back pocket in case I decide to go in-house. Second, I think this could make me a pretty "unique" candidate for Amazon/Google/etc. in California (currently in OC). Thoughts?

M&A and transactional are not the same thing. I've heard of people doing both, but that was the result of people getting somewhat lost at large firms and not getting placed into a specific area; it's more a case of slipping through the cracks than cross-specialization. If you want Amazon/Google, etc., get into one of the major Bay Area firms like Cooley or WSGR. Then it's about networking.

Anonymous User wrote:M&A and transactional are not the same thing. I've heard of people doing both, but that was the result of people getting somewhat lost at large firms and not getting placed into a specific area; it's more a case of slipping through the cracks than cross-specialization. If you want Amazon/Google, etc., get into one of the major Bay Area firms like Cooley or WSGR. Then it's about networking.

I do technology transactions in the Bay Area. We do both M&A and "transactional", which I assume you mean drafting/negotiating commercial agreements, licensing, etc. The M&A work is handling the IP and commercial aspects for corporate.

OP, it is probably hard to do both past the first couple years and will depend on the firm. A couple of the people in my group did IP litigation for the first few years of their career and switched over to tech transactions. I would just do IP lit if that's what you like, and try to get some transactional experience if you can. It isn't too hard to switch over to transactional work later on, depending on where you're at.