Questions About Clerkship w/ IP Background
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 10:37 am
About me: top 10% of class from a T-14. Computer engineering background with 2-3 years of work experience as a patent agent before law school. 1L summered at a big IP boutique (i.e., Fish/Finnegan), and then 2L summered at a big law IP group.
I recently accepted a district court clerkship in a "flyover" district. The district is not patent heavy (e.g., not EDTX, WDTX, D.Del) (I actually specifically decided not to apply to those "patent" districts because I wanted a more general experience / become more exposed to other areas of law). The clerkship starts in 2024, so I would spend one year at my big law firm in the IP group before starting.
Question: Assuming I want to return back to IP lit (considering other options though), would I get dinged much for the fact that my district court clerkship was not IP-heavy (e.g., in terms of a return offer back to the firm or lateral offer to a firm of similar caliber)? Or do IP groups look at a district court clerkship favorably in general, whether or not it is in an IP-heavy district?
(My resume has a good amount of IP experience (including the 2-3 of patent agent work), so I assume that past experience + 1-year big law IP + a general district court clerkship would make me quite competitive for a return/lateral offer and more competitive than say a candidate with just 2 years in big law IP. Obviously, however, I understand that I would not be as competitive as 1 yr big law + a Fed Cir or EDTX/WDTX/D.Del clerkship).
I recently accepted a district court clerkship in a "flyover" district. The district is not patent heavy (e.g., not EDTX, WDTX, D.Del) (I actually specifically decided not to apply to those "patent" districts because I wanted a more general experience / become more exposed to other areas of law). The clerkship starts in 2024, so I would spend one year at my big law firm in the IP group before starting.
Question: Assuming I want to return back to IP lit (considering other options though), would I get dinged much for the fact that my district court clerkship was not IP-heavy (e.g., in terms of a return offer back to the firm or lateral offer to a firm of similar caliber)? Or do IP groups look at a district court clerkship favorably in general, whether or not it is in an IP-heavy district?
(My resume has a good amount of IP experience (including the 2-3 of patent agent work), so I assume that past experience + 1-year big law IP + a general district court clerkship would make me quite competitive for a return/lateral offer and more competitive than say a candidate with just 2 years in big law IP. Obviously, however, I understand that I would not be as competitive as 1 yr big law + a Fed Cir or EDTX/WDTX/D.Del clerkship).