This article is written by Vanya Verma from O.P. Jindal Global University. This article provides a few tips an IP lawyer must have to get placed in a good law firm and in-house counsel jobs in IPR.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Intellectual property law (IP) is a field that is rapidly expanding. IP lawyers have a massive scope. They are required to deal with creative innovation and work. We’re seeing a trend away from organisations and companies pursuing real assets like land and machines and toward acquiring intellectual assets. This article will discuss some tips that can help a lawyer in getting placed in a good law firm and in-house counsel jobs in IPR.
Tips
These are some of the following tips that a candidate can look forward to while searching for an IP job.
Develop knowledge about the IP field
Find out which companies or firms are looking for IP professionals and what fields they’re looking for. Learn the differences between IP law firms, IP practise groups in general practise law firms, and corporate cultures. Because many IP candidates are willing to relocate, find out where the geographic IP niches are. Investigate what’s going on in the huge world of IP on the internet. If possible, attend seminars and ask pertinent questions.
Demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest
Show your enthusiasm for the IP law. If you’ve ever participated in a moot court competition or enjoyed a trial advocacy class, be sure to talk about it. Use this as evidence of your interest in IP law if you read IP-focused blogs, published a journal article/note on an IP topic, or are a member of an IP-focused student club. Discuss your interests and ambition to work on IP cases enthusiastically.
Know the market
To get a sense of the market and identify their professional ambitions in building an IP practise, speak with managing partners of law firms, in-house counsels, legal administrators, other corporate legal recruiters, and recruiting executives. Discover which IP positions are available and when they must be filled. If a firm or company has an IP opportunity, inquire as to whether or not a specific technical background and amount of experience is necessary. Gather as much information as possible about the position and its requirements. As a result, you’ll be able to focus your prospect search. Inquire about the practice’s aims for expansion, diversification, and direction.
Good communication and listening skills
To grasp legal concerns and cases, lawyers must communicate effectively with their clients. In court, good communication skills are also required for presenting the case and questioning witnesses. You’ll struggle to carry out the tasks effectively if you don’t have strong oral and writing communication abilities. When working with clients, you must be able to create relationships and instil confidence, thus excellent listening skills are essential. Lawyers should be able to listen to their clients’ problems, as listening is the key to any good communication.
You’ll need to write in a convincing, clear, and succinct manner. In the role of a lawyer, public speaking is also essential. Volunteer as a spokesman in group activities or join debate teams to hone this skill while in university. When it comes to creating letters and legal papers, written competence is just as vital. You’ll need to be familiar with technical and legal terminology, as well as the ability to communicate it effectively and concisely. Participate in your university’s law society to develop your written communication skills. For example, take minutes at meetings, create emails, write newsletters, and manage social media profiles.
Current knowledge and awareness
One of the most crucial talents for IP lawyers is current knowledge of local, national, and international business trends, particularly any issues that affect a law company and its clients. Employees are expected to sell their services to potential clients and to build trusted connections with current clients. Lawyers must understand the commercial value of fulfilling deadlines, keeping prices low, and managing information confidentially.
Meanwhile, a client wants their lawyer to have a thorough understanding of their company’s operations as well as the broader social, political, and economic issues that may affect them. Lawyers must consider the short, medium, and long-term ramifications of their client’s business plan, as well as the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers, if appropriate. This enables the lawyer to deliver the best possible pragmatic, business-oriented legal advice.
During the application process, you’ll be expected to demonstrate commercial awareness by displaying a complete understanding of the organisation to which you’re applying. During an assessment day, you’ll almost certainly be tested. One can improve their current knowledge through following ways:
- Joining industry-specific forums that allow you to attend seminars and network with business professionals is a great way to get started.
- Listening to business-related podcasts or radio broadcasts.
- Reading business periodicals like the Financial Times and The Economist, as well as the business pages of daily newspapers like The Times, and viewing business-related television shows like Newsnight and Panorama.
Research skills
When dealing with a case, a lawyer must sift through a significant amount of data and facts. They may need to look at notable case histories in order to come up with ideas for the current cases they’re working on. As a result, research and analysis might help to clarify how to manage instances in various scenarios.
Any law career requires a great deal of reading, digesting facts and numbers, analysing material, and condensing it into something manageable. It’s crucial to be able to pick out what’s important from a sea of data and present it to your client in a clear and straightforward manner. Make five-point bulleted lists of the most significant themes from massive documents or long news pieces to hone this skill.
In a lawyer’s day-to-day work, research is equally crucial. When completing background work on a case, producing legal documents, and counselling clients on complex topics, you’ll need research skills. Make the most of your time at university by becoming familiar with internet and library resources and establishing a network of contacts. Industry connections can be a valuable source of assistance for a newly qualified solicitor or barrister.
