by Keven » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:23 pm
I made the decision about one month ago to leave my postdoc position and pursue a career in patent law. Since that time I have been following the advice of this forum and networking like crazy with various IP attorneys in my area of the world. I have been successful in obtaining 2 offers (with one interview to go yet) using the methods prescribed here, and feel I am indebted to this forum for the help it has provided the last few years.
I thought it might be of use to others to know how I went about this transition from academics to soon-to-be “big law firm” life, so here are some pointers from my experiences. It should be said that these are only my experiences though and may not apply universally.
Contacting people out of the blue:
When I decided I was interested in patent law enough to pursue the area as a career I didn’t know a single patent attorney. Thus my approach to this was focused entirely on cold e-mails. I used a variety of resources including IP Law 360, IP Today, Vault, and The American Lawyer to learn what firms in my area had patent prosecution departments and to learn more detail about the ones I found. I of course also consulted the firms’ websites. I would typically look for firms that had IP practices and had patent agents/tech advisors on staff already. After identifying app 15 such firms I used the attorney search function on the firm websites to identify people I could contact (their email address is always there). At first I contacted anyone that would respond, but this approach doesn’t work very well. It is best to contact people who have a similar background to you and are fairly high up the ladder. The ideal candidate for me would be someone who has a PhD in bio, is a partner, is the head of the group, and who went to law school part-time. This last part is probably the most important. I spent (wasted?) a lot of time speaking with PhDs who quit entirely and went back to law school full-time. All encouraged me to do the same and contact them in the future about summer associate positions. This was not my goal, so onward I went finding better contacts.
When I contacted people I would start simple, saying something like:
“My name is () and I am a postdoc at () in the lab of (). I have an interest in IP law and have been exploring career options in this arena. Would it be possible to meet with you over lunch or coffee sometime to discuss how you made the jump.” No resume/CV.
Most people seemed to respond (>90%) and I would talk to them over the phone, lunch or coffee. If things went well I would ask if they could look over my resume (2 pages max, cut the fat) or if they might be looking to hire a new tech advisor in the near future. These contacts would do one of two things: dead-end or lead to an interview.
Interviewing:
Your first meeting with a given IP attorney is really your first interview. Most questions are general: Why law? Tell me about yourself? Experience with patents? Etc. I found that usually wearing a suit to these meetings made them uncomfortable with me (maybe this is a Cali thing) and sometimes sent them into mentioning several times that this was not an interview. Typically dark dress pants, dark socks, black shoes, black belt, blue button-down shirt was fine (I am male, females probably know the equivalent better than myself). Business casual. Etiquette is important; especially if it is lunch you are eating. Offer to pay, but you won’t.
After the meeting, write a thank-you to everyone who came and spoke with you. Provide the materials they requested or that you offered (resume, manuscripts, writing samples, etc).
If everything goes well during the initial meeting and they are looking to hire someone, you will be invited to return again for a more extensive interview with associates, partners, and agents/advisors in the firm. I always wore a suit and tie to these. Most people ask the same general questions as before, but you get some others as well: Why are patents important to companies? How did you prepare for this interview? Tell me about yourself outside of science. Etc. The general questions can become redundant very quickly, but it is essential to always stay positive and answer the same questions time and again with the same enthusiasm. Overall this stage is a “fit” screen. You looked good enough on paper and in person to the partner you contacted, now what does everyone else think about you? Write thank you notes to everyone you meet during the day. I always used email.
If this goes well, an offer is likely coming. This can move extremely fast. I went from initial meeting, to full day in office interviews, to an offer in 4 days with one firm. From initial cold email to offer was only 2 weeks.
This is what I can think of now from my experiences. I wrote this in part because someone asked some questions, in a previous thread I started, about some of my techniques, etc. If there are any specific questions or comments, post them and I will try to respond in a timely manner.