Biglaw, Intellectual Property, Technology

The Offer: Where's A Budding Patent Lawyer To Go?

A future patent litigator weighs offers from firms on either side of the country. Let's help make the decision.

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It takes a lot to out-dork your average lawyer, but that’s why God made patent lawyers. The swirling melange of Civ Pro and C++ jokes that get these folks amped up will make even the lowliest tax lawyers feel cool. But intellectual property litigation is serious business and if you’ve got that fire in your belly and that knowledge in your head, go for it. You’ll have a steady career right up until The Singularity.

And the patent lawyers thought that reference was hilarious. See what I mean about them?

Our unnamed subject for today has whittled the choices down to two firms with healthy IP litigation practices, but needs some help figuring out what side of the country to choose.

I am a 3L which has an offer from Baker Botts’ NY office and Paul Hastings’ Palo Alto Office.

I am interested in practicing patent law and, hopefully, would like to focus my work in patent litigation.

Joe here. Let’s break this down with the help of vague, black box rankings that reflect… something. The U.S. News Law Firm Rankings recognize Baker Botts as a tier 2 firm when it comes to its New York office’s intellectual property litigation. Given that its national ranking, as well as the rankings of many of its other offices (which are only getting better through laterals), are tier 1, there’s a natural instinct to overreact and write off the firm’s NY office as somehow subpar. This would be a mistake. While these rankings have some informative value, they can’t be viewed as gospel. The New York group still boasts top-notch litigators to shepherd your career and handles intellectual property issues across a range of industries so you’re not missing a beat if you call Baker Botts home.

And in our survey of Baker Botts lawyers — people who know what it’s really like to work there — 100 percent said that if they had the chance to do it all over again, they would still choose to work there, which is a ringing endorsement.

Meanwhile, the Paul Hastings Palo Alto office (for that matter, anyone’s Palo Alto office) is squarely focused on a Silicon Valley practice. If you want to get into the weeds of patenting an algorithm for jerking off 800 guys, then this is the place. Seriously though, if your interest in patent litigation is tech-specific, then this is a no-brainer: fast-paced innovation, great client base, lots of business to be had. If you’re looking for a practice where you might litigate, say, a pharmaceutical formula, then Baker Botts New York is a better fit since it seems, from my perspective, to be a practice built mostly around pharma and medical devices with some other technologies to round out the book.

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Personally, I’d go West, young person. It’s rare that I suggest someone not live in New York, especially when compared to the glorified strip mall that is Palo Alto, but these are special circumstances. Paul Hastings is a well-regarded firm with an excellent ATL insider rating, a top 30 ranking overall, high marks as a workplace from Am Law and from Vault, and a great tech-based intellectual property practice. Just as we told a prior subject of The Offer to go to New York to get the best experience, when it comes to this niche the best experience is going to be in Silicon Valley. That’s where the innovation is, right?

Unless of course you have a hankering for pharma. Somebody has to protect Pfizer from copycat dick pills.

ELIE IN THE HOUSE

I wouldn’t have chosen this question because the offeree sounds like a law-bot to be patented rather than a human with emotions and dreams and fears. “Bzzrt… I am PatentLitigator3000. I seek to optimize my binary choice matrix. Movie idea 174: Adam Sandler is, like, a genius chemist… who has amnesia… and goes to law school or something.”

Without more information, I’m forced to fall back on the platitudes that Paul Hastings is generally the more respected firm and Palo Alto is generally a place where patent lawyers go for mating season.

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I think you’d have a more well-rounded practice in New York. I think you’d have more exit options, especially if it turns out that “your clients’ 1302nd line of code is EXACTLY like my client’s 4405th line of code” isn’t as exciting as it sounds. But I don’t know if those things are important to you. Do you have your emotion chip installed?

I think it’s always dangerous when young people pick one area of practice to focus on before they even practice it. You have no idea if you will like it. And Palo Alto pigeonholes you into “tech law” forever. My choice would be Baker Botts, but I’m a person full of human frailty and indecision. If you’ve already been programmed to fulfill your patent-lit functions, Palo Alto is the safe bet.

Patent Pete should go to:

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Earlier: The Offer: Go Biglaw Or Go Home
The Offer: Which Texas Firm Should You Not Mess With?

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