Pay attention to details
Accuracy is critical to your law career’s success. Because a single word out of place can change the meaning of a clause or contract, accuracy and clarity concerning instances and law issues are crucial variables in advocating. As a result, the lawyer must pay close attention to the smallest of facts.
A single misspelt or grammatical word can change the meaning of a phrase or contract and misspelt or grammatical emails, letters, or documents make a negative impression on clients, costing your organisation business. Employers examine spelling, punctuation, and grammatical problems when candidates apply for jobs or training contracts. A recruiter may wonder what a potential customer would think of your letter of advice if it is imprecise, too long, or filled with spelling errors.
Organisational skills
Life of an IP lawyer involves researching points of law, creating legal documents and contracts, keeping case files, meeting clients, attending court, and networking with legal experts. It is critical to be able to prioritise and stay focused among competing priorities, which is why organisational skills are so crucial.
Throughout your training and work experience, you’ll have lots of opportunities to perfect this talent. You may demonstrate it to companies by mentioning how you worked part-time or were a member of a society while studying.
Teamwork
You’ll work with a diverse group of people, and winning cases will be a collaborative endeavour. IP lawyers must work together with their firm’s colleagues and partners, as well as communicate with clients. They must maintain a tight working connection with their clerks, and they frequently work on high-profile cases with other barristers. You’ll need to be able to operate as part of a team and communicate with people at all levels of the legal hierarchy, from trainees and students to members of the court. Clients must also trust their legal representatives, therefore you must be approachable, convincing, and kind.
Joining a team is the simplest approach to improve your people skills. This may be anything from a sports team to a theatrical club to a chorus – anything that allows you to collaborate with others. Participate in a debate organisation or volunteer to edit the student newspaper. Another option to improve this skill is to work part-time in a customer service position. Learn how to strike a good work-study balance.
Problem solving skills
Some may believe that the legal profession affords limited opportunity for creative expression, but this is simply not true. Whatever legal field you select, you’ll have to think outside the box on a regular basis to get the job done.
The wisest course of action isn’t always the easiest or most obvious. On a daily basis, you’ll need to use your innovative thinking and problem-solving talents to outmanoeuvre competing parties and get a beneficial outcome for your client.
Participating in student competitions such as mooting, becoming a student representative, or gaining a place on your students’ union are all fantastic ways to build these skills.
Self confidence
When it comes to standing out from the crowd, resilience and self-confidence in your own abilities, go a long way. Don’t get discouraged if obtaining a training contract proves tough. Have the courage to apply (and reapply if required), as well as to seek and act on feedback.
Take initiative
While being able to work well as part of a team is critical, there will be times when you must demonstrate initiative and independence. You’ll have to make hasty decisions without consulting your coworkers on occasion.
Handle work-pressure
Lawyers deal with large workloads and tight deadlines, and the work they do has the potential to have a long-term influence on their clients’ lives. IP lawyers have to deal with a lot of work pressure, being mentally prepared and proper management may help them.
Time management
For a lawyer who is handling multiple cases at once, time management is critical. They may be required to attend and present documents according to the court’s schedule.
Provide information about your qualifications and employment history
Your CV should list your academic and professional qualifications in chronological order, including names of institutions and grades. It’s possible that omitting grades that weren’t as good as expected may bring attention to the omission.
There should be no gaps in your employment or academic history that are more than a few years long. This will once again attract attention to the omission.
Top Indian firms working in the IP sector
| S. No. | Firm |
| 1. | Anand and Anand |
| 2. | Krishna & Saurastri |
| 3. | Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan |
| 4. | Remfry & Sagar |
| 5. | Saikrishna & Associates |
| 6. | Singh & Singh |
| 7. | Biswajit Sarkar & Associates |
| 8. | Khurana & Khurana |
| 9. | Khaitan & Co. |
| 10. | Lall & Sethi |
| 11. | AZB & Partners |
| 12. | Lex Orbis |
| 13. | Rahul Chaudhry & Partners (earlier Lall Lahiri & Salhotra) |
Conclusion
These are some of the basic tips that are very crucial for IP lawyers and other lawyers as well. Once they master this they can perform outstandingly well in any law firm and get good placement job offers.
References
- https://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/career_development/protected/guide_ip.pdf
- https://www.peoplematters.in/article/training/the-beginners-guide-to-a-career-in-ip-25014
- https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/law-sector/7-skills-for-a-successful-law-career
- https://www.hikewise.com/career-library/legal-services/intellectual-property-law-career-option-india.html
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