Intellectual Property

3 Essential Qualities For IP Associates

The qualities of curiosity, intellectual humility, and empathy for a client’s beliefs are especially relevant for today’s IP lawyers.

By  
on

As summer begins its fade to black, a new crop of IP associates are looking forward to a bright start as they head to their first full-time legal jobs. Likewise, upper-level law students with an interest in IP are looking forward to their IP elective classes in law school. Many of these young lawyers will harbor some level of anxiety about their choices and at some point ask themselves whether a career in IP law is really for them. That concern is understandable, considering the investment they have made in preparing themselves for their first jobs in the field or in continuing their studies with a focus on IP law. Everyone wants to get it right, especially when it seems like there are many alternatives available for fulfilling legal careers.

Since this is an IP-focused column, I am here to tell that segment of my readership not to fret. IP law is as interesting as it gets. For one, IP is a broad field, with plenty of opportunity for sub-specialization based on one’s technical or creative background. Have a Ph.D. in biochemistry and want to focus on drafting pharmaceutical patent applications? There is a place for you somewhere. Have a background in media and want to focus on digital copyright issues? Ditto. At the same time, there are some essential qualities that are shared by many successful IP practitioners — on top of the usual educational bona fides necessary to secure legal work in the first place.

As with any idiosyncratic list, what I consider essential may not be what others think are necessary. But my selections are informed by my own career in IP law, as well as the welcome opportunities I have had to counsel other aspiring lawyers interested in a career in the field. Whether they were asking about practicing patent law without a technical background, or how to find a job doing trademark prosecution work, an interest in IP law is understandably widespread nowadays. Who doesn’t want to work on interesting matters involving technology and creative content, where the value of the intangible to a company can often exceed that of the company’s own real estate holdings? But as with anything else, there are certain traits that are conducive to success as an IP lawyer — and thoughtful IP aspirants will ask themselves whether they truly have the intellectual and emotional makeup necessary to make the most of a career in the field.

To start, it is absolutely critical for younger associates interested in IP to exhibit intellectual curiosity. Not only about the ever-changing state of the law itself, but also about the economic and geopolitical factors that impact on their client’s interactions in today’s global economy. For example, IP associates should have an interest in how things are made and sold today, irrespective of the industry that their client is operating in. It is good practice for any lawyer to learn about their client’s businesses, but IP lawyers have an even more comprehensive brief. They must also become familiar with their client’s competitors and understand supply chains, indemnification agreements, and the retailer/supplier dynamic. An interest in learning these topics is therefore necessary, even as a young lawyer must learn the technical lawyering skills to succeed as well.

Second, aspiring IP lawyers must get comfortable learning the limits of their intellectual prowess. Yes, you may have a fancy technical (and even graduate-level) degree in a hard science in addition to a law degree. At the same time, part of the joy and challenge of a career in IP law is working with leading scientists and creators in a variety of fields, who by nature are doing cutting-edge work. Sure, it is exciting to have exposure to advances in sciences and the arts, but at the same time the thoughtful IP lawyer embraces the importance of maintaining a level of intellectual humility. If only because one of the key skills that differentiates run-of-the-mill IP lawyers from their world-class colleagues is the latter’s ability to act as a conduit that can simplify complex technical material in the context of a persuasive legal argument. To do that effectively requires the humility to listen to and distill the superior knowledge of others. Furthermore, even if one is truly a wizard at assimilating technical information, there is always the challenge of damages in IP cases — a topic that can bedevil even the greatest intellect, and nearly always involves bringing in a economic expert for the benefit of the factfinder and adjudicator. Perhaps nothing is as humbling as trying to come up with or defend a coherent damages theory in even the most basic IP dispute.

Finally, IP associates must embrace perhaps the greatest challenge presented by a career in IP law — dealing with their client’s expectations around ownership of the intellectual property at issue. Because both sides of any intellectual property dispute will undoubtedly feel very strongly that the other side is wrong on the question of ownership. Either the accused infringer will dispute whether the IP is properly owned by anyone, or they will argue that the IP owner is wrong about what they actually own. Conversely, the IP owner will feel very strongly that their property rights are being trampled on, even when they may come into a dispute with a misguided belief that they own more than they actually do. Accordingly, IP lawyers must have the emotional energy and intelligence to match and shape the strong feelings of their clients on the core issue of ownership, while never failing to counsel the client about the strengths and weaknesses of their position in light of the legal process they are involved in. In many ways, that is the great challenge of IP practice and it is not one for the meek to pursue. Imagine constantly having to settle border disputes on the American frontier circa 1850 or so. That is what navigating IP law as counsel can feel like at times.

Ultimately, the qualities of curiosity, intellectual humility, and empathy for a client’s beliefs are critical to the success of lawyers in any discipline. In my view, however, they are especially relevant for today’s IP lawyers operating in today’s global economy, where developments in China may be more relevant than a decision out of a local court on the client’s business, or where the ever-changing nature of IP law can shift the focus of an attorney’s practice in very short order. At bottom, it is helpful to remember that when young lawyers embrace the joy of the journey they are more likely to reap the rewards of a fulfilling career. So start your journey with a clear head and an appetite for hard work. The good stuff will follow.

Sponsored

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , ,