WilmerHale's Core IP in Washington D.C. Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone have any information regarding what associates in WilmerHale's Core IP group do in Washington D.C.? I know they do a mix of patent prosecution, patent litigation, and post grant proceedings; however, I am unclear regarding what associates actually do for patent litigation and post grant proceedings, such as are they glorified litigation associates when working in these areas? Also, I heard that the group is a little different depending on East Coast and West Coast (the West Coast associates in WilmerHale's Core IP group do more patent litigation and the East Coast associates in WilmerHale's Core IP group do more post grant proceedings, with both sets of associates doing very little patent prosecution).

[Anonymous User]

however, I am unclear regarding what associates actually do for patent litigation and post grant proceedings, such as are they glorified litigation associates when working in these areas?

Your question seems broader than just Wilmer. Do you not know what patent lit and post-grant attorneys do on a day-to-day basis? Working in patent lit is just like working in any other type of specialized litigation. Yes, it overlaps with general lit but there are a lot of activities (e.g., Markman hearings) that are specific to patent lit. And post-grant proceedings in front of PTAB are a very different animal than litigation.

Wilmer does not want associates to focus on prosecution as they become more senior because it's not as profitable - you will be pushed into either transactional or litigation. I do not know the breakdown of work between the East Coast versus the West Coast, but it makes sense for the DC office to do more PTAB proceedings because the USPTO is right there, and there is more IP litigation activity in CA than there is in the DMV (aside from appellate work, which the DC office will do).

[Anonymous User]

however, I am unclear regarding what associates actually do for patent litigation and post grant proceedings, such as are they glorified litigation associates when working in these areas?

Your question seems broader than just Wilmer. Do you not know what patent lit and post-grant attorneys do on a day-to-day basis? Working in patent lit is just like working in any other type of specialized litigation. Yes, it overlaps with general lit but there are a lot of activities (e.g., Markman hearings) that are specific to patent lit. And post-grant proceedings in front of PTAB are a very different animal than litigation.

Wilmer does not want associates to focus on prosecution as they become more senior because it's not as profitable - you will be pushed into either transactional or litigation. I do not know the breakdown of work between the East Coast versus the West Coast, but it makes sense for the DC office to do more PTAB proceedings because the USPTO is right there, and there is more IP litigation activity in CA than there is in the DMV (aside from appellate work, which the DC office will do).

Core IP associate here. I'd suggest reaching out to someone in the group directly to get more information. This comes up a lot during interviewing, and we're all happy to give you more details about the practice given that it's fairly unique in the BigLaw world.

Regarding East vs. West Coast, the Core IP group is considered a national practice group that frequently staffs across offices. I'm on teams with members on both coasts in forums across the country. I wouldn't say associates on one coast get more of one type of work or another.

Regarding the breakdown of work, the previous poster is correct that pros becomes a smaller part of the practice as you move up. Everyone in the department has a prosecution docket, but senior associates/counsels tend to take on a more managerial role. With that being said, prosecution tends to sit at around 30% of a junior associate's practice. Since there's a lot of variation and given that the practice managers are pretty receptive to giving you the type of work you want, you could probably push that number up or down if you have a strong preference.

Regarding litigation/post-grant tasks, core IP folks do work across the board. In fact, for post grant proceedings, core IP members tend to take a leading role drafting petitions/briefs and working with experts given that those proceedings tend to drill down into the technical weeds. For litigation, core IP members do just about everything with the exception that we typically don't deal with discovery disputes or doc review (unless it's very technical). Basically, tasks that require little or no technical knowledge at all tend to go to litigators, while tasks that require some technical understanding tend to go to Core IP people. There's a lot of wiggle room on this, but that's the general split.