Intellectual Property

Considering Patent Law? Here's Some Advice...

It is our job as patent lawyers to share some encouragement and a dose of realistic expectations about the demands of achieving success in our area of law.

By  
on

What advice would you give someone who says they are considering a career in patent law? That was the question I had to answer when I was contacted recently by a young fellow looking for some guidance as he prepares for the upcoming LSAT exam. Since I am on record on these pages as saying that lawyers have a duty to at least try to give good advice to prospective future lawyers, I was glad to speak to him. Because if I don’t heed my own calls to action, I really shouldn’t be making those calls in the first place.

It so happened that this fellow’s background bodes well for a future in patent law. Our prospect is steaming toward graduation from a renowned private university with a degree in a hard science. To top it off, he has no interest in applying to medical school or working in a lab. Add in the fact that he is interested in law and has a background in advanced legal studies (aka Talmudic learning,) and a career in patent law seemed like a natural fit. With little need to convince the candidate to consider patent law, I launched into a bit of cheerleading about the intellectual joys of practicing patent law as I answered his questions on how best to prepare for law school.  

My enthusiasm was informed by the lack of a need to try and shoehorn my caller’s background into a fit for patent practice. Here, the prospect’s background made this call a bit different from the more typical conversation I have with pre-law or law students, which usually involves variants of IP law’s $64,000 question, namely: “Can I practice IP law without a technical background?” While I usually say that the answer to that question is “yes, of course,” it was nice to actually speak to someone who was clear that they wanted to use their scientific background towards a career in patent law. And had no illusions that their undergraduate degree was anything more than a gateway towards taking the patent bar and breaking into the field.

There were a number of interesting elements to our conversation that I think are applicable to anyone considering a career in patent law while having the “traditional” technical credentials necessary for patent bar eligibility. For one, I stressed the absolute importance of forgetting about the word “patent” for a while, and focusing on how best to position oneself for success in “law” — at least to start. In particular, we discussed the supreme importance of maximizing LSAT performance, as a prerequisite towards garnering acceptances from as formidable a roster of (hopefully prestigious) law schools as possible. Because we all know that when it comes to reaching the summit of the legal mountain — where all the good entry-level (and later) opportunities are — going to a top-14 law school is the equivalent of coasting up the mountain in a climate-controlled high-speed gondola. With all other trips being much harder and riskier, especially when trying to scale the mountain from a competitive second-tier school. That was an easy message to get across, and one familiar to anyone reading this website.

Next, we discussed tailoring the law school experience towards a future in patent law while also keeping an open mind about other potential specialties of interest. I explained the importance of prospective patent litigators taking introductory courses in the other IP disciplines, as well as classes such as Evidence, Federal Courts, along with the full range of patent courses offered. Again, the goal being to get a basic grounding in the breadth of IP, while also getting exposure to the technical knowledge needed to become a competent litigator.

We discussed the value of being honest about whether one was more attracted to patent litigation or prosecution, or even a focus on IP due diligence in corporate transactions and licensing, in guiding coursework and early employment choices. Perhaps most importantly, I stressed the importance of getting as good a set of grades — especially as a 1L — as possible, so as to open the door towards a clerkship or Biglaw starter employment. Especially now, where Biglaw’s displacement of mid- to large-size patent focused boutiques seems complete, and a start in a busy Biglaw patent practice may hold the most promise for a young lawyer looking for rigorous training and exposure to a broad range of patent matters of consequence.

While the advice about getting into law school and the importance of solid law school performance may seem obvious for any aspiring lawyer, there was one more piece of advice I gave this young person that I think caught him a bit off-guard. In response to his expressed desire for exposure to a law firm environment and actual patent-related experience, I shared my thought that while his interest in getting actual work exposure was admirable, it was also premature. And that he would be better off taking his post-LSAT and law school acceptance time and having some fun, so as to recharge his batteries and arrive at the start of law school as rested and mentally fit as possible. I think that when practical, other aspiring lawyers would do well to take a similar approach.

Sponsored

To buttress my argument, I pointed out that solo or boutique-based patent law practitioners have little time to coach a college graduate, and that Biglaw firms have a thought-out summer associate experience that they use to vet candidates while giving them exposure to actual legal practice. So my best advice to this high achiever — and pre-law high achievers everywhere — is to have some fun before hopping on the law school locomotive. Because it runs express once it gets going.

Ultimately, it is good for our profession when experienced lawyers take some time to share advice with younger aspirants. The recipient of the advice benefits from the perspective of the experienced lawyer. And we as lawyers benefit when we try and remember how we got to where we are, and all the challenges we overcame to get there. Law can be a lonely and difficult profession, and there are definitely times where the best advice we can give someone is that it probably isn’t the profession for them. But when someone has what it takes to advance to the next step towards a career in patent law, it is our job as patent lawyers to share some encouragement and a dose of realistic expectations about the demands of achieving success in our wild and wacky — but damn interesting and challenging — area of law.

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

, , , ,