Biglaw, Intellectual Property

3 Tips For IP Summer Associates

Demonstrating a true interest in IP and the desire to work hard to learn more will set any summer associate apart.

By  
on

Back in 2015, I gave some advice for law students hoping to score a summer associate position with a law firm. As we approach the summer, it is as good a time as any to share some advice for this (and future) year’s crop of summer associates — particularly those who are angling for a career practicing IP law. Yes, I am a bit removed at this point from my Biglaw days. Even more so from my days as a summer associate myself. But I do have past experience as a summer associate mentor, as well as the current perspective of a law firm co-owner who has had the pleasure of working with some ambitious summer interns at our own firm. So here goes. Because if you have to be memorable as a summer associate, you should try to do it in a way that will keep you off ATL’s pages as a cautionary tale. (By the way, the advice below can be adjusted to taste for summer associates who are not practicing IP, or IP lawyers who find themselves in a new firm or professional environment.)

First and foremost, summer associates fortunate enough to have landed a summer job at an IP boutique or with the IP group of a Biglaw firm should remember that gratitude is always a virtue. Even when we are sure that our hard work and talent have earned us any measure of professional success, we must remember that other deserving people may not have been as lucky. Yes, we can and should take pride in our accomplishments — and earning a summer associate position is an accomplishment. But that does not excuse anyone from tainting that accomplishment by lording it over their classmates, or showing up for work with a sense of entitlement. As I have said many times before, law is a brutal profession where everyone needs some good fortune to succeed. A sense of entitlement, or burning personal bridges by being remembered by classmates as a jerk, is professional poison. So stay humble.

Remember as well that humility is only a virtue when practiced. As a summer associate, you will be interacting with colleagues from other schools, as well as law firm personnel that span the gamut of the firm’s hierarchy. Every interaction you have, whether it be with lawyers or support staff, is an opportunity to make a good impression. Take that opportunity. Pay particular care to the firm lawyers and staff who are investing their time and energy into making your summer associate experience a pleasurable one. Thank them for their efforts, while avoiding behaviors that suggest you are unprepared to flourish in a law firm environment.

Pay attention to those lawyers who seem to have a good reputation around the firm, especially if they are not rainmakers. Observe and try to model your behavior on their behavior. Especially when it comes to things like dress, being on time, showing interest in those things the firm is exposing you to, or how to interact with others. Why them and not a rainmaker? Because everyone is forced to respect a rainmaker, or to at least tolerate behaviors by that rainmaker that younger lawyers would never be able to get away with. Focus instead on the up-and-comers, at least in terms of choosing what behaviors to emulate. They are doing what you aspire to do, by flourishing as associates and junior partners in a law firm environment while practicing IP law.

Second, keep in mind that while you are technically colleagues with your fellow summers, you are also being evaluated against them. As a general rule, therefore, it is best to never give them (or anyone else) ammunition that could be used against you in a professional setting. No need to be paranoid that they are out to get you though. So by all means be friendly and outgoing within the limits of your personality’s comfort zone. But avoid gossip at all costs, whether it be about fellow summers, the firm, or any of the firm’s employees you interact with. Moreover, you should avoid sharing personal details about yourself to the extent possible. A good rule of thumb is to never talk about your personal life unless directly asked and even then to give as general a set of answers as possible. Stay away from involving others in your personal dramas. Yes, it seems wonderful to make “work friends.” But you have chosen a brutal profession and work friendships in this business are forged over many years of shared tribulation and toil as colleagues. Not by becoming mutual emotional sponges for someone else as summer associates. Save the personal stuff for your real friends or family, not the workplace, especially at this nascent stage of your career.

Finally, always keep in mind that lawyers love to talk about themselves. And remember fondly those that give them the opportunity to do so. Especially if that person does a good job of showing that they are actually interested in what they are hearing. It is important, therefore, to seize any opportunity you have to proactively talk to the firm’s lawyers about IP and their current practices. Ask them about what they are doing that is interesting to them now, or how their practice has changed over the years. They will by and large prefer a conversation along those lines than trying to make small talk about sports or the weather.

You can even be a go-getter and ask if they have any recommendations about areas within IP law that they think have the potential to heat up going forward, so you can start learning more about those topics before you join the firm full-time. Interest is infectious and even the most jaded IP lawyer will likely want to help a younger colleague who shows genuine desire to advance in the field. Think of your interactions with those lawyers as opportunities to learn and it will get noticed favorably. Which is the entire goal of being a summer associate experience — to leave the firm feeling secure that you can be brought on full-time right out of law school. Demonstrating a true interest in IP and the desire to work hard to learn more will set any summer associate apart. So enjoy your summer and leave that good taste behind.

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

, , ,